Written by Dr. Donald Grafton (VP of Academics, Instructor at NHCC)

At New Hope Christian College, we are training our students to think like leaders who can read and interpret the Bible with accuracy. In our class Exegetical Practicum, students learn how to read and decipher the Bible to understand what the original message of a passage was and then more practically and accurately apply the Word of God to their lives. This is one of the many classes we teach in our pursuit to develop students who can think like leaders for the Kingdom of God. Check out the Bible study below which outlines the context, content, and application for Job 40:1-14.

Historical Context: 

The exact historical setting of the book of Job is unknown. Estimates range from the time of the patriarchs to after the exiles returned from Babylonia. William LaSor et al., however, suggest the final composition was complete 700-600 B.C. This suggestion is subjective based on correlations between elements in the prologue and epilogue with antiquity such as the measure of wealth, the length of life, and lack of temple, tabernacle, or priests in Jobs rituals. The provenance of Job is also debatable, but C. Hassell Bullock proposes the likelihood of Edom. Despite the suggestions made by scholars, one must conclude that there is no possible way to know for sure the specific historical situation from which this book originated. 

With that being said, there are two things concerning the setting of Job that can be known. It is clear that he suffered and that he had great faith in the one true God –Yahweh. The suffering in the prologue is excruciating. It allows readers to compare their suffering, which is common to man, and identify with his complainant knowing that Job suffered more. As a suffering human, to take his complaint to God in the way he did by insisting on his innocence, he must have had great faith in God’s justice. Concerning Job’s faith, Bullock concurs writing, “We can be confident, however, that the author was a Hebrew or Israelite who espoused a pure monotheism and whose faith in the omnipotent and just God was unshakable.”

Literary Context:

A prologue and epilogue of prose surround three sets of poetic dialogue between Job and his friends and a single round of poetic monologues of Job, the young Elihu, and God himself. The prologue sets the stage with a description of righteous Job suffering at the hand of Satan but permitted by God. In the three rounds of dialogue, Job asserts his innocence, but his friends challenge him based on their theology that God blesses the righteous and curses the wicked. God interjects himself into conversation during the monologues. He gives two speeches, the second of which has a brief interruption by Job where he vows to keep his mouth shut and, according to Thomas F. Dailey, his ears open. God is no longer going to allow Job to question his judgments. In the epilogue, God rebukes Job’s friends and justifies Job’s portion of the dialogues.  

The passage at hand is the introduction of God’s second speech and Job’s brief humble response. The passage is poetic in writing and wisdom in nature. Because of the legal nature of the portion, Ronald E. Murphy further classifies it as a “disputation speech.”

Commentary: 

Previously Job had been questioning God claiming he was even doing God’s job (29:7-17). Job’s friends had been arguing against Job asserting that he must have, like all men, sinned (15:14; 22:4-5). At this, God interrupts and questions Job as creator or created, as powerful or powerless, as manager or managed, and in this second speech questions him as judge or judged. When confronted by God Job shuts up and listens gaining the wisdom that he cannot even preserve justice and save himself, therefore he must rely on God. 

V. 1-2 

This disclosure statement in v. 1 indicates the beginning of God’s second speech continuing his questioning of Job. It is interesting that in these two verses there are the different names for God: Yahweh, Shadai, and Eloah. The name Yahweh has in its roots the meaning of existence, probably highlighting God’s self-existing and eternally existing nature. Shadai and Eloah are parallel and denote the might of God. Certainly, Job, in his misery, is aware of his weak and fragile nature, especially in comparison to the almighty and eternal God who interjects himself into Job’s religious dialogue, challenging Job’s verdict that God has not done his job.

V. 3-5

Job’s reply is that he has no reply, and now it is time to listen. How quickly Job goes from wanting to argue his case before God (13:2) to realizing his place before God. Or, as Daily writes, Job has “been made strikingly aware of his relative insignificance in the grand cosmic scheme.” Though God established his authority, he did not terminate the conversation with Job. God is expecting an answer from Job, but Job “pleads the fifth” by putting his hand over his mouth. Now Job acts as those who acted in reverence to him (29:9) and is ready to listen. The stair-step parallelism of verse five indicates that Job admits he has said enough already.

Vv. 6-7

God goes ahead to distribute his wisdom to Job by introducing himself in a whirlwind and introducing a series of rhetorical questions that force Job to acknowledge that there is no comparison between himself and God. The whirlwind in v. 6, a repeat of 38:1, is a demonstration of God’s appearance as it is in Isa. 29:6; Zech. 9:14, Jer. 30:23, and particularly evident in the Lord’s descent upon Mt. Sinai in Ex 19:16-19. According to John E. Hartley, “This panorama of natural phenomena witnesses that Yahweh, the holy God is actually present.” God now brings charges against Job and tells him to “prepare to defend yourself” as it is translated by NASU. Job, a mere man is now on trial in the presence of the eternal Judge.

Vv. 8-13

The eternal Judge has four areas of inquiry here all asked rhetorically. The first question God raises concerns his role as judge. Job was questioning God’s justice (6:29), but now God demands to know if Job is willing to condemn him face to face about this. Second, God questions Job about his power with comparing the arm, the symbol of power, then voices. The result is that there is no comparison, for one cannot compare an arm of flesh to the anthropomorphic arm of God. Neither can one compare a mortal voice to the voice of him who “speaks to the sun and it does not shine” (9:7), to quote Job himself. Third, God asks Job to add to his personal glory. In v. 10, God challenges Job to adorn himself with two pairs of alliterated attributes. These are glory and splendor, honor and majesty, but yet again, Job has already spoken too much admitting that he like a flower might spring up but will wither away (14:2), and there is not much glory there. Fourth, God challenges Job to carry out justice upon the proud and wicked. The nearly identical lines of vv. 11b and 12a add emphasis to this as does the fact that there are a six lines total on this charge versus only two for each of the other charges. God clearly wants Job to understand that he cannot possibly issue justice to everyone—only God can. 

V. 14

God concludes the introduction to his second speech by making sure that Job understands the lesson. The lesson on wisdom that Job learned was that he could not even save himself and that he needs to “allow” God to be God because only he can do his job. Hartley highlights the irony here, “There is a strongly ironic tone in Yahweh’s argument: if Job could do all of this, he would not need God.” Job in his suffering has to admit that he can do nothing to change his pitiful situation but the God who is present and patient can.

Theological Principles: 

1. God is ultimately superior to man: (vv. 9-13) There is simply no comparison between God and man. 
2. God alone is judge: (vv. 2, 7, 8) God alone is judge and has to answer to no one for his ways. Man has to answer to him.
3. God carries out justice: (vv. 8, 11-13) God issues justice to the proud and wicked. Man cannot disannul God’s judgment.
4. God speaks to man and hears man: (vv. 1-5) Although this passage ends with God not answering to Job, God still speaks and listens to man. He did not simply silence Job. He wanted to impart wisdom to Job. 
5. God alone is the source of salvation: (v. 14) God questioned Job to highlight the fact that Job could do nothing about his current situation. God could and did.

Points of Application: 

1. We are not equals with God: (vv. 7-13) When we compare ourselves with God we find that there is no comparison. God is God and we are not. In every area, we fall short.
2. We have no grounds on which to question God: (vv. 8-13) God is the judge and has the authority over us. This chain of command goes one way—top down. We are not in a position to dictate to God what is right or wrong. 
3. A proper position to God is humble submission: (vv. 3-5) The best position to be in with God is humble submission, listening rather than arguing.
4. When we do err in pride, it is still appropriate to check ourselves in humility: (vv. 3-5) Because it is highly probable that we will raise ourselves in pride, when confronted by God it is a good idea to remember our humble position. There is still room for relationship upon repentance.
5. We ought to allow God be the judge: (vv. 2, 8, 11-14) Not only can we count on God to judge us, but we can also count on him to judge others. He will issue justice in our behalf so that we do not have to. We ought not to judge him either. 

Prayer of Application: 

Father God, You are the eternal Judge. I ask for forgiveness for all the times where I jump in to judge and question why the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem to suffer. I submit to Your justice and thank You because I know it is eternal. I acknowledge that I cannot possibly carry out justice; I am no comparison to You. At the same time God, I acknowledge Your supreme grace for interacting with me, imparting wisdom to me and allowing me to participate in Your Divine nature. You are Superior to me in righteousness, power, wisdom, and justice, yet You share that in Jesus Christ. I ask that You continue to mold me into Your image and to impart wisdom through Your Holy Word! 

Bibliography

• Alden, Robert L. Job. Nashville: B and H Publishers, 1993.
• Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. Containing an Abridgment of The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon. Copied from Biblesoft’s PC Study Bible v.5.1 Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1993.
• Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books, revised and expanded. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1988.
• Daily, Thomas F. “The Wisdom of Divine Disputation? On Job 40:2-5.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament no. 63 (S 1994): 105-119.
• Glazov, Gregory Yuri. “The Significance of the ‘Hand on the Mouth’ Gesture in Job xl 4.” Vetus Testamentum 52, no. 1 (2002): 30-41. 
• Harris, Laird R. ed. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copied from Biblesoft’s PC Study Bible v.5.1. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980.
• Hartley, John E. The Book of Job. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988.
• LaSor, William Sanford, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic Wm. Bush. Old Testament Survey: Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996. 
• Maahs, K. H. “Arm.” In International Society Bible Encyclopedia. Revised ed. Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromily. (No page). Copied from Bibesoft’s PC Study Bible v. 5.1. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1979.
• Murphy, Ronald E. Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1981.