Big Idea: Yahweh poses questions about the physical world to demonstrate that Job’s knowledge is too limited to explain how God works in his world.
Understanding the Text
Throughout the speeches in chapters 3–37, the various human speakers claim to know what Yahweh thinks about Job’s situation, but in chapter 38 Yahweh finally breaks his silence and speaks for himself. Yahweh addresses Job in 38:1–40:2, focusing on his design for the world (38:2), and then Job replies briefly in 40:3–5. Yahweh resumes speaking in 40:6–41:34, stressing his justice in the world (40:8), and then Job utters his final response in 42:1–6. These divine speeches are the rhetorical climax of the book as Yahweh speaks in vivid and brilliant poetry.
As the master teacher, Yahweh poses more than seventy unanswerable questions to Job. These questions are meant not to humiliate or intimidate Job but rather to disclose to him the many inexplicable wonders of God’s workings in the world. Yahweh makes use of a skillful pedagogical technique by asking questions to help Job discover what he does not know (cf. Isa. 40:12–31). As Job comes to realize how much he does not comprehend about God’s world, he is willing to accept a humble position before Yahweh, who does know all things. Yahweh does not answer the questions that Job has been asking, but instead he points Job in an altogether different direction. He wants Job to learn that the divine wisdom is superior to even the best human understanding. Yahweh knows what he is doing in his world and in Job’s life.
Historical and Cultural Background
The words in 38:36 have been rendered in many ways by various translations, but the NIV is probably accurate in speaking of two birds, the ibis and the rooster. Yahweh asks Job, “Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?” In Egyptian thought, these birds were noteworthy because of their ability to signal changes coming in the weather. The ibis predicted when the Nile River would rise, and the rooster crowed to indicate the approach of morning or of rain.1The innate instincts of these birds could not be explained by humans; they were given to them by Yahweh, their creator.
Interpretive Insights
38:1 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. In 31:35, Job challenged God to answer him, but then Elihu began speaking instead. In chapter 38, Yahweh breaks his silence. Bypassing Elihu, who has been speaking for the previous six chapters, Yahweh addresses Job directly. This very act of communication is in itself evidence that Job’s relationship with Yahweh is still intact. Yahweh speaks out of a storm, as he does elsewhere in the Old Testament. At times, a storm pictures divine wrath (Zech. 9:14), but it can also suggest the arrival of Yahweh as he speaks to his people (Exod. 19:16–20:21). Earlier, a storm was the cause of Job’s pain (1:19; 9:17), but now it is the setting for Yahweh’s communication to him.
38:2 Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Yahweh’s opening words, “Who is this?” introduce the central theme of his speeches. Yahweh wants Job to understand who Yahweh is and who Job is. Job has been speaking beyond what he truly knows, because he, as a finite human, is in no position to speak accurately about Yahweh’s plans for the world or for him personally. Yahweh has a design that surpasses anything that Job can fathom or describe.
38:3 I will question you, and you shall answer me. In chapter 31 Job thought that his legal strategy of negative confession would put God on the defensive and compel him to rule at least indirectly on Job’s innocence, but Yahweh will not be manipulated so easily. Yahweh takes the initiative by posing the questions and requiring Job to answer him. By this rigorous interrogation, Yahweh will demonstrate how inadequate Job’s understanding is. Yahweh knows all the answers to the questions that he poses, but Job has no answer to even a single divine query.
38:4–7 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Yahweh describes the moment of the creation of the earth, when the stars sang together and the angels shouted for joy (38:7). As Proverbs 8:22–31 states, wisdom was present at creation, but no human was there to observe it. Not even the first human was there to see how Yahweh constructed the earth, and certainly Job was not there to witness it. Yahweh presses Job in verse 5 by asking him, “Who marked off [the earth’s] dimensions?” This question compels Job to admit what he does not know, but what Yahweh does know perfectly, and it implies that Yahweh is going to lead Job into new frontiers of understanding beyond anything he has comprehended before.
38:8–11 Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb? Yahweh here uses the image of childbirth to picture the taming of the sea. In ancient Near Eastern thought, the sea was often the personification of chaos, but in the Bible the sea is securely under divine control (Gen. 1:2; Rev. 21:1). Yahweh places firm limits on the sea (38:10–11; cf. Ps. 104:5–9), with the sandy shore as its boundary (Jer. 5:22). Yahweh paints a lovely word picture of using the clouds and darkness as the cloths with which he swaddles the sea (38:9).
38:12–15 Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place? In the creation narrative, God says, “Let there be light,” and light comes into existence (Gen. 1:3). With his light, God thwarts the malicious people who work their evil under the cover of darkness (Job 24:13–17). Yahweh’s question demands a negative answer from Job, even though Job has vainly attempted to curse the day in 3:3–10. As a human, Job cannot assume Yahweh’s prerogative to give orders to the morning.
38:16–18 Have the gates of death been shown to you? In 3:16–19 and 14:13–15, Job expresses a longing for Sheol. Nevertheless, Yahweh’s questions in 38:16–18 indicate that Job does not truly understand death and the subterranean region, so his desire for the grave is born out of ignorance rather than knowledge
38:22–30 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed? In 38:22–30, Yahweh asks Job about meteorological phenomena that he can observe. Job can see the effects of Yahweh’s work, but he cannot understand how Yahweh accomplishes what he does in the weather. Job has to admit that his knowledge of snow, hail, lightning, wind, rain, and ice is profoundly deficient. Even what Job experiences he cannot comprehend or explain.
In directing Job’s attention to the desert, Yahweh indicates that he sends rain to places where there are no humans to profit from it (38:26–27). Humans may perceive this as unnecessary or even a waste of resources, but Yahweh’s purposes for the earth go far beyond specifically human concerns. His ways are higher than the ways of humans, and his thoughts surpass human insight (cf. Isa. 55:8–9). From Yahweh’s perspective, the earth belongs to him, and though he causes it to function for human beings, it exists for his own divine purpose (Ps. 24:1). Humans are indeed an important part of his plan, but they are not the exclusive focus of his interest and his lavish grace. As the interchange between Yahweh and the adversary in the prologue indicates, there are aspects of Yahweh’s plan and activity that may include human involvement, but they transcend merely human concerns.
38:31–33 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? In verses 31–33, Yahweh asks about Job’s ability to control the celestial phenomena, which were often used for omens in the ancient Near East. Is Job able to direct the movements of the constellations and thus determine the course of history? Can he trace the laws that govern the movements of the heavenly bodies? The implied negative answers to these questions affirm that the stars are under Yahweh’s control (cf. Isa. 40:26) and far beyond Job’s grasp.
38:39–41 Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions? Yahweh now turns from asking about the non-living physical world (38:4–38) to direct Job’s attention to the animal world (38:39–39:30), a transition that has actually begun in verse 36 with the reference to the ibis and the rooster (see the discussion under “Historical and Cultural Background”), thus shifting the focus closer to Job himself. There are countless aspects of the zoological domain in which Job has to admit his lack of knowledge and control. Both the predatory lions (38:39–40) and the ravens, which feed on carrion (38:41), receive their food apart from human enablement (cf. Ps. 147:9). Once again, Yahweh implies that his wise ordering of his world is not restricted to what the retribution principle predicts or regards as just and necessary.
Theological Insights
Yahweh’s main point in his speeches is that the world must be understood in terms of what he is doing in it. Job’s inability to answer the divine questions demonstrates that he cannot understand how Yahweh governs the world of nature. Consequently, Job should not expect to comprehend how Yahweh works with humans like him. Finite humans are in no position to call Yahweh to account, any more than a piece of pottery can dictate to the potter (Isa. 45:9; Rom. 9:20–21). Job and the friends have been asking why Job has experienced adversity, but this is the wrong question. The real question is “Who is Yahweh, and can he be trusted in what he is doing in his world?”
Teaching the Text
When Yahweh at last speaks in Job 38, he does not answer the questions that Job has raised previously. Rather, Yahweh takes the role of the teacher, and he asks questions of Job. By the time he finishes, Yahweh, the master teacher, poses more than seventy questions, and Job is unable to answer a single one. When Job concluded his confession of innocence in chapter 31, he thought that the Almighty God would have to render his verdict about Job’s innocence or guilt. Yahweh, however, is not compelled by Job’s legal strategy. Instead of following what Job has set out for him, Yahweh has his own lesson plan by which he instructs Job. As the book of Proverbs demonstrates, like Job we are students in God’s school of wisdom. In his school, we need to be attentive to what God says, we need to accept his teaching eagerly rather than insist on our own way, and we must assimilate his lessons so that they affect every area of our lives.
Yahweh’s purpose in posing so many questions to Job is to demonstrate to Job the limitations of his knowledge. Yahweh’s questions all relate to the physical world that Job has observed for all his life. As Job considers each question, he has to admit in his own mind over and over again that he does not know the answer. By the time he has made that mental admission more than seventy times, Job cannot escape the conclusion that his knowledge is woefully inferior to what Yahweh possesses. With this humbling realization, Job has to accept the fact that he is finite in his knowledge but that Yahweh is infinite in what he knows. If that is true about the physical world, then it must also be true of Job’s experience. Job does not understand what has happened to him, but Yahweh does understand it completely.
As readers, we are aware of the factors in the prologue that Job is unable to discern. Because we now have the full Bible, we have more of God’s revelation than was available when the book of Job was written, long before Christ’s death and resurrection. However, even today there is much that God knows that he has not made known to us humans. So, like Job, we need to place our trust in God, who knows all, rather than expect to understand all of the puzzling paradoxes in our lives.
Yahweh’s questions about the physical world lead Job to trust and worship him more. In the same way, the Lord has placed before us in nature a constant stream of evidence to convince us of his power and wisdom. By gazing at God’s world, we have our attention directed toward him, and we are encouraged to appreciate his greatness in the world and for our lives.
Illustrating the Text
God teaches us that his knowledge is infinite while ours is finite.
Television: Perry Mason. In the old television series Perry Mason, based on the novels by Erle Stanley Gardner, the title character (played by Raymond Burr) was renowned for his keen ability to use questions during his cross-examination to destroy the legal argument presented by the prosecuting attorney. His skillful interrogations illustrate Yahweh’s approach to Job, bringing in a right perspective.
Art: William Blake. The fourteenth engraving in Blake’s (1757–1827) picture book on the book of Job is commonly called When the Morning Stars Sang Together, and it illustrates Job 38:7: “while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” In this engraving, Blake portrays the angels and God above, while humans are beneath them in a posture of humility. This illustrates the humble position of humans, who were not present at creation to witness God’s handiwork.
Nature: On rare occasions, rain can cause a desert to burst forth in bloom. For example, in 2005 winter rain caused the Atacama Desert in Chile to become a giant meadow of beautiful, bright-colored flowers.
Nature: The constellations and their movements, the turbulence of the seas, and other natural phenomena—all are under God’s control and visually illustrate the marvels about which God speaks to Job.
Literature: The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien. This book, which was published posthumously in 1977 by Tolkien’s son Christopher, presents a poetic depiction of the creation of the world. This description is imaginative and also speculative, because no human was there to observe God’s creative work.
When God speaks, he may not directly answer our questions.
Book: On Asking God Why, by Elisabeth Elliot. Elliot (b. 1926) lost her husband, Jim, in Ecuador in 1956. Their only daughter was ten months old. Elliot understands suffering and talks about it often. She writes, “The psalmist often questioned God and so did Job. God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man—with the mystery of himself. He has not left us entirely in the dark. We know a great deal more about his purposes than poor old Job did, yet Job trusted him. He is not only the Almighty—Job’s favorite name for him. He is also our Father, and what a father does is not by any means always understood by the child.”2
Yahweh Asks Job about Animals
Big Idea: Job’s limited understanding and control of animals demonstrate the inability of humans to grasp how Yahweh has ordered his world.
Understanding the Text
In chapter 39, Yahweh continues to pose questions to Job. After considering features of the non-living physical world in 38:4–38, in 38:39 Yahweh began to focus his queries on the animal realm, and this topic continues throughout the entirety of chapter 39. All the animals that Yahweh cites live beyond the control of humans. Most of them are totally wild, and even the warhorse is tamed only partially. Job does not comprehend the various features of the lives of these animals, but the chapter clearly implies that Yahweh knows them thoroughly. There is much going on in Yahweh’s world that escapes the notice of humans, so these aspects of his purpose do not hinge upon human interests. Job, therefore, needs to view what is going on in his life in terms of Yahweh’s much bigger and broader plan. This chapter leads directly into Yahweh’s challenge to Job to answer him, in 40:1–2.
Historical and Cultural Background
In ancient times, as early as the Paleolithic period, cave art featured pictures of the wild ox. Ugaritic literary texts speak of the god Baal hunting for a wild ox in the upper Galilee region. In Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature and art, kings are depicted as hunting wild animals, including the aurochs (NIV: “wild ox”) referred to in Job 39:9–12. The aurochs was never tamed before it became extinct about four hundred years ago, but it became the ancestor of the domesticated cattle of today.
Interpretive Insights
39:1–4 Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? The mountain goat here is the ibex that today can be seen in the En Gedi area of Israel. It is an elusive animal that can be observed only from a distance, and it resists domestication by humans. With telephoto lenses humans can now learn some of the habits of animals like the ibex, but until recent times little was known of its patterns of life. Job cannot detect even the gestation period for its offspring, in contrast to the knowledge of animal husbandry he must have for his domesticated animals (1:3). Nevertheless, even though it is not bred by humans, the ibex is able to manage very well by the instinct that God has given to it. Job, however, has virtually no knowledge of even the most basic details of the ibex.
39:5–8 Who let the wild donkey go free? It is evident from Yahweh’s questions about the wild donkey that he has set this animal free from human control. The wild donkey is skillful in surviving in the wasteland, even thriving in places where humans rarely venture. It avoids the commotion and confinement of town life, happy to keep away from humans, who would distract it and try to domesticate it for their own purposes. This independence comes at a cost, because the wild donkey must forage for food in the barren wilderness.
39:9–12 Will the wild ox consent to serve you? The wild ox, or aurochs, is now extinct, but in the Old Testament it is a familiar image for strength (e.g., Deut. 33:17; Ps. 92:10). Its power and remoteness caused it to be the prize game for royal hunts in ancient Egypt. No doubt, this animal was viewed by many humans as a great potential resource for activities such as plowing and transporting materials. The aurochs, however, would not surrender its freedom for a life of domesticated labor. As much as humans might have wanted to harness its prodigious strength for their own purposes, the aurochs would not be tamed by them. From the human perspective, this is a rich energy source going for naught, but that is how the aurochs functioned within Yahweh’s world. Once again, Job has to realize that life as Yahweh has designed it does not revolve around human concerns, so humans like Job are not in a position to speak definitively about how Yahweh must govern his world.
39:13–18 she cares not that her labor was in vain. Yahweh’s description of the ostrich in 39:13–18 reveals a bird that seems so bent on inefficiency that it makes us laugh.1The mother ostrich lays her eggs in the sand, which can place her young at risk (39:14–15; cf. Lam. 4:3). She is easily distracted, so she appears to neglect her young (39:16), although this could also be construed as a strategy to draw predators away from them. The ostrich has not been given wisdom or good sense by God (39:17), for reasons that only he knows. It does, however, have great speed, which enables it to run away from a horse. In fact, ostriches have been timed running at fifty miles per hour, and they also have great maneuverability. These enigmatic features of the ostrich cause humans to scratch their heads and wonder why Yahweh made it as he did. The apparent inefficiency of the ostrich is a contrast to the tidy system of retribution theology, in which everything in life is explained in simple, logical terms.
39:19–25 Do you give the horse its strength? In 39:19–25, Yahweh paints a magnificent word picture of an awesome warhorse. This is the one animal in this section that is not wild, but even though it has been trained by humans for use in battle, it is still terrifying to behold (see the sidebar). In the heat of conflict, the warhorse is not completely mastered by its rider, because it can become reckless in its eagerness for battle (cf. Jer. 8:6). Its powerful features are not the result of its training by humans, because humans can harness only in part the power that Yahweh has given to this animal. No human can take credit for the effectiveness of the warhorse.
39:26–30 Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom? Job 39:26–30 features the hawk and the eagle, which soar far above the domain of humans. No human, like Job, has taught them to fly, but rather their superb ability comes from Yahweh. These birds of prey live in inaccessible places that humans cannot approach (39:28), and no human can tell them when to fly or where to nest (39:27). The hawk and the eagle demonstrate that there is much in Yahweh’s design for the world that humans do not know or control. Job, then, must realize that there is much that he must leave with Yahweh, in the realm of mystery.
Theological Insights
In the Bible, wisdom teachers often point to aspects of nature from which the learner can discover patterns for understanding life. In Proverbs 6:6–11, observation of the ant reveals that humans need to be diligent rather than slothful. In Matthew 6:26–34, Jesus directs attention to the birds and the flowers in order to teach that God provides for all the needs of those who seek first his kingdom and righteousness. When Yahweh instructs Job, however, he uses nature in a different way. His questions compel Job to look at nature and recognize what he does not know. As a result, Job has to admit the limits of his understanding, so that he will trust Yahweh, who does understand all things, including what he is doing in Job’s life.
Teaching the Text
In chapter 39, as Yahweh questions Job about several animals, it becomes increasingly evident that Job as a human understands little about each of the animals cited by Yahweh, and he is even less able to control them. All of the animals can be observed at a distance by Job, but his comprehension of how they live is very limited. Yahweh’s persistent interrogation and descriptions of the animals compel Job to acknowledge that he is virtually ignorant about considerable portions of God’s world. In addition, Job has no ability to control what the animals do, because they function apart from humans. Even when humans have tamed animals for their own use, the animals retain the potential to assert their own will and do as they please.
Job may well have seen the mountain goat, or ibex, leaping upon the cliffs. The ibex, however, keeps its distance from humans, so Job cannot watch when it bears its young, or even calculate how long the gestation period is. Although Job can observe some of this animal’s actions, he knows little about its habits. How its young are born, how they mature, and when they set out on their own are all mysteries to Job, but these things are totally understood by Yahweh.
Some of God’s creatures make little sense to humans. People look at the ostrich and laugh, because they perceive it to be unthinking, careless, and foolish. That is indeed the case, because God has not endowed the ostrich with wisdom and good sense. In the divine plan, not everything has been designed to work with efficiency, as the ostrich demonstrates well. However, God has also enabled the ostrich to evade predators and humans intent on capturing it, by giving it unusual speed and expert maneuverability. The ostrich is God’s object lesson to us that he works in ways that may escape our understanding, but that he knows what he is doing. Therefore, we need to trust him even when we cannot comprehend all of his ways.
These examples from the animal world teach Job, and they teach us, some key truths that we need to have clarified in our minds. Yahweh’s plan includes more than just human concerns. There are many aspects of life that we humans can understand only in part. The ability of humans to control life is limited, because Yahweh has not placed everything under our mastery. Therefore, we must realize that there are significant limits to what we can know and control in our lives. Rather than assuming that we understand even our own experience perfectly, we must be willing to trust Yahweh, who alone knows and controls all things.
Illustrating the Text
Yahweh’s plan encompasses more than just human concerns.
Bible: Make a reference to some passages in the Bible that mention sparrows and birds of the air, like Psalm 84:1–4; Matthew 6:25–26; or Matthew 10:29–30. Point out that we usually read these passages to assure ourselves that we are of value to God, and the passages clearly carry that as their primary message. However, these passages also show that even the welfare and worship songs of these smallest creatures matter to God and have a place in his plan for creation. His wisdom and providence manage seasons and harvests for them, too, and he hears their groans along with all creation for the redemption he will bring in Christ (Rom. 8:9). The good news is that if God perfectly and brilliantly cares for such small creatures, we are certainly assured that he will do abundantly more for us. The very humbling news, however, is that his response to our needs isn’t merely about us; it also takes due consideration of sparrows, ibex, nations, and distant nebulae, all giving glory to him. God will never reject us by telling us he has bigger fish to fry, but he will also never tell us that the world revolves around us.
Even a cursory glance around the created world ought to let us know we are not in charge or fully “in the know.”
Science: Take time to share an interesting scientific fact or two about the hidden levels of complexity behind even a seemingly simple natural phenomenon that is relevant to your listeners. For example, about two hundred muscles are involved in taking a single step; or consider that twenty amino acids combine to form more than fifty thousand different proteins in the human body. Remind listeners that Jesus said that even the hairs of our heads are numbered (Luke 12:7) and that science estimates this number to be well over one hundred thousand on the average young adult head. If there are so many things we don’t know about what’s happening with our own bodies, how much more is going on in the world around us or in spiritual realms that is beyond our grasp and yet fully known to God? Challenge listeners to spend some time watching shows or reading books to find similar examples of the wonder of nature and the magnificent complexity of the systems we find in the created world.
Personal Stories: Take time to tell about a time when you were forced to stare into mystery and admit how little you truly understood about what God was up to in your life. Talk about what it was like to admit your own ignorance and your feelings of loss and panic that were related to this sort of helplessness. Then share a testimony about how you have discovered that dependence on God, who is omniscient and good, has shaped you, and how accepting mystery and resting in the hands of the Ancient of Days is a constructive experience, especially in times of suffering or loss like Job’s.
Yahweh Directs Job’s Attention to Behemoth
Big Idea: Job is in no position to call Yahweh’s justice into question.
Understanding the Text
After posing to Job numerous questions about his knowledge of the non-living physical and animal domains (Job 38–39), Yahweh asks if Job is qualified to instruct him (40:1–2). Job responds with a tentative and evasive answer (40:3–5). Yahweh then challenges Job to listen again to him (40:6–14). He directs Job’s attention to Behemoth as an especially amazing example of the divine creative work (40:15–24). In chapters 38 and 39, Yahweh focused on a great number of unknowable features in the natural world. Now, beginning in 40:6, Yahweh zooms in to view intensively two creatures, Behemoth (chap. 40) and Leviathan (chap. 41). In Yahweh’s first set of questions, Job learned that he cannot comprehend Yahweh’s order in the world. As he considers Behemoth and Leviathan, Job comes to realize that Yahweh totally controls all threats to his order.
Historical and Cultural Background
The description of Behemoth in 40:15–24 has a number of parallels to artifacts in Egyptian and Ugaritic (Canaanite) art and literature. In Egypt, there are many ancient pictures and literary references to the hippopotamus, and this massive animal was also known to exist in Palestine at that time in history. Many of the features contained in Yahweh’s words to Job would fit the hippopotamus well, especially its life in the water (40:21–23). In the Ugaritic literature, Leviathan (which Yahweh will discuss in chap. 41) is a mythological beast, so some scholars have regarded both Behemoth in chapter 40 and Leviathan as mythological symbols of chaos rather than as literal animals like those in chapters 38 and 39. In either case, Yahweh states clearly that he is in control even of these beasts, which no human can master.
Interpretive Insights
40:2 Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? This question echoes Yahweh’s previous words to Job in 38:2. Yahweh refuses to be put on the defensive by replying to Job’s charges and complaints. Rather, he places the burden of proof squarely on Job, as he asks if Job is qualified to instruct him. If Job cannot answer Yahweh’s questions, then he has no standing to reprove Yahweh. Job then must either answer the questions that Yahweh poses to him, and by that means show that he has sufficient understanding to call Yahweh to account, or else he must admit that he cannot answer the divine questions. If that is the case, then Job will be obligated to concede to the superior wisdom of Yahweh, instead of finding fault with him.
40:4–5 I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. Interpreters have taken Job’s reply to Yahweh in 40:4–5 in two contrasting ways.1Some view this as Job’s humble acknowledgment that he has been wrong. This rendering would imply that Yahweh agrees with the friends that Job has sinned. However, in 42:7–9 it is evident that Yahweh affirms Job as right against the friends, who are wrong. Other interpreters rightly contend that Job says that he is “small” rather than that he has sinned, as the friends have insisted. This view sees Job as beginning to turn away from arguing against Yahweh and starting to accept what Yahweh has done in his life. Because Job’s answer is only tentative, Yahweh follows up with a second round of questions and observations in 40:6–41:34, which prompts Job’s final response in 42:1–6.
Job describes himself as unworthy or insignificant, rather than as right or wrong. He does not reiterate his earlier claim of innocence, but neither does he retract what he has said before. He says that he will not add to what he said previously, but he does not take it back either. Job is starting to feel the cumulative effect of Yahweh’s questions, which he cannot answer, and this is moving him toward humility. Job is beginning to realize that there are many aspects of Yahweh’s world that he does not understand, and it is likely dawning on him that his own experience lies in this area of mystery as well. Job’s response at this point does not yet resolve the issue, but it is a step in that direction.
40:7 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. As in 38:3, Yahweh again challenges Job to man up, to prepare for strenuous activity. This renewed interrogation will require every effort that Job can muster, as Yahweh has enrolled him in a graduate course in the divine school of wisdom. Using the familiar biblical image of girding up one’s garment by inserting it in the belt (cf. Exod. 12:11; 1 Kings 18:46; Jer. 1:17; 1 Pet. 1:13 KJV), Yahweh exhorts Job to prepare himself for a formidable intellectual and theological challenge.
40:8 Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Job earlier said (27:2; cf. 9:24) that God has denied him justice, apparently arguing from the assumption of retribution theology that his innocence does not deserve the adversity he has received. Yahweh now calls into question the legitimacy of Job’s contention. If Job is innocent, is it necessarily the case that Yahweh has been unjust? Is there another alternative? Yahweh poses the central issue: does he have to be unjust in order for Job to be justified? Implicitly, Yahweh is saying that Job may be puzzled by what Yahweh is doing, but that Job is in no position to reprove him.
40:9–13 Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? In Exodus 15:16 and Psalm 44:3, the arm of God is an image for his power. Yahweh’s question here implies that Job can no more exercise moral judgment than he can control the natural world. Chapters 38 and 39 have already shown that Job is inadequate in his knowledge of the natural world, and he is unable to control it. In 40:10–13, Yahweh challenges Job with impossible commands that no human can fulfill. The logical conclusion is that Job is totally unqualified to fault Yahweh. Job is not Yahweh, and he cannot do what the Sovereign Lord does.
40:14 Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you. Assuming that Job cannot accomplish what the divine commands in verses 10–13 require, Yahweh concludes that he will not defer to Job. Job cannot govern the world by justice, because he is not Yahweh’s equal. Job cannot exercise authority in the physical world, so he should not take it upon himself to dictate to Yahweh how to run the moral realm of life. Job has no ground for faulting Yahweh for choosing not to act as the retribution formula demands. Yahweh maintains that he alone is in control, and he has no intention of ceding his authority to Job or to any other human.
40:15–24 Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. Scholars have debated extensively the identity of this animal. The term “Behemoth” is the plural form for the generic Hebrew word for an animal. The plural number likely has an intensive force, making it mean “the great beast.” The language in 40:15–24 describing Behemoth parallels in many respects how literal animals are portrayed in Job 38–39. Behemoth has powerful physical features (40:16–18), it exercises dominion over other animals (40:19–22), and it is fearless before raging rivers (40:23) and humans (40:24). It has often been taken to picture the hippopotamus, but other suggestions include the water buffalo, the elephant, or a mythological sea monster. Even though Behemoth cannot be controlled by humans, Yahweh made it and securely controls it, so that it is no threat to the divine order in the world (40:19). Only Yahweh has sufficient power to master this formidable part of his creation. Behemoth, like Job, is a creature that functions within Yahweh’s world and under Yahweh’s authority.
Theological Insights
The Bible frequently uses the literary device of personification to communicate, in terms understandable to humans, aspects of God’s being and activity. For example, Yahweh asks Job in 40:9 if he has an arm like God’s and if his voice can thunder like God’s. The arm or hand of God speaks of his power (Exod. 6:6), and his voice represents his communication. In a similar way, the eye of the Lord is an image for his knowledge (Ps. 33:18). His ear indicates his openness to listen (Ps. 17:6). The shoulder of the Lord is a picture of his acceptance of responsibility (Isa. 9:6). These personifications all make use of familiar aspects of the human body in order to communicate how Yahweh, who is not confined by a physical body, acts.
Teaching the Text
As the book rapidly proceeds toward its conclusion, it becomes increasingly evident that Job is in no position to call Yahweh into question. Earlier, in the dialogue section, Job made several statements about God as he viewed him through the lenses of retribution theology and his own experience of adversity. As Job maintained his innocence, he came to complain that God had not rewarded him with the blessing that he deserved. Yahweh is not yet ready to pronounce his verdict about Job’s claim of innocence, but he does counter Job’s implication that if he is innocent, then God must be unjust to him. By his persistent questioning, Yahweh demonstrates that Job knows much less than he thinks he knows and that Job can control very little in the world. When we are tempted to complain against God or to question his ways in our lives, we must remember that we too are limited in our knowledge. Because we cannot comprehend all that God is doing, we must trust him to act according to his righteous and wise character.
Yahweh defines the central issue for Job and for the reader. Job, working within the framework of retribution theology, has linked the justice of Yahweh to his own righteousness. To Job’s thinking, if he has been righteous, and he is confident that he has been, then Yahweh has not been just to him. By asking Job, “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” Yahweh opens up the possibility that there may be another alternative that Job has not considered to explain this situation. This would require that the retribution principle be amended. Perhaps Job’s adversity is due to some other reason that transcends the retribution formula. Just as we will give someone we trust the benefit of the doubt, so we need to be careful not to jump to judgment against the Lord. There may well be more going on in God’s wise plan than what we can understand and appreciate at the time.
Yahweh makes it painfully evident that Job is unable to control the world, because that is Yahweh’s prerogative alone. Because Job cannot do what Yahweh does, Yahweh does not have to yield to Job’s demands. It is Job who will need to bend to Yahweh, and not the other way around. We are always creatures who live within the Creator’s world, so we must humbly accept our place in God’s sovereign design for his world.
Yahweh compels Job to look at Behemoth, an unspecified but awesome animal. This powerful beast cannot be overcome by other animals or by humans, and even the raging rivers do not thwart it. This animal is again a vivid reminder to Job of just how limited he is in Yahweh’s world. He is the greatest of all the men in the East, but compared with the Lord, Job has paltry knowledge and feeble power. As we glimpse the grandeur of God’s world, we too must acknowledge that we are dependent upon him.
Illustrating the Text
Even the greatest people are feeble when compared to the living God.
Film: Reference a popular superhero movie that will be familiar to your listeners. You might want to try a classic hero such as Superman, Spiderman, or Captain America. Take time to list some of the attributes that the hero has that are noble, and how those are amplified by the hero’s superhuman powers and responsibilities. Then note that most heroes and gods from all the ages of this world are really just bigger versions of humanity. They may have abilities, stature, powers, and longevity beyond what is natural for humans, but they are, nonetheless, governed by basically the same motives, needs, flaws, and instincts that plague humanity. Contrast this with the God of the Bible, who is obviously not an invention of human imagination. Reflect on the ways in which the Lord’s wisdom, power, and justice quantitatively and qualitatively differ from ours. Contrast the miracles of God with the exploits of the hero in question and show how the God of the Bible is not even on the same playing field with the heroes and gods of this age.
Hymn Text: Read aloud the text of the hymn “Immortal, Invisible” to the congregation, pausing to exposit the meaning of certain lines or to let their meaning sink in. Ask if the God described by the hymn writer is anything like the God they have come to worship and experience. If not, ask why humans are tempted to water down the majesty of God and what we miss out on when we lose sight of his unspeakable might and greatness.
Even moral innocence does not give a human the right to judge God’s justice.
Bible: Consider Jesus’s response to the Father’s will in the garden of Gesthemane and in the passion. Unlike all other humans, Jesus truly was without sin and was fully above any moral reproach. However, he did not use this innocence as the basis of any complaint against his Father’s will in sending him to the cross. Instead, he submitted his will to the Father’s three times and obediently offered his body for undeserved punishment without complaint or grumbling. If ever there was an innocent person whose integrity endowed him with the right to complain about undeserved suffering, it was Jesus. Yet even he refused to malign his Father’s justice or question his Father’s right to insist that he carry a cross he had not earned.
Bible: Reflect on the text of the Lord’s Prayer, paying special attention to the words “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Remind listeners that Christians submit to the kingship of God and agree to live under the rule of his justice, however unsearchable it may seem at times. Invite them to join you in praying the prayer, perhaps with pauses for reflection. Ask them to consider if they have been grumbling against God’s will or judging his justice by their own standards, and invite them to include that in the “forgive us our debts” section of the prayer.
Yahweh Points Job to Leviathan
Big Idea: Leviathan cannot be controlled by Job but is under Yahweh’s control.
Understanding the Text
Yahweh’s long-awaited speech to Job in chapters 38–41 climaxes with Yahweh’s stirring description of the sea creature Leviathan (Job 41). After the barrage of unanswerable questions by Yahweh, this final object lesson at last wilts the remaining vestiges of Job’s resistance, so that he responds humbly to Yahweh in 42:1–6. All that remains after Job’s answer is the epilogue (42:7–17), in which Yahweh will affirm Job’s innocence and restore a full measure of blessing to Job.
Historical and Cultural Background
In the Ugaritic (Canaanite) mythological literature, Lotan was a twisting sea creature with seven heads that was defeated by Baal. The description of Leviathan in Job 41, as well as references to it in Psalm 74:14 and Isaiah 27:1, likely borrows this familiar ancient image to refer to any factor that threatens to bring disorder to Yahweh’s world. The Bible, however, is very clear that Yahweh has triumphed over Leviathan and even has made it to play in the sea (Ps. 104:26). In Revelation 12:3–9, the defeat of Satan is portrayed with the same kind of imagery, as a great dragon with seven heads is cast down from heaven by the angel Michael. Consequently, in the history of Christian biblical interpretation, the antichrist as he wreaks havoc on the earth is often depicted as riding upon Leviathan.1
Interpretive Insights
41:1 Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Once again, Yahweh asks a rhetorical question that expects a negative answer from Job. Leviathan is not a trout or bass that can be caught with a hook and line. This fierce sea creature featured in ancient Near Eastern mythological literature is far too strong for any human to defeat. Leviathan is clearly beyond the range of Job’s control.
41:3–5 Will it keep begging you for mercy? In verses 3–5, Yahweh uses humor to reinforce in Job’s mind how ridiculous and futile it would be for any human to suppose that he could tame Leviathan. This powerful creature would scarcely entreat Job to be gentle with it (41:3). There is no chance that it would submit itself willingly to becoming a bond slave (41:4; cf. Exod. 21:6). Would Job be so silly as to think that he could train it as a pet for a little girl to lead around on a leash (41:5)? No, Leviathan is much too powerful for a human like Job to control.
41:10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me? Yahweh here argues from the lesser to the greater. No human can tame Leviathan (cf. 3:8), so how could anyone ever expect to compel Yahweh to act in a particular way? In chapter 31, Job laid out his legal defense, and then he challenged Yahweh to answer him. Yahweh now states that no one is able to present a case against him in court (cf. 33:5), not even Job. Yahweh’s authority is so supreme that he is not obligated to submit to any subpoena that humans can render against him. Job, therefore, will not be able to succeed in forcing Yahweh into indicating his innocence through his strategy of negative confession. Job’s best-laid plans will come to naught before the Sovereign God.
41:11 Everything under heaven belongs to me. As formidable as Leviathan is, it comes under Yahweh’s rule, because everything under heaven belongs to him (cf. Pss. 24:1; 50:10). Job is unable to tame Leviathan (41:1–9), but Yahweh controls it completely. Clearly, then, Job is not the equal of Yahweh, so he will have to submit before the Lord of the whole world, just as Leviathan must.
41:12 I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs. With these words, Yahweh begins an extensive, detailed description of the amazing features of Leviathan. In some respects, Leviathan appears like the crocodile, but other details suggest a more fantastic animal, like the fire-breathing dragons of myths. This vivid portrayal in verses 12–32 produces shock and awe in Job, and even readers today cannot fail to be impressed by the grandeur and power of this amazing creature. No other animal can match it.
41:15–17 they cling together and cannot be parted. In verses 15–17, the scales of Leviathan are described as impenetrable, like a row of shields that are sealed together. No one is able to plunge a sword between the scales in an effort to kill it. Later, in verses 23–29, Leviathan is depicted as having no vulnerability that can be exploited as humans try to defeat it. Clearly, it will take supernatural power and skill to take down this creature. Only Yahweh is up to this challenge.
41:18–21 Its breath sets coals ablaze. The description of Leviathan in verses 18–21 as breathing fire is not suitable for any literal animal. For this reason, it seems better to view Leviathan as a literary allusion to a fantastic creature like a dragon. This creature would be completely beyond Job’s range of experience or control.
41:26–29 it laughs at the rattling of the lance. Just as the wild donkey laughs scornfully at the town (39:7) and the ostrich laughs at the horse and rider that seek to catch it (39:18), so Leviathan laughs at the warrior who tries to attack it. All human efforts to tame or defeat this animal are ineffectual and ludicrous. However, even though Leviathan is impervious to human efforts to control it, it is firmly under Yahweh’s sovereign control (41:11).
41:33 Nothing on earth is its equal—a creature without fear. Leviathan is fearless, because it has no predator and no equal on earth. It is evident, then, that Job must be inferior to this powerful animal. Nevertheless, Leviathan is a creature that is under the authority of Yahweh, its creator. If Yahweh is Lord over Leviathan, then he certainly is Lord over Job’s life as well. Just as Job must acknowledge his inferiority before Leviathan, so he must accept his subordinate status before Yahweh. Yahweh’s ordered world includes even unruly creatures, like Leviathan, that Job cannot control. Yahweh, however, is fully in control, so Job must accept humbly his subordinate place before God.
41:34 It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud. Leviathan has no match in the created world. It is more powerful even than humans, who take pride in their own accomplishments, and it will not submit to their control. However, mighty Leviathan must bow before Yahweh, to whom everything belongs (41:11).
Theological Insights
In the ancient world, pagan gods were typically viewed as ruling over specific local areas. For example, in 1 Kings 20:23 when the Syrian army is defeated by Israel, they assume that the god of Israel must control the mountains, so they plan to attack Israel the next time in the plain, where they supposed that the god of Israel would not have jurisdiction. Yahweh, however, is not like the false deities of the nations, because everything under heaven belongs to him (Job 41:11). The universal rule of Yahweh is maintained consistently throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament (Exod. 19:5; Pss. 24:1; 47:2; Isa. 40:22–26; Dan. 2:20–21) and in the New Testament (Matt. 28:18–20; Rev. 19:15–16). The God of the Bible is Lord of all, and he will not share his glory, authority, or worship with anyone else. That is why every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:9–11).
Teaching the Text
The final chapter of Yahweh’s speeches focuses exclusively on the great sea animal, Leviathan. As Yahweh directs Job’s attention to Leviathan, describes the animal in detail, and asks Job questions about it, it is clear that though Leviathan cannot be controlled by Job, it is firmly under Yahweh’s control. Job wanted God to answer his legal complaint, and he expressed his desire for an umpire to adjudicate between him and God. This chapter, however, reveals that Job does not have the status to make these demands of Almighty God. As a human, Job is inferior to Leviathan, and Leviathan is inferior to Yahweh, so Job must take a submissive stance before the Creator. Like Job, we must let God be God, and we must live in faithful submission to him rather than demand that God do what we think is right.
As Yahweh describes the protective scales that cover the powerful body of Leviathan, it is evident that this animal is impervious to human attack. Human weapons can find no vulnerability to exploit, so they bounce harmlessly off Leviathan. This fierce animal seems to have its own way, even making the sea churn like a boiling cauldron. It is totally beyond the control of any person. Similarly, there are factors in our experience that we cannot control and adversities that we cannot avoid. However, all these things that can alarm us are under the Lord’s control, who in all things works for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28).
As powerful and unrivaled as Leviathan is on earth, it is a creature that is subordinate to Yahweh, the Creator to whom everything under heaven belongs. Leviathan lives under Yahweh’s authority, even though what it does is well beyond the control of humans. Since Job cannot control Leviathan, but Leviathan is controlled by Yahweh, Job must accept the undeniable conclusion that he too lives under Yahweh’s authority. His proper response must be to acknowledge Yahweh as Lord of all and to submit to Yahweh’s authority over his life. Like Job, we too must recognize that we are limited and finite creatures who must humbly yield to the Lord’s sovereign control over our lives. That is what it means to hope in God (cf. Rom. 5:3–5).
Illustrating the Text
God points to Leviathan to show how everything is under God’s control.
Nature: It is not possible to determine conclusively what specific animal Leviathan represents. Because the crocodile and the whale share some characteristics with the Leviathan, seeing these animals in action gives a sense of the great power of the creature portrayed in Job 41.
Literature: Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. In this epic nineteenth-century novel, the great whale of the title is often referred to as Leviathan, an allusion to the powerful animal in Job 41. The following description shows some of that power:
As if to strike a quick terror into them, by this time being the first assailant himself, Moby Dick had turned, and was now coming for the three crews. . . . But ere that close limit was gained, and while yet all three boats were plain as the ship’s three masts to his eye; the White Whale churning himself into furious speed, almost in an instant as it were, rushing among the boats with open jaws, and a lashing tail, offered appalling battle on every side; and heedless of the irons darted at him from every boat, seemed only intent on annihilating each separate plank of which those boats were made.2
Later, “both jaws, like enormous shears bit the craft completely in twain.”
Literature: As mentioned in this unit, dragons feature prominently in many pieces of fantasy literature. For example, in The Hobbit (1937), by J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), the dragon Smaug has many attributes and behaviors (great age; winged, fiery, and reptilian form; a stolen barrow within which he lies on his hoard; disturbance by a theft; and violent airborne revenge on the lands all about) that are derived directly from the unnamed old “night-scather,” the monster Grendel in Beowulf, the old English epic. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), by C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), also features a vivid picture of a dragon. In many ways, these legendary dragons echo Yahweh’s description of Leviathan.
