Job 38 Commentary
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KEY THOUGHT: “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge? [Job 38:2 NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Job 38 NKJV
The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 Now [a]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the [b]line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened?
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 forth and issued from the womb;
9 When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
10 When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
11 When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’
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 ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the [c]upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
17 Have the gates of death been [d]revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
21 Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?
22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is light [e]diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
25 “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
27 To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
28 Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
30 The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.[f]
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,[g]
Or loose the belt of Orion?
32 Can you bring out [h]Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide [i]the Great Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
36 Who has put wisdom in [j]the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling 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 lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
41 Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?
Footnotes
a. Job 38:3 Lit. gird up your loins like
b. Job 38:5 measuring line
c. Job 38:15 Lit. high
d. Job 38:17 Lit. opened
e. Job 38:24 Lit. divided
f. Job 38:30 Lit. imprisoned
g. Job 38:31 Or the Seven Stars
h. Job 38:32 Lit. Constellations
i. Job 38:32 Or Arcturus
j. Job 38:36 Lit. the inward parts
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Job 38 Commentary
It’s not unusual to see the LORD speak out of a storm. At Mount Sinai, the LORD spoke from under similar conditions. A cloudy surrounding is a constant display of mystery and unreachability. It also speaks of the otherness of God. We don’t belong in the same living space.
“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Verse 2. There is a plan in place for Job’s suffering. It’s not needless. The LORD is doing something more important. How dare Job diminish the plans of the LORD this way by uttering words out of context and without knowledge?
Then the LORD takes Job on a trip back to creation. This is our starting point. I’m doing something fundamental to existence itself. I’m recreating life! There is importance beyond what you can know and see. The LORD seems to draw Job’s attention to the happenings in the “beginning”. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand.
Probably to dispel the fear that life goes on without a formula or control, the LORD makes reference to the fact of His ultimate control over elements of creation. “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt.” Verse 11. Unlike the views expressed previously, the LORD is firmly in control of events and the times.
The LORD points to the various life-sustaining processes for various creatures. Nothing is by accident. The LORD is over the entire existence spectrum. Humans are simply part of it.
Interestingly, the LORD hasn’t answered any of the questions presented by Job. Probably because when the LORD appears, the problems disappear.
You start wondering why you even called in the first place. You simply sit down awestruck and bemused.
But we can look back at Elihu’s speeches and see the connection. The speeches appear strange and out of place. Yet Elihu’s main point prepares the way for the LORD. We cannot decode everything, Elihu seems to say. And the LORD underlines it!
The LORD is not yet done; so we have tomorrow for yet another speech from the LORD in chapter 39.
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