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God speaks from the whirlwind
Chapters 38-41
There are no questions (as if I think you answered all the others)
Study Notes
We know that God moves in mysterious ways, and the reason they are a mystery is because man would never think to do things the way God does them.
We not only ask “Why did He do that?” but often “How did he do that?”
The evolutionists who attempt to leave God the designer/creator out of their reasoning are constantly saying “Why this creature has evolved in this way, we don’t know” or “How this has happened - we don’t know” In fact, if they were honest, they would admit that there is much more they don’t know than they know.
Man has always thought he was clever. But his knowledge has subsequently been proved foolishness by later generations. How do we know for certain that the knowledge we have today is not foolishness.
One gets the impression from this legal battle that God has come out of the dock and now Job and his friends all stand in the dock and are cross examined.(now there’s a thought- cross -examined.- what does the natural man think about the wisdom of the cross?)
However one gets the impression of a very wise and knowledgeable old gent, dealing with a cheeky whipper-snapper.
The legal background is obvious here. The party that could ask the most unanswerable questions would win the case. It is significant to notice, that man can understand all the questions, but knows not the answers. So we can add weight to the argument that this was not a historical event of God actually speaking, but a man composing questions to which, only God has the answers
God questions the questioners. The questioners do not have an answer for one of God’s questions. The truth of the matter is that man doesn’t know how God did anything- everything God does is a miracle to man.
Man boasts of his great knowledge. God laughs at such wisdom and counts it as foolishness. The reason for that is that God knows just how much man DOES NOT KNOW!.
Job 38:2-3
2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me
We have already said that Wisdom can be defined as “God’s way”.
we have reminded ourselves of Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s answer seems to express just how great is the gap between the wisdom and power of God and that of man, who through pride and ignorance feels qualified to judge God
How true and fitting is verse 21; the everlasting “Rock of all ages” pours sarcastic scorn on the university graduate who at 27 years of age seems to have the answer for all that’s going on in the world.
Job 38:21: Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! (NIV)
As we have said previously, Education is not truth, but is a closer relative of pride than truth
One has to surely be amazed at the inspiration of the writer. For those who accept it as fact that God actually joined in this debate, and someone recorded what He said, then there can be no amazement. But if you are more inclined to read this book as poetry, and a parable of spiritual truth, then truly the writer was greatly inspired to write all the divine and spiritual utterances recorded throughout the book of Job. We think of “I know that my redeemer lives” etc.
Having said that, could there be a greater divine utterance than to record this “speech”- the very words of God himself. For certainly they portray amazing wisdom.
Man fails in his abundant wisdom to know why certain things happen under the control of an almighty, all-loving God, but his questions are few, and based
upon sheer ignorance, but God’s questions concerning man’s wisdom are many, and merely emphasise the ignorance of those who question his ways.
Today the great High Priests of atheism and humanism, have no idea where the sea came from, or how the Moon affects and controls the tides, so much so that children can play on the edge of vast oceans in perfect safety. God addresses such with these words;
Job 38:8-11
”Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? (NIV)
Job 38:16
”Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Man searches aimlessly to solve the mystery of life, and never come to terms with death, but life and death, light and darkness are all equally known by God.
Job 38:17:17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?(NIV)
Then the great Creator calls the biologists and physicists to tell him about some wonders of creation.
Consider the Snow. No two snow flakes the same. Amazing diamond- like treasure
22; Have you considered the designed treasures of the snow?
Then God makes a remark which reminds one of the second world war when the German armies tried to take Russia , but the snow prevented them. Speaking of snow he says;
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Many miracles of creation are referred to but even this list is but a minute fraction of the wonders of wisdom that are locked within the mind of God alone.
Lightning v 35, lions v 39, ravens v 41, Stars v 31, Animals, Birds, wild donkeys, Buffaloes, Deer, Goats, Ostriches , Horses, Hawks, Eagles.
Job 39:9; God refers to the unicorn, an animal now extinct, as one that man was unable to domesticize, despite the fact that his strength would have been very useful
We all marvel at the peacocks feathers, but do we ever ask the question that God asks here;
Job 39:13;Who gave the peacock fine feathers?
v 16. Why does the ostrich bury her eggs and make them so vulnerable, as though she doesn’t care for her young
Job 39:17
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
The Horse, especially the horse used in battle;
Job 39:19-24
Did you give the horse strength? did you clothe his neck with thunder?
Can you make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
He mocks at fear, and is not afraid; neither turns he back from the sword.
The quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believes he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
One of the great mysteries of nature that man has never solved is the amazing migration of birds that fly thousands of miles south, to an island they have never been to before, and if they were but a few degrees out of direction they would miss the island altogether. But they never do. God makes mention of just one bird here;
Job 39:26
”Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?(NIV)
The eyesight of an eagle has always amazed the ornithologists. But God claims to be the one who gave it to them. They make nests in the heights
29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
So I trust we can see the message coming over here. It truly is all about God’s wisdom and man’s folly.
Throughout this book we have identified with Job and his friends as they asked the question “Why does God allow suffering?” and we have given the simple answer that “God allows everything”. He even allows sin and wickedness; and in the New Testament offers grace to cover it.
Job says that God is so permissive that He allows evil men to take over countries and God seems to blindfold the judges, who are supposed to uphold justice, and so prevent evil men coming to power.
He says that God acts like an onlooker in a watching crowd, while he suffers, yet He could step in and help.
What God allows is the measure of His wisdom. We certainly would not allow certain things. But would we know what to allow and what not to allow? Would we know where to draw the line? See again the preface of this book.
We know how the ingredients of a recipe are important but equally important are the measurements of the ingredients used.
If you have managed to read so far you have come to the point of seeing the sparkling diamond of this book.
The answer of God is surely to ask man with all his wisdom, if he would know how to measure the wind, or the tides, or the evil in the world.
In our eyes it would seem that God allows everything, but the book of Job sends out the message clear and strong that God has limits to what he has allowed.
His dialogue with Satan at the outset confirms this.
If you read and understand this answer of God, then it should send shivers up your spine. It is the very voice of God, revealing the cheek and impudence of men, who live and die on this earth like grass growing and withering, and yet think they can question the Almighty, Omniscient creator about his ways. We tell our children to “mend their ways”. Is that what we are telling or asking God to do?
Man knows nothing when he comes into the world yet within a few decades thinks he knows everything.
What a privilege it is for the children of God to know that their Heavenly Father desires to share His wisdom with them. We will never know everything while on this earth but he has shared enough of his mysterious ways, for us to trust in His wisdom, love and power
There are no questions (as if I think you answered all the others)
Study Notes
We know that God moves in mysterious ways, and the reason they are a mystery is because man would never think to do things the way God does them.
We not only ask “Why did He do that?” but often “How did he do that?”
The evolutionists who attempt to leave God the designer/creator out of their reasoning are constantly saying “Why this creature has evolved in this way, we don’t know” or “How this has happened - we don’t know” In fact, if they were honest, they would admit that there is much more they don’t know than they know.
Man has always thought he was clever. But his knowledge has subsequently been proved foolishness by later generations. How do we know for certain that the knowledge we have today is not foolishness.
One gets the impression from this legal battle that God has come out of the dock and now Job and his friends all stand in the dock and are cross examined.(now there’s a thought- cross -examined.- what does the natural man think about the wisdom of the cross?)
However one gets the impression of a very wise and knowledgeable old gent, dealing with a cheeky whipper-snapper.
The legal background is obvious here. The party that could ask the most unanswerable questions would win the case. It is significant to notice, that man can understand all the questions, but knows not the answers. So we can add weight to the argument that this was not a historical event of God actually speaking, but a man composing questions to which, only God has the answers
God questions the questioners. The questioners do not have an answer for one of God’s questions. The truth of the matter is that man doesn’t know how God did anything- everything God does is a miracle to man.
Man boasts of his great knowledge. God laughs at such wisdom and counts it as foolishness. The reason for that is that God knows just how much man DOES NOT KNOW!.
Job 38:2-3
2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me
We have already said that Wisdom can be defined as “God’s way”.
we have reminded ourselves of Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s answer seems to express just how great is the gap between the wisdom and power of God and that of man, who through pride and ignorance feels qualified to judge God
How true and fitting is verse 21; the everlasting “Rock of all ages” pours sarcastic scorn on the university graduate who at 27 years of age seems to have the answer for all that’s going on in the world.
Job 38:21: Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! (NIV)
As we have said previously, Education is not truth, but is a closer relative of pride than truth
One has to surely be amazed at the inspiration of the writer. For those who accept it as fact that God actually joined in this debate, and someone recorded what He said, then there can be no amazement. But if you are more inclined to read this book as poetry, and a parable of spiritual truth, then truly the writer was greatly inspired to write all the divine and spiritual utterances recorded throughout the book of Job. We think of “I know that my redeemer lives” etc.
Having said that, could there be a greater divine utterance than to record this “speech”- the very words of God himself. For certainly they portray amazing wisdom.
Man fails in his abundant wisdom to know why certain things happen under the control of an almighty, all-loving God, but his questions are few, and based
upon sheer ignorance, but God’s questions concerning man’s wisdom are many, and merely emphasise the ignorance of those who question his ways.
Today the great High Priests of atheism and humanism, have no idea where the sea came from, or how the Moon affects and controls the tides, so much so that children can play on the edge of vast oceans in perfect safety. God addresses such with these words;
Job 38:8-11
”Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? (NIV)
Job 38:16
”Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Man searches aimlessly to solve the mystery of life, and never come to terms with death, but life and death, light and darkness are all equally known by God.
Job 38:17:17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?(NIV)
Then the great Creator calls the biologists and physicists to tell him about some wonders of creation.
Consider the Snow. No two snow flakes the same. Amazing diamond- like treasure
22; Have you considered the designed treasures of the snow?
Then God makes a remark which reminds one of the second world war when the German armies tried to take Russia , but the snow prevented them. Speaking of snow he says;
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Many miracles of creation are referred to but even this list is but a minute fraction of the wonders of wisdom that are locked within the mind of God alone.
Lightning v 35, lions v 39, ravens v 41, Stars v 31, Animals, Birds, wild donkeys, Buffaloes, Deer, Goats, Ostriches , Horses, Hawks, Eagles.
Job 39:9; God refers to the unicorn, an animal now extinct, as one that man was unable to domesticize, despite the fact that his strength would have been very useful
We all marvel at the peacocks feathers, but do we ever ask the question that God asks here;
Job 39:13;Who gave the peacock fine feathers?
v 16. Why does the ostrich bury her eggs and make them so vulnerable, as though she doesn’t care for her young
Job 39:17
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
The Horse, especially the horse used in battle;
Job 39:19-24
Did you give the horse strength? did you clothe his neck with thunder?
Can you make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
He mocks at fear, and is not afraid; neither turns he back from the sword.
The quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believes he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
One of the great mysteries of nature that man has never solved is the amazing migration of birds that fly thousands of miles south, to an island they have never been to before, and if they were but a few degrees out of direction they would miss the island altogether. But they never do. God makes mention of just one bird here;
Job 39:26
”Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?(NIV)
The eyesight of an eagle has always amazed the ornithologists. But God claims to be the one who gave it to them. They make nests in the heights
29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
So I trust we can see the message coming over here. It truly is all about God’s wisdom and man’s folly.
Throughout this book we have identified with Job and his friends as they asked the question “Why does God allow suffering?” and we have given the simple answer that “God allows everything”. He even allows sin and wickedness; and in the New Testament offers grace to cover it.
Job says that God is so permissive that He allows evil men to take over countries and God seems to blindfold the judges, who are supposed to uphold justice, and so prevent evil men coming to power.
He says that God acts like an onlooker in a watching crowd, while he suffers, yet He could step in and help.
What God allows is the measure of His wisdom. We certainly would not allow certain things. But would we know what to allow and what not to allow? Would we know where to draw the line? See again the preface of this book.
We know how the ingredients of a recipe are important but equally important are the measurements of the ingredients used.
If you have managed to read so far you have come to the point of seeing the sparkling diamond of this book.
The answer of God is surely to ask man with all his wisdom, if he would know how to measure the wind, or the tides, or the evil in the world.
In our eyes it would seem that God allows everything, but the book of Job sends out the message clear and strong that God has limits to what he has allowed.
His dialogue with Satan at the outset confirms this.
If you read and understand this answer of God, then it should send shivers up your spine. It is the very voice of God, revealing the cheek and impudence of men, who live and die on this earth like grass growing and withering, and yet think they can question the Almighty, Omniscient creator about his ways. We tell our children to “mend their ways”. Is that what we are telling or asking God to do?
Man knows nothing when he comes into the world yet within a few decades thinks he knows everything.
What a privilege it is for the children of God to know that their Heavenly Father desires to share His wisdom with them. We will never know everything while on this earth but he has shared enough of his mysterious ways, for us to trust in His wisdom, love and power
