God Interrogates Job
Job 38-41
April 10, 2016
I remember a few years ago I had a man who claimed to be an evangelist who commenced to tell me about a vision he had while driving down the road when God showed him the Shekinah Glory
In his words, it was “amazing”
Maybe you’ve heard testimonies like that as well.
FORGIVE ME IF I’M A BIT SKEPTICAL
Let me give you some instances when people did in fact personally encounter the glory of the living God.
Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Exodus 20:18-19 “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
Judges 13:17-22 “Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?” But the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.”
Luke 5:4-8 “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Matthew 17:4-7 “Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
Acts 9:3-4 “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
Obviously a little more than “amazing”
Downright terrifying would be more like it.
My point is that there is an awesome majesty to God
That is absolutely terrifying.
Even last week as we listened to the final leg of Elihu’s sermon;
He realized that God was coming in the storm and he said:
Job 37:1 “At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place.”
When God truly does show up, it is an absolutely terrifying event.
And that is what Job is about to experience.
You may remember that Job actually demanded that God show up and give an account of all that He had been doing.
Job 23:1-7 “Then Job replied, “Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! “I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me. “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. “There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.”
Job had this idea that there are a lot of things he’d like to say to God
If God would just appear for questioning.
Job wanted God to give an account.
The ironic thing here is that this whole book started with
Satan having to come and give an account to God.
Now Job is demanding the same sort of thing of Him.
It is safe to say that Job has clearly bitten off more than he can chew.
God is about to speak.
And quite frankly I am glad we only read about it, because to have been a first hand witness would have been terrifying.
Yet, in reading this portion of Scripture there is great value
Because it forces us to rekindle a view of God
That our society is quickly forgetting.
Namely that God is holy, and God is majestic, and God is terrifying,
And God is awesome, and God is sovereign, and God is transcendent.
Now, granted we could stop and camp out on the individual verses here and spend some time detailing some of the basic facts that God presents to Job,
But I think that misses the point of the conversation.
The point here is not to have you dissect every little statement .
The point is Job (and ultimately us) to see who is God and who is not.
And for that reason we will work through this rather quickly,
But I think you’ll see the point,
And hopefully be moved to worship God in absolute awe.
The sermon of God here goes from Job 38-Job 41
And there are two main points.
#1 THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW
Job 38-39
You will notice that repeatedly throughout these two chapters
God will basically appeal to Job’s intellect for an explanation.
Consistently we see questions like
“Who?” or “What?” or “Why?” or “How?”
They are questions that God can easily answer.
He wants to know if Job can answer them.
(1-3) “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”
God is interrogating Job, and the main thing God is seeking to discover is: WHAT DOES JOB KNOW?
(3) “you instruct Me!”
(4) “if you have understanding”
(5) “Since you know”
(18) “Tell Me, if you know all this.”
(21) “You know, for you were born then”
(33) “Do you know..?”
(39:1) “Do you know..?”
(39:2) “do you know..?”
(39:26) “Is it by your understanding..?”
See, Job questioned God’s decisions repeatedly,
So God wants to know who this is that has the audacity
To question the decisions that He has made.
And what follows are 14 situations
That God wants to know if Job knows anything about.
1) HOW WAS THE EARTH FORMED? (38:4-7)
Have you ever pondered creation?
Many people have.
I’ve heard people give all sorts of hypothesis as to how this earth came into being.
• Certainly we have science and non-believers who talk about big band and evolution and all of that stuff, but they are theories at best.
• Even the theological community has all sorts of theories about how God did it, and when God did it, etc.
And yet, if you read Genesis 1 the Bible only says that God did it.
He did it by telling it to happen, and that is all the explanation we get.
The point is: NO ONE KNOWS HOW THE EARTH WAS FORMED
• No one knows when God laid the foundation or what He laid it on.
• No one knows when God measured it
• No one knows how it was designed
Only God.
So God asks Job, “How was the earth formed?”
And Job’s answer must be, “I don’t know”
2) HOW IS THE SEA CONTAINED? (38:8-11)
That was a question for the ancient near east.
• The sea was a picture of unbridled power.
• Some even saw it as evil.
• It was definitely mysterious.
God wants to know how it is so wonderfully contained.
• People purchase beach front property with full confidence that the sea will never rise beyond its borders and make their property useless.
• We’ve all heard these theories about floating continents and land breaking apart and all that nonsense, yet as long as anyone has documented, the continents have existed in their present form.
How is the sea contained?
And again Job must answer, “I don’t know”
3) HOW DOES THE SUN RISE? (38:12-15)
A truly remarkable phenomenon is that
The sun continues to rise in the east every morning.
Of course we now know it is not the sun moving,
But instead the earth is revolving,
But that still doesn’t answer the question.
What keeps the earth spinning?
Go home and spin a top and see if it will just keep spinning forever.
And yet, this earth still spins at such a precise rate
That you can literally set your clock by it.
How is that?
And yet Job must answer, “I don’t know”
4) WHAT IS THE UNDERWORLD LIKE? (38:16-18)
Even to this day scientists will tell us that there are places in the ocean
That we have no clue how deep they are.
Who has ever seen the gates of death or hell?
• Can you take a tour?
• Have you ever seen a picture?
And once again Job must answer, “I don’t know”
5) WHERE DOES WEATHER BEGIN? (38:19-24)
• You know weather always seems to just arrive.
• Oh, sure we know when it starts raining here, but where does it start?
• Where is the beginning of the wind?
• Where is that place you can stand where it is blowing to your left, and not to your right?
Where does light dwell?
(Don’t say the sun, that is only one of the lights)
And once again Job must answer, “I don’t know”
6) HOW IS THE WEATHER CONTROLLED? (38:25-30)
Sometimes you get rain, sometimes you get lightning
Sometimes you get ice.
Who controls all that?
We might can predict it, but we can’t control it.
“Has the rain a father?” that tells it what it to do?
And again Job must answer, “I don’t know”
7) HOW DID THE STARS ARRIVE? (38:31-33)
You see all the constellations, and all their form.
You can even navigate a ship by them.
• Who put them there?
• Who arranged them?
• Why do they stay put?
And with Job we all answer, “I don’t know”
8) HOW MUCH RAIN IS ENOUGH? (38:34-38)
Rain is a tricky thing.
One wants more, one wants less.
• How much do you pour out on the earth?
• And how often do you do it?
• Where do you pour it so that it perfectly keeps this earth in balance?
Talk about the master recipe.
How much rain, how often, how fast, where at
Boy you mess that up and this world is really in chaos.
How much rain is enough?
“I don’t know”
9) HOW MUCH DO WILD ANIMALS EAT? (38:39-41)
We have domesticated animals that we are responsible for feeding and we tend to figure it out, but what about wild animals?
And not just a few, all of them.
The eco systems depends on their survival,
How much is required to feed them?
“I don’t know”
10) HOW IS WILDLIFE SUSTAINED? (39:1-4)
Ever been in charge of livestock and worried about their giving birth?
• Well what about all those animals that no one watches over?
• Who cares for them and secures their survival?
Yet, without any care at all “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return to them.”
How is wildlife sustained?
“I don’t know”
11) WHO CARES FOR THE WILD ANIMALS? (39:5-12)
I mean these are animals that won’t have anything to do with humans.
You can’t feed them or work them.
You have to feed and doctor your donkeys and oxen, but what about the wild ones, who cares for them?
How do they survive without help?
“I don’t know”
12) WHY DO ANIMALS BEHAVE LIKE THEY DO? (39:13-18)
• An ostrich abandons her young
• She is stupid, but she is fast
• Others care for their young persistently
Why does an ostrich abandon her babies but a bear fiercely defends hers?
“I don’t know”
13) WHY IS A HORSE BRAVE? (39:19-25)
Look at those horses running into battle.
You can spook off almost any other animal,
But the horse is fearless, why?
“I don’t know”
14) HOW DO BIRDS FLY? (39:26-30)
Solomon actually wondered at this:
Proverbs 30:18-20 “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid. This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”
It just doesn’t make sense how they stay up there.
How do birds fly?
“I don’t know”
(40:1-2) “Then the LORD said to Job, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.”
That is God’s way of saying, WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER JOB?
Job’s response:
(40:3-5) “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
Job says, I have no answer.
Are you getting the point?
WE ARE NOT EQUALS
You can’t even get close to knowing what I know.
As John MacArthur put it.
“There is a great gap between what I can know and what God does know.”
And since that is true, we have absolutely no business
Questioning anything God does.
• You may question a coach who has more experience than you…
• You may question a president who has more intel than you…
• You may question a boss who has more understanding than you…
All of those are foolish enough,
But to question the God of the universe is downright foolish.
There are things you don’t know.
#2 THINGS YOU CAN’T DO
Job 40:6-41:34
God goes after Job again.
(6-9) “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said, “Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? “Or do you have an arm like God, And can you thunder with a voice like His?”
See Job also questioned the things God did.
Job didn’t necessarily agree with God’s plans or God’s ways.
So God wants to know again, “Who are you?”
And here come more questions.
1) CAN YOU BREAK THE PROUD? (40:10-14)
There is a good question.
We can’t really do anything about the pride of man.
But if you’ll remember Nebuchadnezzar,
He was convinced about God’s ability.
Daniel 4:34-37 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘ What have You done?’ “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
(Incidentally this is what God was doing to Job)
And God asks Job if he is able to do that?
That is to say, “Do you know a better way?”
Can you break the proud?
And Job must answer, “No”
2) CAN YOU CATCH A HIPPO? (40:15-24)
The Hippo is still one of the most terrifying creatures in the world.
The deadliest mammal in all of Africa.
And sure, we may can use machines or what not to corral them now,
But we’re talking man vs beast here.
Can you handle that dude?
And of course the answer is “No”
3) CAN YOU TAME A CROCODILE? (41:1-34)
Yes, people commonly see this is a dragon saying,
“Job describes perfectly that dragon I saw on Lord of the Rings”
Have you ever considered that maybe the dragon was invented based on what people read here?
God is just using descriptive analogies to describe a beast
That was impossible to tame in Job’s day.
It was a terrorizing animal that men couldn’t’ handle.
• Are you going to mess with him?
• Are you going to try and tame him?
• Are you going to try and pet him?
And in the middle of this God asks a very important question.
(41:10-11) “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me? “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.”
If you can’t handle a crocodile,
Do you really expect to be able to handle the God of the universe?
And again the point:
WE ARE NOT EQUALS
I AM GOD, YOU ARE NOT
And I have to think God was prepared to continue this list, just like He did at the first,
But it is obvious Job is beginning to understand because this time Job interjects.
Job 42:1-2 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”
Job figured it out didn’t he?
And what tremendous truths to remember
Before we ever take our complaints or our advice to God.
• He is not some pushover
• He is not some familiar buddy whom you can or should advise
• He is the God of the universe
His mercy bids us draw near,
But the only reason we dare do so is because He is merciful.
We certainly have no right just to do it.
And Scripture repeatedly reminds us:
Romans 9:19-21 “You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”
Isaiah 29:15-16 “Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”
Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”
TURN TO: JEREMIAH 18:1-17
(in verse 18 Israel rejects)
(READ: JEREMIAH 19)
You really shouldn’t mess with God.
He is God!
Isaiah 40:12-17 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”
So Isaiah continues…
Isaiah 40:18-26 “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”
Isaiah 46:5-10 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it. “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress. “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;”
Hopefully you get the point.
There is a God and you aren’t Him.
• His understanding is far beyond yours
• His power is far beyond yours
• In fact you can’t even fathom such things.
He doesn’t need your advice, He doesn’t need your help.
How you would do it, is of little consequence to Him.
YOU ARE NOT EQUALS
• God deserves your worship
• God deserves your obedience
• God deserves your gratitude
• God deserves your trust
• But God does not deserve your complaints.
And if you don’t believe me,
Just ask Him to come explain it to you personally.
