Job Summary

Job’s Complaint and God’s Answer in the Whirlwind

Let's just read chapter 38 again, and remember now, this is, in a sense, it's like the finality of the book, and yet there are still a lot of things that are uncovered in these last four chapters, particularly how God deals with Job, and ultimately, as we'll see in the final chapter, how he deals with Job's friends, and I don't know if you've given it any thought.

Does God answer Job's question? Anybody change? Last week, I know I messed with your yes, no kind of thing, but does anybody have a different thought than they had last week? Does God justify, does God vindicate Job and remember Job's question, what was his real.

Question?

Why'd you do this?

Okay.

I'm glad you all have a change of opinion, but really, if you say that he answered Job's question, it's an interesting way that he answered it, and if you say he didn't answer Job's question, it's an interesting way that he didn't answer Job's question, because ultimately, I don't think, unless you came to chapter 42 without a lot of thought, I don't think you would understand the premise, or the, if you will, the final understanding given both to Job and his friends, because, as we'll see, he, in a sense, tells Job's friends, they better go to Job and ask Job to pray for them.

Anyway, chapter 38. Then the Lord answered, Job out of the world went and said, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man, and I will question you, and you will answer me.

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Who stretched out the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened, or who laid its cornerstone?

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb, when I made the cloud its garments, and thick darkness its swaddling band?

When I fixed my limit for it, and set bars and doors, when I said, Thus far you may come, but no farther. And here you proud waves must stop. Have you commanded the morning, since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out.

Of it?

It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?

Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breath of the earth? Tell me if you know this. Where is the way of the dwelling of light and darkness?

Where is the place that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home? Do you know it because you were born in, or because the number of your days is great? Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have seen the treasury of hell, which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

By what way is light diffused? Or the east winds scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man, to satisfy the desolate waste, and cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

Has the rain a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice and the frost of heaven? Who gives it birth? The water is hardened like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen.

Can you bind the cluster of Pallades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazaroth in its season, or can you guide the great bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

Could you? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you? Can you send out lightnings that they may go, and say to you, Here we are? Who has put wisdom in the mind?

Who has given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Who can pour out the bottles of heaven when the dust hardens its clumps, and the clods cling together? Can you hunt to pray for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lion?

When they crouch in their dens, or lurk in their lairs to lie and wait, who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, and wonder about the lack of food? So here's something interesting, and I noticed it just the other day as I was looking at something.

I want you to look at the first verse, Then the Lord answered Job out of the world, when and said, Now, keep that in mind, and flip over to chapter 40, and that's what I'm going to do, at least for now, is kind of work through this whole thing.

So God, it says, The Lord answered Job out of the world, when and said, Now look at chapter 40, and how it begins. Moreover, the Lord answered Job, and said, Shall one who contends with the Almighty correct him?

It's different, isn't it? In chapter 38, it says, The Lord answered Job out of the world, when. In chapter 40, it says, The Lord answered Job. And then, if you look at verse 3, then Job answers the Lord, and he says, I'm vile, and how shall I answer you?

And then look at verse 6, Then the Lord answered Job out of the world, when. So there's a little bit of a difference there. Twice he says he answered him out of the world, when, and once he just says that he answered Job.

So I wanted to think about this a little bit. When you think of that thought of the Lord answered Job out of the world, when, what do you think about it? I mean, well, was this, was it an audible voice?

Do you think this was a real voice? Did God literally speak out of a whirlwind? Do you think of any other places where it talks about a whirlwind? Let me give you something to think about. In the Old Testament, whenever there was a whirlwind, and whenever there was things that, even in the natural realm, that appeared, many times it was when God came in His presence.

As you think about when they built the tabernacle, don't you remember the Shekinah glory came down and it was a cloud? When you think about the temple, again, the Shekinah glory came down. When you think about when God revealed Himself to Moses, remember Moses said, can I see your face?

And God says, you can't see my face, you can only see the back of me. And he hid him where? In the cave. And the glory of the Lord passed by and there was, again, this reality, if you will, of the presence of God.

You can think about when Elijah asked God to reveal Himself and it says that God didn't come in the whirlwind, He didn't speak, but He spoke in a still, small voice. But here, in chapter 38, I think what we have is the presence of God.

And I'm going to say, I think this was in some way audible. And the reason why I say that, because if you look in chapter 42, and again, I'm trying to jump around, I know I'm jumping around. So, in verse 7 of chapter 42, And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me.

What is right is My servant Job. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. So, here's another thought. Was this voice heard by Job only?

Or was it heard by his friends? Was this something that God spoke eternally to Job? Or was this, in that way, a manifestation of God? And I'm going to suggest to you that this was truly a manifestation of God, in that He, having, if you will, in my way of thinking, God has held His patients for a long time.

Because of the friends, and then Elihu came in, and Job had made his complaint. And I do think that when we read that, that this must have been a very astounding appearance, if you will, in some shape, way, or form.

I'm not going to try to say that they saw anything other than maybe the presence of the cloud, and maybe something in that way. But I don't think it was... It wasn't like in other places where we had a theophany, or an appearance of God, right?

As we see in the Old Testament, because we can spend time on that, right? How many times people saw Christ in His pre-incarnate form, whether it was Abraham, or Manoah, or his wife, or Gideon, or all those.

But I do think there was something absolutely astounding that took place here. And I thought about this. Do you remember at the cross, where it talks about how it turned dark for a number of hours, and there was earthquakes?

And really, in that sense, again, the presence of God. Not only that, but just these opening words. Could you imagine... I could just see Job sinking as these words are coming out. That he's beginning to realize, and I say it this way, Ruh-roh, what have I done?

I've opened my big mouth, and now God has called me, in that sense, into question of the very things that I question God about. And wouldn't you say that sometimes in our own life, we do that, ruh-roh?

Why did I do what I did? And you begin to shrink back a little bit. So that's the setting, and I do believe his friends, and perhaps even others who were there, they see this manifestation of the Lord in one way, shape, or form.

And then God begins, and he talks about the different things. It's kind of interesting to me. And I'll just kind of pick this out for you. How God... There's almost a little bit of... I want to say...

No, that's not the right word. I was going to say sarcasm. But just pick up with me, and just see. Maybe you can come up with a better word. But look at verse 5. When God says, Tell me if you have understanding.

Who determined its misery? Surely you know. And then, if you would, look at verse 18. And he says, Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breath of the earth?

Tell me if you know all this. And you can almost... Verse 21, he does it again, too. Do you know it? When he's talking about the way in which light moves. And do you know it because you were born then?

To me, again, it's almost as if... I can almost see Job getting smaller and smaller as you hear these words as God speaks to him. And he continues to do it. As you read through this chapter, it's almost as if God is now challenging Job.

Because, in a sense, Job has challenged God.

Have any of us ever challenged God?

Have any of us questioned God's authority? Have any of us questioned God's providence in our life? Why was I this? Or why was that? Why did this happen? Why did that happen? And I don't necessarily think we would maybe not say it out loud, but how many of us in our hearts have not questioned God's providence in our life?

Why did this have to happen this way? Why did it have to happen that way?

I think sometimes that we not necessarily question Him, right? But we don't... For example, we do things our own way. And we say, well, then we come to God after the fact.

Yeah.

And really, that's us usurping our place, right? And then I think what we do with that is we almost want to say, God, I did this and it's okay, so you should just help me through it, right? Instead of asking the Lord to lead us, sometimes we want to lead the Lord.

And I think at times we even try to coach God in his outworking in life. But if you think about it, not a good practice. And that's why he says... God doesn't necessarily speak directly to Job or his friends at this point in responding to the challenge, but that's why he says, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

And he challenges Job. And actually, there's a little... I think it's a little bit...

Yeah.

In verse 21, he challenges Job, and do you know it because you were born then? In other words, okay, Job, you shut your mouth off. Now, can you begin to understand, Job, who I am and who you are? Because I do think that's part of his response to Job is that Job is nothing more than a man.

And God is God, and there is, again, no one like God. And I hope that at least we are beginning to understand that more and more in our lives, that God answers to none. God answers to no one, and when God laid the foundations of the earth, there was no one there.

Matter of fact, if you think about it, if you read the opening chapters of Genesis, it's amazing how much is compressed into the first three chapters.

Just think about it.

You have the creation, you have the fall, and you have the promise of redemption in three chapters. And it's not given to us in an absolute expansive way, but we have enough for us to understand that there was a time when there was nothing.

So what happens when you think about that? What is nothing? And it's not the thing, what was the movie.

The kids used to watch, baby?

Nothing is coming. Help me out, please, baby.

No, never.

With Falkor. The never-ending story, and the world was being consumed to nothingness by the evil whatever it was. And finally, I'll tell you, the memory of man is amazing. And he actually finds the princess, and they stop the nothingness from coming.

They stop the nothingness from coming. But think about it. What was before there was something? I mean, how far can you take that thought? Because we always think in what? In terms of two things. Everything is measured in either time or space.

And yet, God is outside of time, and God is outside of space. And that's why I think he's working with Job and, in that way, causing Job to sink further and further in his understanding of himself because God talks about this.

And in verse 6, To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Now, I don't want to deal too far with this, but I do think there is understanding here of the morning stars and the sons of God.

I do think that perhaps that's angels. And that the angels and the principalities and powers and things that are beyond our realm, that they were created before man at some point. I don't want to go too far into that because it would be difficult to lay it out in totality.

But I do think what he's doing, what God is doing, is he is just, again, declaring who he is. And by declaring who he is, he's declaring what man is. If you think about it, at some point, at some point Job is going to come to this understanding.

And that's what he says in chapter 40, right? Job answered the Lord and said,.

Behold, I'm vile.

What shall I answer you? I mean, he's just blown away by all of this stuff. And yet God is not done with him. Here's just a thought, just a thing. Can you imagine what it's going to be like in that last day?

That our conception of God is so minimal, and God is so vast, that there's, to me, there's going to be, oh, you read it in Revelation, men are going to hide, if they could, under the rocks, at the very presence of God.

Can you imagine how great and how glorious this God is who has established this all, who has laid the foundations of the earth, who has created so many diverse and amazing things, and man comes in, and how often it is that men just speak as if they are God.

And we'll do this, and we'll do that, and I thought it's interesting how, even in, like, verses 31, those next couple of verses, he talks about the stars in heaven, and the little dipper, and the bear, and the cubs, and Pallades, and all that, and Mazaroth, and...

That big dip has been there for an awful long time, right? And the cubs, I know there's the bears that are out, you know, there's people that look at that stuff.

And think about it.

But nevertheless, and through all this, my friends, God is reproving Job and causing Job to really be challenged. And as he does this, surely, he keeps saying to Job, surely you have some knowledge. And then in verse 8 -11, again, God declares how he is free.

And he talks about, even in the sense of the bars of the ocean, and the proud waves can come so far, and they can't go no further, and that applies to men also, right? So many people think that they can do...

You hear it all the time, you can do anything you want, if you apply yourself. Well, guess what? I don't think that's true. Now, I'm not saying effort doesn't equal results,.

Because it does.

And we should apply ourselves. But listen, friends, you're only going to go as far as God allows you to go. I'm only going to go as far as God allows me to go. And when God says, no further, it's no further.

There's no second negotiation that takes place. And it just continually goes on and on through these verses. In verse 12, You commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it.

And that's another thought for us to think about. How God uses everything and everyone to accomplish his purpose. So when you think about that, you think about kings and nations and good things, or what we would call bad things.

All these things, and if you will, all these things were purposed before there was even this. Time and space. Again, does this not begin to make your mind explode? It does for me. Here's a crazy thought.

How do I hold my breath so long?

That's a good Bronx answer, isn't it?

Yeah, right? Well, here's what I was thinking. I was thinking, how is it that you put a nail in a wall, and you hang a picture on it, and the picture stays there? Now you might say, what? It was the reality of how God has set principles in place.

And that, why does that nail stay in the wall? You already live with me, baby. That's all right.

But why does the nail stay in the wall? Because God has set a principle.

That if you put something in another something,.

It stays in place.

And to me, I'm like, wow, that's... And yet, do we not take it for granted? We use it. We enjoy it. We make service out of it. And yet, if you think about it, there is no other reason. And the scientists come up, and people can come up with all these different answers.

The only reason why that nail stays in the wall is because God said that the nail should stay in the wall. These are deep, deep thoughts, brothers and sisters. There's still a reality of it, though, right?

Why does the wheel make things smooth? Because God declared that it would make things smooth. All these things. Moving on. Verse 16. Have you entered the springs of the sea? Have you walked in search of the deep?

And that's another thing. You know, they do say that there's more mystery in the oceans than there is in space. And if you think about that, and as you read a little bit further on, as we read last week, when God starts talking about some of the things that he created that perhaps are no longer seen by us, and the whole area of dinosaurs and dragons, and I'm not going to go into Godzilla.

We'll leave Godzilla out of it this morning. But just think about that. All these different things that God created. The behemoth, Leviathan, all the way. And God just keeps, if you will, declaring truth.

Then verse 19. Where's the way of the dwelling of light and darkness? Where is his place? And again, why is that principle in place? Why is there 24 hours in a day? Why is half the day light and half the day darkness?

Or thereabouts, depending where you are. But again, all these things. I can't imagine Job's friends also as God is saying these things to Job. And his friends have made such a wrong summary statement of Job and Job's life.

And it just goes on and on. And then we'll start chapter 39. And like I said, I don't think we'll need all five weeks to do this. But verse 22. Have you entered the treasury of snow or seen the treasury of hell, which I reserve for the time of trouble?

I was thinking about that yesterday.

I went to the beach yesterday.

I'm at the beach with, really, just a pair of shorts and a shirt. And there's people still burying snow. And I'm like, why is that like that? Well, it's because of where they live. Well, why is it that way?

Why is it that the jet stream moves the way the jet stream moves? Why is it that the south wind is always a warm wind? Why is it that the north wind is always a cold wind? Why are these things in place?

Because surely God has not only created it, but makes use of it. That's why he says in verse 23, I reserved it for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war. And then he goes on by this. By what way is light diffused?

Will the east wind scatter it over the earth?

It goes on and on.

Verse 25. Who divided a channel for the overflowing water and a path for the thunderbolt? And I thought about this. And I thought about what is one of the thoughts that people have about how these things got cut through the mountains, these gorges and openings and crevices in the earth, and how people say, well, you know, during the Ice Age, this happened and that happened.

Listen, I'm going to submit to you. And to me, it's very comforting and simple. It's because God divided the channel. Now, whether God did that as a result of the flood, I do think there were some implications of the flood, just like, were there dinosaurs?

I mean, we got bones. But to me, I don't know if they look like what we say they look like, but perhaps after the flood, as the waters decreased, God saw fit to remove certain creatures and God saw fit to leave other creatures in place.

And certainly, one of the reasons could have been the reality that the animals were no longer, they were no longer companions of one another, nor were they companions of man.

Right?

And so, you can think of it that way and think about the path to the thunderbolt. And again, I just like to read like verse 26,. And again, there is nothing, friends, outside of the decree of God. And I don't understand how people can divide.

In other words, many people will say that. Many people will say that God is sovereign over things.

Right?

He's sovereign over the creation, He's sovereign over the oceans, He's sovereign over the principles of life and hell. But God is not sovereign over the affairs of men. And that's what many people will say, right?

They'll say, well, God is in control, but God doesn't have control of what a man in his heart, basically, God has to wait for a man to respond in his heart. You see, those two are disconnected, aren't they?

At least to me, they're disconnected.

How can He be so infinite, so wise, so powerful, so sovereign, so free, so... declare so much, and yet God is subject to the whims of man? God is subject to the decisions of men? Seems kind of hard. Then again, as I said, the verses that talk about the heavens and the earth and the things that are out there, and in verse 34, it says, Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of water may cover you?

Can you send out lightnings that they may go and say to you, here we are? And again, just like people say, lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Is that true? I'm going to get somebody to say something.

Does lightning strike twice in the same place? Is it possible for lightning to strike twice in the same place?

Yes.

Thank you.

Why?

If God decreed it to strike twice in the same place, it would strike twice in the same... It can strike three times. It can strike a hundred times. We look at things as chance, luck, circumstance, roll of the dice, pull of the straw, all that stuff.

Listen, there is not a single thing that hasn't been decreed. You know once in a while you read in the paper that somebody hit the lottery twice? And usually we say, man, I wish I was him. But that's not an accident.

That's a decree. And so when you read these things, if nothing else, it ought to make us just bow before Him. And He talks about it. He says, well, can you hunt to pray for the lion or satisfy the appetite of the young lions when they crouch in their dens or lurk in their lairs and lie in wait?

And who provides food for the raven? Do you remember the story of Elijah when Elijah was being chased and God told him to go to a deserted place?

Do you remember what it says?

It says that God fed him with the ravens. The ravens brought the prophet meat every morning.

And every night.

And yet this says God provides the meat for the ravens, just like God provides meat for the vultures. It's called roadkill, right? And yet we look at it and we don't always appreciate that very reality that even in that, even in things that we find gross, even in the things that we might find disgusting, God has His purpose, as people would say, that the vulture is God's garbage man.

And where would we be without vultures and buzzards and all those things? I don't know about you, huh? I'm glad they eat the roadkill.

Because I'm sure not going to eat it.

Although roadkill, you can buy roadkill in a restaurant too, right? And I think it's like hamburger meat. I know I'm way out there this morning.

All right.

What'd she say?

She wanted to know if you slept good last night.

I slept great. Thank you, sister. Look, chapter 39, we'll fly right through this. Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bears young? Do you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill?

Do you know the time when they bear young? And again, man in all his knowledge and all his advancement, technology, and science, and medicine, and all these cool things, technology, and yet for all of that, no one knows these things but God because God is ever-present and God is present everywhere.

How many of us got up this morning and wondered how many baby goats or deers were born in the wilderness? God did. God determined it. And God provided for it. And they bring forth their young and they deliver their offspring, and their young ones are healthy and they grow strong.

And he goes on, and again, uses the creation, and we talked about that with the different animals, and I'm not going to go over every single part of this, but if you read through this again, you will find, and certainly even that thought about the horse and how the horse isn't afraid, and of course the whole thing with the ostrich and the ostrich is clumsy, and the only reason why it does that is because God deprived it of wisdom.

I will just, look at verse 26 in chapter 39, because to me this one is pretty vivid. Does the hawk fly by your wisdom and spread its wings towards the south? And again, I go to the beach fairly often, and it's amazing to me to see those hawks.

They are up so high, and they can see from a height that you and I couldn't even imagine. And then, of course, I think there's one, there's one predatory bird, and I think he descends, if I remember, it was like 120 miles an hour.

Once he spots his prey, he comes down at 120 miles an hour to capture what he saw from the heights. And this is all by God's decree. Again, does he fly by your wisdom, Job?

Nope.

Does the eagle mount up at your command?

Nope.

From there it spies out its prey, and again, just so you can just enjoy the presence of God in so many different ways, if you ever get to the point where you're starting to sink or feel depressed or feel down, read chapter 38 through chapter 42 in the book, because it'll lift you up.

Because what it'll do is it'll take your mind off of our own, really in that sense, and though our situations are big to us, our own little bitty world, and it'll cause us to take a view of God from, if you will, up above.

And that has its way of settling us. Okay, I'm going to just read a couple verses of verse 40. Like I said, I do think I will say within, not next week, or maybe next week, we'll finish the book, and then we'll go into Mike's class with Daniel, because again, I just want to sum it up.

But anyway, so after all of that, moreover the Lord in chapter 40 answered Job and said, Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. And then Job's words, I'm filed.

What shall I answer you? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, and that's now, Job spoke a whole lot, didn't he? He complained that God was hunting him. He complained that things were not fair.

He complained that his friends didn't understand him. He complained that his body was being destroyed. Job had an awful lot to say. And again, I'm not in that way throwing rocks at him, because it doesn't take much for me to complain inside.

I don't know about you, maybe, you never complain, you never murmur. But I got a feeling that's not true. So he says that, and he says, What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I won't answer.

Yes, twice, but I will receive no further. I was wondering if Job thought that this was the end. That Job said, OK, God, I'm wrong, you're right, where do we go next? It's so interesting in verse 6, and we'll end it with that, I think, that Job might have thought it was over, and the Lord answered Job out of the world, and said, Now prepare yourself like a man.

God wasn't done with Job. There was more, there was more that God wanted to reveal to Job about God and about himself. And I do think if we can just make that application in our minds,.

It will be helpful.