Today’s passage: Job 40
Helpful thoughts:
- The beginning of chapter 40 serves as a conclusion of the Lord’s words through chapters 38-39.
- God calls on Job (The “faultfinder”) to respond.
- Job knows the best thing to do is keep his hand over his mouth. There are no faults with God. He never makes a mistake.
- Then, in verse 6, round two of God’s revelation of Himself begins. It will conclude at the end of chapter 41.
- God calls Job out for the idea that God could act unjustly.
- God is adorned with majesty. Job simply cannot achieve that on his own.
- God is able to know the thoughts and actions of everyone in the world and bring ultimate justice. Job could never hope to possess and maintain that knowledge, let alone rightly respond to it.
- The word “Behemoth” (In the plural) often referred to cattle, or beasts of the land. Some have taken this passage to refer specifically to the hippopotamus, or possibly an animal that is now extinct, like a dinosaur.
- In the next chapter, God will also reference “Leviathan,” a sea creature. It is possible that these words also refer in general to large beasts or animals of the land and sea. Or, there could be specific creatures God (And Job) had in mind.
- The point of the illustrations is this, God is able to create and govern creatures that man cannot. God is able to govern all aspects of the world perfectly, man cannot.
Questions to consider:
- How does this unit in the book of Job set our thinking right about God’s place and ours?
- How is Job’s response in verses 4-5 as it should be for every person? Does God ever miss anything or do anything wrong?
- Why is it difficult at times to not be angry with God? Why is it important to first believe that He is perfectly working in providence, and then look at life through that understanding, rather than waiting until everything is the way we want it to believe?