Job 38-42
The Righteous
Reap Rewards

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Psalm 70:1-5 The SOS Psalm

Come Quickly to Help Me, O Lord
1 To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.

 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
 O LORD, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
 who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
 who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
 who say, “Aha, Aha!”


4 May all who seek you
 rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
 say evermore, “God is great!”

5 But I am poor and needy;
 hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
 O LORD, do not delay!

Application

God answers the prayers of those who seek and love His salvation, so He can be exalted.

Prayer

God, I know Your timing is perfect, and I think it would be a perfect time to help me out of this difficulty; but You're God, and I'm not, so I trust that You will help me when it's best. May You be exalted in this trial. Amen.

Proverbs 18:10-13 Prosperity Doesn't Protect

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
 the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
 and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
 but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
 it is his folly and shame.

Application

Trusting in the almighty and infinite power of God is a far better bet than trusting in the declining dollar, or euro, or yen, or bitcoin, or...

Prayer

God, in You I trust; don't let me experience the dishonor of the proud, but please protect and prosper me. Thanks. Amen.

Job 38-42 The Righteous Reap Rewards

Although Job deals with the question of “why the righteous suffer,” the majority of the book is not about that.

  1. The overriding purpose of the book is to help us understand our place in the cosmos, and God's purposes in our lives, thus serving as a great introduction to the Law. (Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible, pre-Moses since the Law isn't mentioned.)
  2. The secondary purpose, occupying the majority of the material in the book (and the Bible) addresses “why the unrighteous suffer” (since there's a much bigger market for it); the unrighteous suffer because they're reaping the consequences of their sin, which God promised. Job's counselors provide lots of truth about God's just retribution; it's just not directly applicable to Job's situation. But their counsel is indirectly applicable: if God is just, and Job is blameless, then what looks like cursing has to be turned to blessing (in this life or the next), otherwise, God would be unjust. Retribution is paying back reward or punishment.
  3. The third theme, is more about “the correct response to righteous suffering”: suffering is not always a result of sin, but designed to purify and reward, and glorify us (and God on that last one). Suffering is a vaccine against short-sightedness of the soul, and teaches us to not get too comfortable on earth, but look beyond the pain to the eternal gain (which is a major means of glorifying God). When God gives glory to His faithful saints, it displays more of His glory. The more He glorifies, the more He is glorified.
  4. A fourth theme to keep in mind is that Satan (transliteration of the Hebrew for “adversary”) is our adversary (1Pt 5:8), seeking to undermine God's rule in our lives, and prevent us from gaining the glory he grasped at and lost (hence his tempting of Eve and ensnaring of believers). He blinds people to the light of the good news of/about the glory (2Cor 4:4-5 NKJV). More on this in the future.
Job wanted to know why, but God wanted him to trust in His revealed character and promises. The problem is that Job was using a sundial, and God was using a calender. Being able to trust in the character of God, when circumstances are doubtful, requires faith in what God revealed about Himself. (It's not faith if you can see it.) That faith displays aspects of His character, i.e., His trustworthiness and goodness, thus glorifying Him. God is inherently glorious, all He has to do to display His glory is to show up, or be seen. (See How to Glorify God on Truthbase.net, and the last chapters of Job.) 


Satan's lie is that God bribes people to obey Him, but the truth is that God justly rewards the loyalty of His blameless and upright servants, who fear Him and eschew evil. He also disciplines those who disobey. Contrast a paycheck with a bribe. A paycheck is not a bribe to get people to work, it is a just earned consequence of doing one's job, according to agreed upon terms (covenant). A bribe is an illicit inducement designed to get someone to do something unjust and which they otherwise would not do (against their will). Loyalty to God is a response of the will to what He has revealed, both regarding His person, and what He wants us to do. A believer with a transformed, Biblical value system, like Job, doesn't need a bribe to obey, but is motivated by what God has revealed and promised. Remember Nehemiah's motivation?

Job 38 Where Were You?

God Challenges Job
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Dress for action like a man;
 I will question you, and you make it known to me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
 Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
 Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
 or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
 and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
 when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
 and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
 and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
 and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
 and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
 and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
 and its features stand out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
 and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
 or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
 or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
 Declare, if you know all this.

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
 and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
 and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
 and the number of your days is great!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
 or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
 for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
 or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
 and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
 on the desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
 and to make the ground sprout with grass?

28 “Has the rain a father,
 or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
 and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
 and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
 or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
 or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
 Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
 that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
 and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
 or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
 Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
 and the clods stick fast together?

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
 or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
 or lie in wait in their thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
 when its young ones cry to God for help,
 and wander about for lack of food?

Application

Asking God why is OK, demanding an answer is going out of our league. He is God, we're not.

Prayer

Wondrous God of creation, I trust that You know what You're doing with my life, and that You will tell me everything I need to know to do Your will. Amen.

Job 40 Oops, No More Questions

Job Humbles Himself Before God
1 And the LORD said to Job:

2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
 He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

4 “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
 I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
 twice, but I will proceed no further.”

6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7 “Dress for action like a man;
 I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
 Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
9 Have you an arm like God,
 and can you thunder with a voice like his?

10 “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
 clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
 and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
 and tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
 bind their faces in the world below.
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
 that your own right hand can save you.

15 “Behold, Behemoth,
 which I made as I made you;
 he eats grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
 and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
 the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
 his limbs like bars of iron.

19 “He is the first of the works of God;
 let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
 where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
 in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
 the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
 he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes,
 or pierce his nose with a snare?

Application

The first response to suffering is to see if there is anything we've done to cause it, and then to repent, as illustrated in some of the Psalms. The correct response to undeserved suffering is to call out to God to save us, as many of the Psalms also instruct.

Prayer

God, I don't need to know the “why” of the events of my life, just “what” You want me to do. If there's nothing specific, then I will work on following Your revealed will, and trust You to send me a memo if I need to know or do something different. Amen.

Job 41 Looking for Leviathan

God's Power Shown in Creatures

1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
 or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope in his nose
 or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you?
 Will he speak to you soft words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
 to take him for your servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
 or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over him?
 Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons
 or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hands on him;
 remember the battle—you will not do it again!
9 Behold, the hope of a man is false;
 he is laid low even at the sight of him.
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
 Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
 Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
 or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
 Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
 Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of rows of shields,
 shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
 that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
 they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
 and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
 sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
 as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
 and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
 and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh stick together,
 firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
 hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
 at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
 nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
 and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
 for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
 he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
 he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
 he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
 one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth there is not his like,
 a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
 he is king over all the sons of pride.”

Job 42 The Righteous Reap Reward

Job Submits Himself to God
1 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

2 “I know that you can do all things,
 and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
 things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
 I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
 but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
 and repent in dust and ashes.”

The Lord Rebukes Job's Friends
7 After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.
God Blesses Job
10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
12 And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

Application

Instead of asking “why?” when we encounter suffering that isn't due to our sin/stupidity, we should ask “Who do I trust?” and then trust Him.

Prayer

Almighty Creator and Sustainer, infinitely good and just God, I know that You test Your servants and find pleasure in uprightness. May I have grace to pass the tests, for Your glory. Thanks. Amen.

Digging Deeper

Most of the Biblical theology is in the introduction to the above chapters.

God in a nutshell: God is the sovereign Creator, who sustains His universe purposefully and for His glory. He uses His faithful servants to teach Satan that he should have obeyed, and richly rewards their service. In the process, He glorifies Himself, displaying His power and character.

Us in a nutshell: We are created to bring glory to God, which we do by obediently trusting Him, even in the most trying of circumstances. We can live a life that is pleasing to God, being blameless and upright, fearing Him and eschewing evil. We know that God is in control, infinitely just, and recompenses human behavior, gives us confidence to have faith in Him, when we can't see His reasons, purposes, or plans. We also know that Satan will seek to destroy God's servants, which should cause us to be daily dependent upon God.

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