Wisdom Books Job

Fear Before God

Discover Jesus as: Promised Redeemer Job 38 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 391 of 730
Downloads

Lesson

Watch on YouTube

Audio Only

Teaching Notes

INTRO

Yesterday’s lesson concluded Elihu’s speeches (chapters 32—37). Elihu’s central task was to remind Job he was not God and he should stop acting like he was. Dr. Benjamin Jowett was once asked what his opinion of God was. After giving a few sentences of response, Dr. Jowett remarked, “It’s really not the question to ask. The question to ask is, ‘What is God’s opinion of me?’”1 This switch in perspective is what happened in Job 38. Now we will get God’s opinion on what has gone on. MacArthur characterizes God’s response to Job as an “interrogation” and notes that “God had his day in court with Job.”2

TEACHING

Job 38:1–3: God answers Job “from the whirlwind.” While God answers Job from a whirlwind, others encounter Him in interesting ways:

  • Thunder—“On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in the thunder” (Exodus 19:16–19).
  • A soft whisper—“Then He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.’ At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord , but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave” (1 Kings 19:11–13a).
  • A storm––Ezekiel 1:4.3

Wiersbe notes that God’s questioning of Job “centered on His works in nature and consisted of seventy-seven questions interspersed with divine commentary relating to the questions. The whole purpose of this interrogation was to make Job realize his own inadequacy and inability to meet God as an equal and defend his case.”4 Job asked for this very thing: “Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and You can respond to me” (Job 13:22).

Wiersbe groups God’s questions to Job over the next few chapters into three sections:

“Can you explain My creation?” (Job 38:1–38)

“Can you oversee My creation?” (Job 38:39—39:30) a. Job’s first response (Job 40:1–5)

“Can you subdue My creation?” (Job 40:6—41:34)

b. Job’s second response(Job 42:1–6)5

Job wanted an audience with God. Now he had it, and God did not hold anything back. It is likely that even after God’s first question to Job in verse 2 that Job regretted asking for a day in court with God.

Job 38:4-7: Wiersbe observes that God began His string of questions with “the creation of the earth.” God “compared Himself to a builder who surveys the site, marks off the dimensions, pours the footings, lays the cornerstone, and erects a structure.”6

Job 38:8-11: God has Job consider the seas. God knit the seas together, and then they “burst forth like a baby emerging from the womb.”7

Job 38:12–15: Here, God has Job consider the sun. “Had Job ever told the sun to rise and dispel the darkness?” God commanded the light as it stretched across the world to reveal the details of the landscape and put an end to evil deeds.8

Job 38:16–24: Eleven questions highlight the vast dimensions of creation. Humanity has only ever traveled 35,810 feet (6.78 miles) down into the depths of the ocean and 4.4 billion miles into the outer reaches of space. God intimately knows every inch of creation because He made it.9

Job 38:25-30: God questions Job about rain (vv. 25-28), hail, and frost.10

Job 38:31-33: God questions Job about the stars and constellations.11 Christopher Ash notes: “The heavenly government of the world is under God’s control.”12

Job 38:34-38: God calls Job’s attention to the clouds.13

Job 38:39-41: These verses begin the description of six beasts and five birds that continues into chapter 39.

CLOSING

This is the first time that God responds to Job and He addresses Job’s pride. Wiersbe notes, “God didn’t question Job’s integrity or sincerity; He only questioned Job’s ability to explain the ways of God in the world. Job had spoken the truth about God (42:7), but his speeches lacked humility.”14

  1. Benjamin Jowett; quoted in Christopher Ash, Job: The Wisdom of the Cross (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), p. 374.

  2. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 2005), p. 591.

  3. Warren Wiersbe, Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry (Nashville: David Cook, 2004), p. 76.

  4. Wiersbe, p. 76.

  5. Wiersbe, p. 76.

  6. Wiersbe, p. 77.

  7. Wiersbe, p. 77.

  8. Wiersbe, p. 77.

  9. Wiersbe, p. 77-78.

  10. Wiersbe, p. 78.

  11. Wiersbe, p. 78.

  12. Ash, C. (2014). Job: The Wisdom of the Cross. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.). Wheaton, IL: Crossway., p. 387.

  13. Wiersbe, p. 78.

  14. Wiersbe, p. 77.

Questions

  1. What did the Lord mention was Job’s biggest mistake in Job’s attempt to explain his sufferings (Job 19:6)?
  2. Why do you think God spoke directly to Job and not his friends (Job 7:6-21; 30:20)? Why is crying out to God important?
  3. How do you think Job felt as he heard question after question from God? What have you questioned God about?
  4. About what parts of creation did God question Job?
  5. Where else in Scripture was God’s presence made known in a whirlwind? (2 Kings 2:1–11; Psalm 77:18; Isaiah 66:15; Ezekiel 1:4)
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Job 38 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Job 38:2–4

“Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.”

After Elihu addressed Job’s prideful heart and the importance of fearing God, the Lord answered Job from a whirlwind. The Lord gave Job His opinion in the form of several questions about creation, essentially asking Job, Can you make and control My creation? Yes, Job may have walked in integrity, but did he fully recognize the full magnitude of God’s hand in all of creation? Clearly Job never had a reason to challenge God, even during his suffering.

Although you may have great character and success in life, God is still God. There is no one besides the Lord. He is your rock and a refuge, who makes your way perfect. He counts the number of stars and gives names to them all. He is great, vast in power, and His understanding is infinite. Today, realize how much you do not know and how amazing God is. This truth will keep you humble and at a place of dependency before the Lord. Even when you walk through difficulty, remember God, the creator of the universe, also holds your life in His hands. You may know God, but do you really know God?

“Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.”

— Job 38:2–4

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • 2 Samuel 22:32–33 — “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God. God is my strong refuge; He makes my way perfect.”
  • Job 38:34–35 — “Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you: ‘Here we are?’”
  • Psalm 147:4–5 — “He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.”