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40 And the LORD said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
Job Promises Silence
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
The Lord Challenges Job
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
“Behold, Behemoth,
which I made as I made you;
he eats grass like an ox.
Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
“He is the first of the works of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
Can one take him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose with a snare?
(ESV)
Job 40 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Consider Job’s humility in this chapter. Consider that he takes up none of the words with God that he had planned. The entire book culminates to this point; Job is given permission to speak his case to the God of the universe… and… he doesn’t. In fact, he admits he’s said too much. In the presence of God, his wrestling and questioning turned to fear and trembling. Like Jacob, he wrestled with God and was blessed.
Blessed? How was Job blessed?
At this moment, Job’s mindset completely changed. He saw more of God than ever before. He knew God more intimately than ever before. He was transformed by the renewing of his mind. Job’s trust grew in this moment before the Lord. He was willing to say, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” However, this can only take place through the presence of God. Anyone left to themselves will rely on their own human wisdom to make sense of their situations.
Job’s suffering has produced something in him that never would have happened had he not suffered. We need to let that truth sink in.
What does this mean for us today? Well, many of us immediately blame God for our circumstances and trials. We question and wonder. We think, “I wouldn’t do it that way.” Yes, some of this is just part of the process. We are human. However, if we stay in this place, we have subscribed to Satan’s theology, and we must be careful to take these thoughts captive. The enemy thought he knew more than God and could do better than God. Look at how that worked out for him.
Again, I’m not saying we won’t wrestle. Job did and God has graciously corrected him, but it takes humility and repentance to see things clearly. I am reminded of a beautiful passage from Paul in Romans 8.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39 NASB
Nothing separates us from the love of God, for we become conquerors through this love. Let that be the hope in your present circumstance.