Finally, after 37 chapters without speaking a word to Job. After taking away pretty much everything Job owns and loves, The Lord seaks. Unfortunately for Job, the Lord's answers aren't exactly satisfactory (or at least, not as satisfactory as I would have liked if I were Job), and yet, the answers are exactly what Job (and we) need to here:
38:4-11. Most of The Lord's dialogue is reference to creation. Over and over again he asks, "where were you when I created this", or "are you able to create/do that?". It' important to notice that, at no time during this speech does the Lord reference creating the world in 7 literal days. You would think that he would mention that somewhere...instead he focuses on the complexity of creation itself. He spends the whole time reminding Job that he was the mastermind behind creation, that he was (and still is) in complete control. He reminds Job, "I did all this...you can trust me with your life!".
38:21...of course, God has to throw in a bit of sarcasm too. He, sarcastically tells Job, "Surely you know [where light/darkness resides], for you were already born! You have lived so many years!". Awesome! I love sarcasm, especially Holy Sarcasm!
38:41. This verse takes note from the "His Eye is on the Sparrow" type theme, but it adds a very interesting twist to it. "Who provides food for the raven when it's young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?". What? Birds cry out to God? Are animals capable of prayer? Is a bird praising the Lord with every tweet, or a dog lamenting to God with every bark and whimper? Maybe it's just God saying that he hears every cry, regardless of whether that cry is human, bird, fish or animal. Whatever God means by this, it is obvious that he loves His creation, and cares for His creation. He is comforting Job (while at the same time chastising him slightly), by saying that he doesn't need to worry, because He has always been watching and listening.
39:17. I love this verse. God spends nearly 2 full chapters talking about His amazing creation, and then in the middle of chapter 39, he pokes fun at one of his animals; the ostrich. God admits that He "did not endow [the ostrich] with wisdom or give her a share of good sense". What? God made the ostrich stupid on purpose? It's true, God really does have an incredible sense of humour. If only he would have explained the Platypus.
40:15. Here is the mention of the Behemoth. What is the behemoth? According to the study notes of my bible, it says that it is probably a hippo or an elephant, but is that really true? Let's look at some of the characteristics of this behemoth:
-feeds on grass (so a herbivore)
-strenght in loins, power in the muscles of his belly
-tail sways like a cedar
-bones are tubes of bronze
-limbs like rods of iron
I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds big and powerful (and seems not as likely to be a hippo or elephant). Whatever it is, God created it and is proud of it! Is it possble that this is a dinosaur? Possibly I guess...and if this one isn't, the next questionable animal of creation is much more likely to be one...:
41:1. The Leviathan. The leviathan first is mentioned in 3:8 when Job says "May those who curse days, curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan". Job seems to be referring to a figurative being in that verse, and not a real animal. But God wouldn't talk about a figurative being would He? This Leviathan must have been a real animal, right? Again, study notes claim this is a crocodile or an alligator...but once again, let's list out it's characteristics:
-his back has rows of shields
-snorting throws flashes of light
-eyes are like the rays of dawn
-Firebrands shoots from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out (doesn't sound like a crocodile)
-Smoke pours from his nostrils
Once again, I am unsure what this was (or if it is in fact a dinosaur type creature). But God, in the middleof his description of this beast, reassures Job that tis beast is His creation. Verses 10-11 say "No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me." Everything belongs to God, from the Raven begging for food, to the silly Ostrich, to the incredible Behemoth and Mysterious Leviathan. Everything is God's!
42:1-6. Job speaks up, and is filled with emotion and humility. He realizes that, while he may not have sinned to cause his pain and suffering, he was proud and bitter during the pain. In verse 5 he also says, "my ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you". Nowhere does it say that God physically revealed himself to Job. I think what Job is meaning here is, "You revealed yourself to me through your Creation!". When we look around at God's amazing creation, it is impossible to NOT see Him. As Brian Doerkson says, "How can I say there is no God, when all around Creation Calls".
42:7-17. The Epilogue. The final footnote. It's easy to just skip over this summary, but there are a lot of important things hidden in these 10 verses that I never noticed (or didn't care about) before. First off, God gets angry with Job's three friends (again, Elihu isn't mentioned. Elihu is neither praised for his wise words, or cursed for his dumb advice. He appears to speak a few words, then vanishes). God tells Job's friends to offer a sacrifice, and then that "Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer". Wouldn't it be nice to know that God would accept our prayers? But then, God says "I will not deal with you according to your folly". So God is ignoring these people? Even though their words were unwise, they still tried to help. Seems kind of harsh doesn't it? And is God referring to, just this one time I won't deal with you, or for the rest of their lives He won't deal with them? Kind of makes you think twice before offering advice eh? Maybe the smart thing to do IS to keep your mouth shut.
Then, in verse 10 we read "After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before". It's easy to focus on the end of that verse, where God made Job prosperous, but don't skip over the first word. After. Job had to fulfill his task first, and pray for his friends. He had to humble himself ad pray for forgiveness to the friends who called him a liar, for the friends who claimed he was a sinner, and the friends who offered horrible advice about God, Job and life in general. God only gave Job his stuff back AFTER he was willing to hmbly pray for these 'friends'.
Also, it would be easy to quote this verse as "God will make us prosperous if we serve him" verse, but don't forget that God took away everything Job had first. Job was being tested, and Job passed the tast (although, probably barely with all the 'kill me' talk). God was giving Job BACK what was taken from him. This in no way is saying that God will make all of us prosperous, or make us all wealthy once we follow Him. It's something unique to this certain situation.
*little note here, one of Job's daughters is named Keziah, which happens to be the name of one of my nieces. I'm sure they did tell me that this is where the name came from, but I had forgotten. I knew it was biblical, I just didn't realize it was from the book of Job. Cool!
Ok, speaking of Keziah, and the other daughters of Job: Jemimah, and Kern-Happuch, Job was so pleased to have children and family again, that he gave his daughters inheritance along with their brothers. That's actually a really BIG thng. Today, with all the feminism and women's rights, it's easy to overlook that part and think of it as cultural norm...but it's not. Girls didn't recieve inheritance. Girls didn't really hav many rights. Job loved his family so much (because he appreciated them so much more), that we gave all of them inheritance. Cherish your family, and don't waste your wealth. You never know if or when it will be taken away from you.
...stay tuned for my final Job Summary!
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