In the previous chapters, we have examined how Job steadfastly declared his righteousness and his innocence of sin throughout his interactions with his three friends. Finally, after thirty-one chapters they gave up. Scripture says, “So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes” (Job 32:1).
Then a young man named Elihu speaks for the next six chapters of Job. We will not discuss what Elihu had to say, not because it is unimportant but because our main concern is now what God’s response will be to Job and his three friends.
Beginning in chapter 38 the Lord speaks directly to Job out of a whirlwind. It must have been a frightening experience for them when the whirlwind approached and God Himself spoke to them in person. Here is a paraphrase of God’s first statement to Job, “You’ve been talking about things you just don’t understand. Your words were absolutely out of place, irrelevant. But I’ll help you anyhow.”
Do you know people who, every time they open their mouth, seem to put their foot in it? If you should be one of those people, bear in mind the Lord still loves you and He has an answer for you. Here is my summation of what God said to Job and his friends for the next four chapters. God described to Job and his friends how He runs the universe and about what is involved in the job. Then He challenged Job, “Do you want to take over? Can you do a better job than I do of running the universe?”
PENETRATING QUESTIONS
Following His opening statement to Job, God ran through a rather long and interesting list of what is involved in running creation. Here are a few things God dealt with, all the while asking Job, “Could you handle this?” For example, in chapter 38, He began:
At the creation of the earth, were you there? (Job 38:4-7)
Can you control the sea? (Job 38:8-11)
Can you control the sunrise and the sunlight? (Job 38:12)
Do you know the dimensions of the earth and do you know the nether world, which is Hades and the abode of the dead? (Job 38:16-18)
What can you do about light and darkness? (Job 38:19-21)
Can you control the elements—the sun, the rain, the frost and the cold? (Job 38:22-30)
Can you control the constellations and the heavenly bodies? (Job 38:31-35)
Can you control the rain and the snow, are they under your command? Do you know how to manage them? (Job 38:34-38)
In chapters 38 and 39 through chapter 39, God described a number of living creatures, all of whom He watches over continually. The list is quite interesting—lions, ravens, mountain goats, deer, the wild donkeys, the onager (which is another kind of donkey), the wild ox, the ostrich, the stork, the horse, the hawk, and the eagle. With regard to the deer He asked, “Do you know the time when they bring forth? Can you be a midwife to the deer? Can you count the months for them?”
Job briefly responded in chapter 40:4-5, saying, in effect, “I’ll shut up!”
Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.
DEALING WITH THE WICKED
The Lord continued His dissertation in chapter 40, verses 8-14, asking Job a penetrating and significant question: “Can you take over dealing with the wicked?” As I have meditated on these verses I have thought about the appalling wickedness that is rampant in the earth today. I have often said to myself, “Thank God I don’t have to deal with it!” But this was what God said to Job:
Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath; look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you (Job 40:8-14).
I believe the challenge God made to Job is a challenge to the church today. Can we deal with the wickedness that is in the earth today? Do we know how to treat the wicked? Do we know how to bring them into subjection? The answer is definitely, “No!” I am thankful that God knows how to deal with the wicked, and we should be prepared to leave the job to Him.
BEHEMOTH AND LEVIATHAN
Following this, beginning in chapter 40, verses 15-24 and through the end of chapter 41, God dealt with two particular creatures. In chapter 40, verse 15 He said:
Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you.
We do not know what a behemoth is. Some believe it is the elephant, which is quite possible. He went into quite a lot of detail about the elephant, asking Job, “Can you deal with the elephant?”
Then God mentioned an amazing creature he calls Leviathan (see Job 41). I do not think anybody knows for sure what a Leviathan is. But if you read the description it seems to be a dragon because it has fiery breath that can set objects on fire. Also, it is totally impervious to any kind of weapon.
There are many mythologies, especially in China, with vivid pictures of the dragon. Personally I believe there may be some reality behind them. I believe there is a Leviathan and the Bible speaks about him in various places (see Job 3:8; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Isa. 27:1), and apparently Leviathan lives mainly in the sea.
In the 1950s, I came across a book in England that recorded reports from the British navy of a creature that had been seen on several occasions in the sea. It was very long and it curled up in many different ways. These were official naval reports, not hearsay. I believe those probably were sightings of Leviathan. Be that as it may, God challenged Job, “Can you deal with Leviathan?”
It is very interesting because this entire chapter was given to describing Leviathan, so he must be of some significance. In the final verse, verse 34, God said of Leviathan:
He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride.
This is clearly a description of Satan. He is the king over all the children of pride. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-2:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
Being the “spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” has the same meaning as the one who is “king over all the children of pride.” Therefore, in a certain sense God was saying to Job, “Can you deal with Satan?” I am glad God has accepted that responsibility. I would not want to take that job out of His hands!
ASKING OURSELVES THE QUESTIONS
When Job was confronted with this challenge, he said, in so many words, “Lord, far be it from me.” There is a very important lesson here for us. Many people today impugn the way God is running the world with all manner of criticism. Why doesn’t He stop war? Why doesn’t He stop famine? Why doesn’t He stop disease? It seems to me that God’s reply to those questions would be the one He gave to Job: “Are you prepared to take over? Can you do a better job than I’m doing? If not, let Me run My universe My way.” Do you see the important message here for all of us—not just for Job?
GOD’S INTIMATE CONCERN
Another very important issue is evident in God’s answer—something which is often overlooked: God is not remote and indifferent in regard to His creation. He is continuously and intimately concerned with all His creatures, whether it is a donkey, goat, raven, eagle, or lion. God is not some remote deity viewing His creation from afar. He is involved. He is interested in the time the deer gives birth, actually watching over it. This is a very different picture than most people have of God.
Jesus gave us a picture that, in a way, says it all:
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will (Matthew 10:29).
I prefer the old King James Version, which translates it correctly, “One of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” God the Father is interested in every sparrow that falls to the ground. I heard a preacher once say, “God takes time out to attend the sparrow’s funeral.”
Jesus’ teaching is even more impressive if it is read together with Luke 12:6, where Jesus said:
Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
If you have one copper coin you can buy two sparrows. But if you have two copper coins, you can buy five. In other words, an extra sparrow is thrown in free of charge. Jesus said that God is interested even in that extra sparrow. Nothing could more emphasize God’s intimate concern in the smallest details of His creatures.
He is not unaffected by what happens in His creation. He is concerned about the very smallest of His creatures. He watches over them all with intense interest. As Christians, this should say something to us about how man has, in general, abused and mishandled all of God’s magnificent creation. I believe it grieves Him deeply.
JOB’S ENCOUNTER
After God had made His case, Job responded:
Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (Job 42:1-2).
It is important to know that God can do everything and not one of His purposes will ever be frustrated. That is a powerful Scripture to lay hold of and it should give us great comfort and hope. Job continued:
You asked, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?” Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, “I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:3-6).
When Job had a personal encounter with God, his whole attitude was radically changed. We might well wonder why when Job says he was righteous he could also say, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
My personal answer to this matter, and you are free to make your own decision about it, is that there are two spiritual dimensions—the horizontal and the vertical. When Job looked horizontally, by all human standards, he was righteous. But when he looked vertically and saw God in His holiness, he saw how utterly base and vile he was by comparison with God.
Therefore, the question becomes: With whom do you compare yourself? God never disputed that Job was righteous right from the beginning to the end of the book. But when Job saw God he said, “I’m vile. I’m not fit for Your presence; I’m unworthy.” Job had not changed. He simply saw himself from a totally different perspective.
AN END TO THE QUESTIONS
Once when I was discussing the Book of Job with a close friend who is a Jewish believer in Israel, he made a casual comment that really registered with me. He said, “After Job saw the Lord, he had no more questions.” That is remarkable! When Job encountered the Lord, it finished all his questions.
I want to suggest that if you have a lot of problems and questions, maybe the solution is for you to meet with the Lord. The purpose of that meeting is not to get all your questions answered—but to get to know God for who He is. The change in Job was dramatic. He had no problems left after he had encountered the Lord. He confessed, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You” (Job 42:5).
What a difference it makes when you have a vision of the Lord! Nothing else will answer your problems. Nothing else will resolve all your doubts. And nothing else will give you real, complete, settled peace but knowing the Lord.
Therefore, here is my suggestion to you: stop worrying about your problems and begin to seek the Lord. When you begin to encounter Him, you will wonder what happened to your problems. Why? Because they will not matter any longer.
RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A PERSON
As a professional philosopher, I was very interested in truth. I speculated a great deal about it. But the Bible says truth is a person, not an abstract principle. Righteousness is a person, not an abstract concept of being.
As Western thinkers, we have been influenced by Greek philosophy. We tend to think in terms of abstractions, principles, and laws. However, the highest form of truth and reality is not an abstraction. It is a person, Jesus Christ. We must change our way of thinking. It has taken me years to get out of my philosophizing, and I am not totally out of it. But I am a lot further out than when I began.