Job 38

1 And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, ,

2 Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in heart, and thinks to conceal from me?

3 Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.

4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge,

5 who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?

6 On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?

7 When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.

8 And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.

9 And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.

10 And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.

11 And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.

12 Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and the morning star see his appointed place;

13 to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?

14 Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?

15 And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?

16 Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?

17 And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee?

18 And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?

19 And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?

20 If thou couldest bring me to their boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths;

21 I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great.

22 But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail?

23 And is there a store , for thee against the time of enemies, for the day of wars and battle?

24 And whence proceeds the frost? or is the south wind dispersed over the under heaven?

25 And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;

26 to rain upon the land where no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited ,

27 and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?

28 Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?

29 And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,

30 which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?

31 And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion?

32 Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them?

33 And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?

34 And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain?

35 And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is ?

36 And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?

37 And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven to the earth?

38 For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.

39 And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?

40 For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.

41 And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.

Job 38 Commentary

Chapter 38

God calls upon Job to answer. (1-3) God questions Job. (4-11) Concerning the light and darkness. (12-24) Concerning other mighty works. (25-41)

Verses 1-3 Job had silenced, but had not convinced his friends. Elihu had silenced Job, but had not brought him to admit his guilt before God. It pleased the Lord to interpose. The Lord, in this discourse, humbles Job, and brings him to repent of his passionate expressions concerning God's providential dealings with him; and this he does, by calling upon Job to compare God's being from everlasting to everlasting, with his own time; God's knowledge of all things, with his own ignorance; and God's almighty power, with his own weakness. Our darkening the counsels of God's wisdom with our folly, is a great provocation to God. Humble faith and sincere obedience see farthest and best into the will of the Lord.

Verses 4-11 For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. As we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not fear concerning it. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Corner-stone. The church stands as firm as the earth.

Verses 12-24 The Lord questions Job, to convince him of his ignorance, and shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we thus try ourselves, we shall soon be brought to own that what we know is nothing in comparison with what we know not. By the tender mercy of our God, the Day-spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those that sit in darkness, whose hearts are ( 2 Corinthians. 4:6 ) government of the world is said to be in the sea; this means, that it is hid from us. Let us make sure that the gates of heaven shall be opened to us on the other side of death, and then we need not fear the opening of the gates of death. It is presumptuous for us, who perceive not the breadth of the earth, to dive into the depth of God's counsels. We should neither in the brightest noon count upon perpetual day, nor in the darkest midnight despair of the return of the morning; and this applies to our inward as well as to our outward condition. What folly it is to strive against God! How much is it our interest to seek peace with him, and to keep in his love!

Verses 25-41 Hitherto God had put questions to Job to show him his ignorance; now God shows his weakness. As it is but little that he knows, he ought not to arraign the Divine counsels; it is but little he can do, therefore he ought not to oppose the ways of Providence. See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence; it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing. And he that takes care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting to his people. This being but one instance of the Divine compassion out of many, gives us occasion to think how much good our God does, every day, beyond what we are aware of. Every view we take of his infinite perfections, should remind us of his right to our love, the evil of sinning against him, and our need of his mercy and salvation.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38

In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1-7; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8-11; concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12-15; concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darkness, Job 38:16-21; concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the stars, Job 38:22-38; and concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40,41.