Job 37-39

Day 16: Job 37-39 Notes & Takeaways

Job 37:1-5 speaks of God’s thunderous voice and commentator Adam Clarke, put it perfectly when he stated, “Nor is there a sound in nature more descriptive of, or more becoming, the majesty of God, than that of thunder. We hear the breeze in its rustling, the rain in its pattering, the hail in its rattling, the wind in its hollow howlings, the cataract in its dash, the bull in his bellowing, the lion in his roar; but we hear God, the Almighty, the Omnipresent, in the continuous peal of thunder! This sound, and this sound only, becomes the majesty of Jehovah.” (Clarke, Adam The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, with A Commentary and Critical Notes, Volume III – Job to Song of Solomon (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1827?))

“At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place" (Job 37:1). Ou hearts should also jump, pound, and tremble at the fear of God’s judgments should we sin (Psa 119:120).

“Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,” (Job 37:3) brings us to Psa 104:7, “But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.” The word of God is thunderous. This sound, and this sound only, becomes the majesty of Jehovah.” (Clarke) See also Psa 29:3 and Acts 14:17.

Verses 6-13 show us what the voice of the Lord can do. Not only can he command like thunder, but he makes it snow, the breath of God produces ice and his clouds produce moisture and rain to water the earth. His voice can bring punishment and love to his people. The world itself submits itself to God (Job 37:12)

Job 37:18, Elihu is pretty much asking Job, were you there Job when God created the skies? (Genesis 1:6-8)

Teach us what we should say to Him [Job 37:19]: Here, Elihu confronted what he believed to be Job’s arrogance in saying that man deserved an audience or a justification from God. “Job, if you insist that God owes us an audience, then please teach us what we should say to Him.” (Enduring Word Commentary)

Elihu finishes his very long speech by telling us about the glory of God in verses 21-24 and how people revere and fear God. See also Psa 130:4.

Chapter 38: God enters the chat…

Elihu saw the coming storm and spoke about God’s presence in the storm (Job 36:22-37:24). And now we hear God Himself speak to Job first, not his friends. Notice that the word LORD is used here for YWHW or Jehovah and that the LORD answered him out of the storm (or a whirlwind in the NKJV).

Enduring Word Commentary states, “Repeatedly the whirlwind is associated with the divine presence. It speaks to us of the powerful, unmanageable nature of God; that He is like a tornado that cannot be controlled or opposed.

· God brought Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1-11).

· God’s presence is in the whirlwind (Psalm 77:18; Nahum 1:3).

· God’s coming is like a whirlwind (Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:13 and 23:19).

· God appeared to Ezekiel in a whirlwind (Ezekiel 1:4).”

The Lord declares who he is in chapters 38 and 39 by asking Job a series of questions that truly show his awesomeness. We even see a bit of sarcasm from God in Job 38:21, it’s as if God asks Job, were you there? Oh wait, yeah, I hadn't made you yet. God was there before all of us, when the world was formless (Genesis 1:1). He created the entire world from nothing (Job 38:4-7), the boundaries of the sea (Job 38:8-11), all of the nature of the earth (job 38:12-18), the light, darkness, sky, down to the engineering of drainage systems (Job 38:19-25).

In chapter 38 verse 31 and 32 he mentions two famous constellations in the sky, the Pleiades and Orion’s Belt. He brought those into fruition. He placed the stars where they are now.

Job 38:36 he himself asks Job who gives the “ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?” We learned in a previous blog post and reading that God himself is wisdom and that it can’t be found anywhere else but in God. Although he gives it freely to those who ask (James 1:5). The ibis, a bird, and the rooster were thought to have wisdom for they predicted the coming of rain. The Egyptian God Thot was featured with the head of an ibis for wisdom.

In Job 39:5 we see the mention of a wild donkey, or an onager, which is another name for it. This is a compliment because of its freedom and ability to survive under the harshest conditions. See Genesis 16:12 when the Lord names Ishmael.

These chapters show us that God is all powerful and that even when we don’t understand certain reasons for why things happen, God is always in control. He created each and every thing in this world and crafted it perfectly and beautifully, like the ostrich and the hawk. Therefore He will never just leave us alone, He loves us and He is with us always. Like my father told me, when we’re at school, taking the test, does the teacher talk to you? Of course not! Does she give you the answers? No! But has she left you alone in the room? No, she is always there watching over you. During our trials and suffering, when God tests us, God is always there. He has never left the room.

I hope you’re learning a lot and enjoying it all at the same time. I know I am! Make sure to follow RF on Instagram, and join our FB Group to stay up to date for our upcoming weekly zoom sessions!