Job 40:4 | KingComments | STEP | God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small. Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in , we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job ( ; ). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” ( ; ). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this. ‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut. God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job. Then Job answers the LORD ( ). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. ) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him ( ). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again ( ). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved. Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal. God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters. The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” ( ), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator ( ). The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. ). In the introduction to the second speech ( ), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance ( ).

‏ Job 40:4

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3 ; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Gen 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Eph 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Col 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Mt 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).