THE RESTORATION OF JOB - PART 3
God’s dealings with Job: (Continued from the Previous Post)
Chapter 40
Job
40:2, 7, 8, 9- “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty
correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” “Now
prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me:
“Would
you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
(To
understand why God said this to Job, read Job 10th chapter)
Job 40:11-14
There
are many commentaries which state that God was reminding Job about his
inability to save himself from the wicked and the proud and he had to depend on
God for his salvation. But that would be incorrect. We have
to understand this passage in the context of this book.
1.
God’s Hand – Satan wanted God to stretch forth his hand and
afflict Job, which God did not do (1:11, 2:5); But God removed His hand from
Job and placed him on satan’s hands (Job 2:6)
2. Satan’s Hand – All over
the book of Job, where Job was telling God’s hand was oppressing him, it was
actually satan’s hand that was oppressing him, which Job could not recognize
(6:9,10; 19:6-11)
3.
Job’s Hand – Since God had removed his hand
from Job, at this point, God could not save Job with his hand. But God had
to strengthen Job’s hand against satan’s hand. Otherwise how could a man who
was waiting for the day of his death could have got the strength to rise up
from the ashes, change his sack cloth, face his adversaries, build up his family
again and earn back his wealth?
God exhorts Job that his own right hand can save him (40:14)
What did God mean by that?
1.
God told Job to adorn himself with majesty and
splendor, and array himself with glory and beauty (Verse 10). Until this time,
Job was sitting on the ashes and scraping himself with a potsherd. God told him
to get up from his ashes, to go back to his home and adorn himself like a noble
man, as he had done before his illness.
2.
God told Job to take revenge on two groups of
people (Remember he was not healed yet, with the strength he had, God asked him
to do that).
·
Everyone who is proud (Verse 11)
·
Wicked (Verse 12)
These two group of people had distressed
Job greatly. Job described about the proud people (Job 19: 5 onwards) and about
the wicked people (Job 21) in these chapters.
Until that time, Job thought nothing could be done about these people (Job 21:30,31) but God told him to rise up from the ashes, strengthen himself and take revenge on the wicked and the proud. God promised that he would appreciate and commend Job when he does that (Verse 40:14). Doesn’t it mirror the exhortation given in Hebrews 12:1 to Christian believers?
Behemoth & Leviathan (Chapter 40: 15 – 41:34)
Celestial Non-natural
Beings or Natural Beings?
There
is no evidence or reference to suggest that these are celestial non-natural
beings that are referred to in the book of Job. It is possible that there are
celestial beings that exist with the same name, however there is nothing to
suggest those are referred here. I would like to give the following reasons for
that.
1.
In chapter 39 all the animals that were mentioned were
those which Job could relate and understand easily (In chapter 38 some supernatural
elements and processes were mentioned, but that is to remind Job that he did
not have control over God’s creations)
2.
While speaking about Behemoth and Leviathan, God
specifically mentions their natural habitats, their diet and the interactions
humans have had with them previously, which Job understood easily as God was
narrating to him. There is nothing non-natural or celestial about their
physical life.
3.
The most important aspect to remember while
reading these passages are with respect to the time, place and situation where
this happened. Just because Behemoth and Leviathan were untamable in Job’s
time doesn’t mean they still remain untamed. God speaks to each one of us in
the language which we can understand. For some God speaks through nature, for
others through art, music etc. Our mind has to be tuned with God to listen to
what he is telling us. To us people in this century if God had to take an
example, perhaps he would use covid-19. (In the future it may be brought under
control, but for us now it is an example that could be related to and understood).
4.
I don’t know what exactly these two creatures are.
They may be some dinosaurs that are extinct now or they may be creatures that
are alive now and known by some other name.
5.
In the middle east, there is at least one place
where Job was supposed to have lived, which has different types of natural
habitation and lush green vegetation, mountainous region with lots of water
spots around and sea nearby to support such huge creatures.
I
would like to split God’s lectures on Behemoth and leviathan into two parts
based on the final message he gives from these two creatures
First Message: Chapter 41:1-10 - No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up Who then is able to stand against Me?
Second Message: Chapter 40:15-23 - Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth; Chapter 41:12 - 34 - On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”
First Message: Chapter 41:1-10 - No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up Who then is able to stand against Me?
The first message of God seems to be an answer to Job’s invocation of people with some mystic forces who could stir up Leviathan and who could curse a day (Job 3:8). In many of the Eastern countries there are still traces of those mystics who claim that they have power over nature and could tame nature at their will. During Job’s days it is possible there could have been a belief about people with such mystic forces who had tremendous power to arouse Leviathan, which could not be subdued by normal human beings with natural power; and also had the power to curse and darken a day. In Acts 8:9 we read about Simon, the sorcerer who practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, and they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” But God made Job realise that there is no one with such great power to stir up Leviathan and no one had the power to stand against Him also.
Second Message: Chapter 40:15-23; Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth; Chapter 41:12 - 34 - On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”
The
second message of God is also clear. I want to mention Job 41:12 where God says
“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its
graceful form”. I am referring to NIV, since this version is closest to
Tamil translation. After God corrected Job of his misconception about
mystic forces, God wanted to reveal more about Leviathan. It is about it’s
strength and how it faces various challenges and overcomes them.
In the second message from both Behemoth and Leviathan, God speaks about how he has created them with the physical structure, strength, agility and attitude to face all the challenges and courageously face those who try to hunt them. There could be a separate study on the challenges faced by Behemoth and Leviathan and the mechanism they have to overcome it.
God’s speech on Behemoth and Leviathan would have given Job revelation that God had already endowed him with innate strength and mechanisms to overcome his physical challenges; ideas and plans to maneuver various situations to face difficulties, oppositions and afflictions.
Restoration of Job – Job’s Two-fold Blessings
Although the Holy Bible does not describe Job’s exact response to God’s exhortation. Job would have changed his sackcloth and worn his rich robes as God instructed him, took revenge on the wicked, offered sacrifice for his friends (for offering sacrifice he would not have gone on his sackcloth). God restored his fortune double-fold. (Job 42: 7-17). Job could once again say what he had said earlier, “My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand” (Job 29:20).
It was the Sabeans who took the oxen and the donkeys and the Chaldeans who took his camels. If Job had waited for the Sabeans and Chaldeans to repent, acknowledge their mistakes and bring back his cattle, Job would still be sitting on the ashes, scraping his skin with a potsherd. But Job had to realise, ultimate good comes from God and ultimate evil arises from satan. Since Job depended on God alone for his restoration, God restored everything he lost double-fold.
The lesson from the book of Job can be summarized using two verses from the New Testament
“For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us (Romans 8:18)”.
“And also Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37)”.
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