Podcast 52, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 38”

Podcast 52, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 38”In the other chapters of Job, we hear the voices of Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Elihu. In Chapter 38, in verse 1, we hear the voice of the Lord.Job 38:1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,Following the salutation, Chapter 38 is divided into 5 parts. We find the same pattern in other chapters of Job. It is a Chiasm with the following format: A1, B1, A2, B2. Surprisingly A3 is added following the same parallelism as A1 & A2.A3 is added for emphasis. The three sections of A are identified by the clause beginning with “Who.” It is a question of identity. The questions are rhetorical and the answers become self-evident.  The two sections of B are identifiable by the clause beginning with “Hast” and “Canst.” Again the questions are rhetorical.Chapter 38 of Job establishes the power of God and the divine nature of man. The first question the Lord asks Job is magnificent. Job 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? It appears that not only Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar, Elihu, but also Job are implicated as a later chapter appears to confirm. In Chapter 40 Job is chastised somewhat by the Lord, and in the final chapter the three friends are called to repentance. The Lord neither condemns Elihu nor praises him. He becomes a ‘persona non grata.’ He is simply excluded. The Lord accomplishes two things. One, he affirms the righteousness of Job, that is to say the tragedies were not punishment. They were a trial, but the trial is not over as the later chapter shows. Job is tested to the limit by the Lord, and he passes the test. It appears to me that the greatest message of Job is found in chapters 38-42, not coincidentally that falls at the end of the book which generally gets the greatest emphasis. Two, God affirms his own power over the earth. God is in charge, not man. The Lord follows with a slight condemnation of Job for he must remind Job who he really is. It is as if Job in his sorrow had forgotten his birthright.First consider A1Job 28:2-11Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?We learn here some of the greatest doctrines of Christianity. First we learn that Christ is the creator. Next we learn that we are all children of God, that all mankind existed before the earth was created. We learn that we were the morning stars who sang together. We were all angels, We were all the sons [and daughters] of God who shouted for joy. We learn that we were anxious and excited to come to the earth and gain a mortal body. This establishes not only who God is but also who we are. No wonder the Lord said to Job, “Gird up now thy loins like a man.” That was not a condemnation. That was intended to not only lift Job’s spirit, but also to remind us all of who we really are. The Apostle Peter affirms that when he said, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”