God's Response and Job's Restoration - Job 38:1 - 42:17

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: Bible Stories

Rusty's Notes

Here are some key moments where Job questions God:

• Job's Lament (Chapter 3): Job begins by cursing the day of his birth, expressing deep anguish and questioning why he was born only to experience such suffering (Job 3:1-26).
• Desire for an Audience with God (Chapters 9-10): Job expresses a desire to present his case before God, questioning why he is being afflicted despite his innocence. He longs for a mediator who could bridge the gap between him and God (Job 9:32-35, 10:1-7).
• Job's Challenge to God's Justice (Chapter 13): Job boldly declares his willingness to argue his case before God, questioning the justice of his suffering and asserting his integrity (Job 13:3, 13-23).
• Job's Frustration with God's Silence (Chapter 23): Job expresses frustration over God's silence and his inability to find God to present his case. He maintains his confidence in his own righteousness and longs for an explanation (Job 23:1-10).
• Job's Final Defense (Chapters 29-31): In his final monologue, Job reflects on his past life of prosperity and justice, contrasting it with his current suffering.
• He questions why he is being punished and maintains his innocence, listing his righteous deeds and challenging God to answer him (Job 31:35-37 “Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing! I’ve signed my name to my defense—let the Almighty One answer! I want to see my indictment in writing. Anyone’s welcome to read my defense; I’ll write it on a poster and carry it around town. I’m prepared to account for every move I’ve ever made— to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper.[1]).

 
God responds to Job not with answers, but with questions that reveal His vast knowledge and power.

• This divine encounter shifts the focus from human reasoning to God's majesty and wisdom.
• God asks Job about the creation of the earth, the boundaries of the sea, the dawn, and the intricacies of nature

GOD CONFRONTS JOB
Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?
JOB 38
1 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm.

• What is the emphasis used here by God?
• Powerful? No emotion?

He said:
2–11    “Why do you confuse the issue?
        Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?
        Pull yourself together, Job!
        Up on your feet! Stand tall!
        I have some questions for you,
        and I want some straight answers.
        Where were you when I created the earth?
        Tell me, since you know so much!
        Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!
        Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
        How was its foundation poured,
        and who set the cornerstone,
        While the morning stars sang in chorus
        and all the angels shouted praise?
        And who took charge of the ocean
        when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
        That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
        and tucked it in safely at night.
        Then I made a playpen for it,
        a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,
        And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.
        Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
12–15   “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
        told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’
        So you could seize Earth like a blanket
        and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?
        As the sun brings everything to light,
        brings out all the colors and shapes,
        The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked--
        they’re caught in the very act!
16–18   “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,
        explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?
        Do you know the first thing about death?
        Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?
        And do you have any idea how large this earth is?
        Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer[2]
 
These questions are not meant to belittle Job but to remind him of the Creator's infinite wisdom and the limitations of human understanding.

• God's questions cover the natural world, from the stars to the animals, showcasing His sovereignty over all creation.

JOB 39
1–7       “Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth?
        Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn?
        Do you know how many months she is pregnant?
        Do you know the season of her delivery,
        when she crouches down and drops her offspring?
        Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own;
        they leave and don’t come back.
5–8     “Who do you think set the wild donkey free,
        opened the corral gates and let him go?
        I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in,
        the rolling plains and wide-open places.
        He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried.
        He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters.
        He grazes freely through the hills,
        nibbling anything that’s green.
9–12    “Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,
        volunteer to spend the night in your barn?
        Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo
        and getting him to till your fields?
        He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him,
        would you dare turn the job over to him?
        You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you,
        to do what you said when you said it?
13–18   “The ostrich flaps her wings futilely--
        all those beautiful feathers, but useless!
        She lays her eggs on the hard ground,
        leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather,
        Not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked
        or trampled by some wild animal.
        She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers.
        She cares nothing about anything.
        She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure,
        wasn’t given her share of good sense.
        But when she runs, oh, how she runs,
        laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust.
19–25   “Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess
        and adorned him with a shimmering mane?
        Did you create him to prance proudly
        and strike terror with his royal snorts?
        He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited,
        then charges into the fray.
        He laughs at danger, fearless,
        doesn’t shy away from the sword.
        The banging and clanging
        of quiver and lance don’t faze him.
        He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast
        races off at a gallop.
        At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily,
        smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off,
        catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.
26–30   “Was it through your know-how that the hawk learned to fly,
        soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?
        Did you command the eagle’s flight,
        and teach her to build her nest in the heights,
        Perfectly at home on the high cliff face,
        invulnerable on pinnacle and crag?
        From her perch she searches for prey,
        spies it at a great distance.
        Her young gorge themselves on carrion;
        wherever there’s a roadkill, you’ll see her circling.”[3]
 
JOB 40
God then confronted Job directly:
        “Now what do you have to say for yourself?
        Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?”
JOB ANSWERS GOD
I’m Ready to Shut Up and Listen
3–5     Job answered:
        “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.
        I should never have opened my mouth!
        I’ve talked too much, way too much.
        I’m ready to shut up and listen.”[4]
Job acknowledges his insignificance and chooses to remain silent, recognizing that he has spoken of things he does not understand.

• Lesson in Humility: Job's encounter with God's majesty leads him to a deeper understanding of his own limitations and the greatness of God.

 
III. God's Continued Challenge and Job's Repentance (Job 40:6-42:6):

• Behemoth and Leviathan:
• God continues to challenge Job by describing the behemoth and leviathan, creatures that symbolize God's power and the uncontrollable aspects of creation (Job 40:15-41:34).

JOB 40
15–24   “Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you.
        Grazing on grass, docile as a cow--
        Just look at the strength of his back,
        the powerful muscles of his belly.
        His tail sways like a cedar in the wind;
        his huge legs are like beech trees.
        His skeleton is made of steel,
        every bone in his body hard as steel.
        Most magnificent of all my creatures,
        but I still lead him around like a lamb!
        The grass-covered hills serve him meals,
        while field mice frolic in his shadow.
        He takes afternoon naps under shade trees,
        cools himself in the reedy swamps,
        Lazily cool in the leafy shadows
        as the breeze moves through the willows.
        And when the river rages he doesn’t budge,
        stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.
        But you’d never want him for a pet--
        you’d never be able to housebreak him!”
 
I Run This Universe
JOB 41
1–11    “Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod
        and stuff him in your creel?
        Can you lasso him with a rope,
        or snag him with an anchor?
        Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
        or flatter you with flowery speech?
        Will he apply for a job with you
        to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
        Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
        Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
        Will you put him on display in the market
        and have shoppers haggle over the price?
        Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
        or drive harpoons into his huge head?
        If you so much as lay a hand on him,
        you won’t live to tell the story.
        What hope would you have with such a creature?
        Why, one look at him would do you in!
        If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage,
        how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
        Who could confront me and get by with it?
        I’m in charge of all this—I run this universe![5]
Wiersbe found 77 unanswerable questions that God asked Job in chapters 38 through 41, which proved Job both ignorant and impotent.

• Since Job could not understand or determine God's ways with nature, he obviously could not comprehend or control God's dealings with people.
• Who is the truly wise person?
• It is not Job, or his three older friends, or his younger friend, Elihu, but God.
• He alone is truly wise.

 
Job's Repentance: 

• Job's final response, where he repents in dust and ashes.
• Job admits that he spoke of things beyond his understanding and acknowledges God's sovereignty (Job 42:1-6).

JOB 42
1–6     Job answered God:
        “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.
        Nothing and no one can upset your plans.
        You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,
        ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’
        I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,
        made small talk about wonders way over my head.
        You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.
        Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’
        I admit I once lived by rumors of you;
        now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!
        I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!
        I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”[6]
 
IV. Restoration and Blessing (Job 42:7-17):

• God's Rebuke of Job's Friends:
• God rebukes Job's friends for not speaking rightly about Him.
• Job's role as an intercessor for his friends highlights his restored relationship with God (Job 42:7-9).

7–8     After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here’s what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has.”
9       They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job’s prayer.[7]
 
Restoration of Job's Fortunes:

• God blesses Job with twice as much as he had before, including new children and a long, prosperous life (Job 42:10-17).

10–11   After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.
12–15   God blessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.
16–17   Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.[8]
 
What God did not say to Job is as surprising as what He did say.

•  He did not mention Job's suffering
•  He gave no explanation of the problem of evil
•  He did not defend Himself against Job's charge of injustice
•  He made no comment on the retributive principle.
•  God simply revealed Himself to Job and his companions to a greater degree than they had known, and that greater revelation silenced them.

 
The reader is told why Job was suffering in the Prologue, but that is to show that Job was innocent.

• So the book is teaching us through the divine theophany [visible manifestation of God] that there is something more fundamental than an intellectual solution to the mystery of innocent suffering.
• Though the message reaches Job through his intellect, it is for his spirit."

 
V. Key Themes and Applications:

• God's Sovereignty and Wisdom: 
• God's ways are higher than ours, and His understanding is beyond our comprehension (Isaiah 55:8-9 - 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.[9]).

Humility and Trust: 

• Embrace humility and trust in God's character, even when circumstances are difficult or confusing.
• Like Job, we can find peace in acknowledging God's greatness and our dependence on Him.

Restoration and Hope: 

• There is always the hope of restoration and the assurance of God's presence.
• While Job's story includes material restoration, the deeper message is one of spiritual renewal and the reaffirmation of God's faithfulness.

Conclusion: 
Reflect on your encounters with God's majesty.

• Seek a deeper understanding of God's character and trust in His wisdom and love, even in the midst of life's challenges.

Like Job, you can find hope and restoration in your relationship with God.

[1] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 31:35–37.
[2] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 38:1–18.
[3] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 39:1–30.
[4] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 40:1–5.
[5] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 40:15–41:34.
[6] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 42:1–6.
[7] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 42:7–9.
[8] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Job 42:10–17.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Is 55:8–9.