Job 38

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said:

2 Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskilful words?

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

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Upon what are its bases grounded? or who laid the corner stone thereof,

7 When the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful melody?

8 Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb:

9 When I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands?

10 I set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors:

11 And I said: Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves.

12 Didst thou since thy birth command the morning, and shew the dawning of the day its place?

13 And didst thou hold the extremities of the earth shaking them, and hast thou shaken the ungodly out of it?

14 The seal shall be restored as clay, and shall stand as a garment.

15 From the wicked their light shall be taken away, and the high arm shall be broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the lowest parts of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the darksome doors?

18 Hast thou considered the breadth of the earth? tell me, if thou knowest all things?

19 Where is the way where light dwelleth, and where is the place of darkness?

20 That thou mayst bring every thing to its own bounds, and understand the paths of the house thereof.

21 Didst thou know then that thou shouldst be born? and didst thou know the number of thy days?

22 Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or hast thou beheld the treasures of the hail:

23 Which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the light spread, and heat divided upon the earth?

25 Who gave a course to violent showers, or a way for noisy thunder:

26 That it should rain on the earth without man in the wilderness, where no mortal dwelleth:

27 That it should fill the desert and desolate land, and should bring forth green grass?

28 Who is the father of rain? or who begot the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the frost from heaven who hath gendered it?

30 The waters are hardened like a stone, and the surface of the deep is congealed.

31 Shalt thou be able to join together the shining stars the Pleiades, or canst thou stop the turning about of Arcturus?

32 Canst thou bring forth the day star in its time, and make the evening star to rise upon the children of the earth?

33 Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason thereof on the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that an abundance of waters may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send lightnings, and will they go, and will they return and say to thee: Here we are?

36 Who hath put wisdom in the heart of man? or who gave the cock understanding?

37 Who can declare the order of the heavens, or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep?

38 When was the dust poured on the earth, and the clods fastened together?

39 Wilt thou take the prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of her whelps,

40 When they couch in the dens and lie in wait in holes?

41 Who provideth food for the raven, when her young ones cry to God, wandering about, because they have no meat?

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.