Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Job 40 – Job’s reply and God’s answer. According to Bible scholars, the events of the book of Job took place approximately before 2100 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Job 40 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Job 40 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Job 39, we read about God continuing to challenge Job with rhetoric questions to reveal His omnipotence. Well, in this Bible study on Job 40, we will read about Job’s reply to God and God’s answer.
Without any further delay, let us study together Job Chapter 40, shall we?
God’s Power And Wisdom
1Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said:
2 “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”
In Verses 1-2 of Job 40, The Lord answered Job. He questioned how could Job correct Him who is God Almighty. The Lord, further said that since Job rebukes Him (God), let him answer the questions that He (God) asks him. A person who rebukes God considers himself to be above God.
Job Answers The Lord
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4 “Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
In Verses 3-5 of Job 40, Job now answers the Lord and told him that he is vile and that he has nothing to say to God. He covered his mouth with his hands and said that he had already spoken once but he will not answer. Indeed twice he has spoken but he refused to answer God any further. Job knew that he was in trouble. He did good in not answering God. He just needed to accept his mistake.
The Lord Answered Job Again
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
7 “Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me:
8 “Would you indeed annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.
11 Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low;
Tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
14 Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.
In Verses 6-18 of Job 40, The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind again and asked him to prepare himself like a man and answer Him.
He questioned Job on how could he annul His judgment and condemn Him so that he (Job) could justify himself. He questioned Job if he had an arm like Him or could he thunder like Him? If so, He challenged Job to adorn himself with majesty and splendour and to array himself with glory and beauty like He (God) does.
He challenged Job to disperse his rage and humble the proud and tread on the wicked like He (God) does. He challenged Job to hide the wicked in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness at the place of death. If he (Job) could do all these things then God said that He Himself will confess that Job’s own right hand can save him.
The Lord Speaks About The Behemoth’s Physical Strength
15 “Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
18 His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.
In Verses 15-28 of Job 40, God talks to Job about the Behemoth. The Lord told Job that the Behemoth eats grass and his strength is in his hips and his power is in his stomach muscles. The Lord told Job how the behemoth moves his tail like a cedar tree and how the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit like a rope by Him on purpose. His (behemoth’s) ribs are as strong as iron and his bones are like bronze.
The Lord Speaks About The Behemoth’s Behaviour
19 He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
20 Surely the mountains yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
23 Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
24 Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
In Verses 19-23, God tells how the behemoth is the first of His ways. He seemingly meant that the behemoth is one of the first to exhibit the strength, power and might of God. Only God – The Creator can master him. The Behemoth eats from the mountains where all the wild animas play. From Verse 15 and Verse 20 we can note than the Behemoth is a herbivore.
The Lord continues to tell Job how the behemoth lies down under the shade of lotus trees in water, in a place covered with reeds and marsh. The willows of the brook surround him and give him shade. The behemoth is not disturbed or concerned by the wild river or even the Jordan river that rages and floods.
Verse 24 in the amplified version explains if anyone can capture him while he is on the watch or shall anyone pierce through his nose with a snare? In short, In Verses 24, The Lord asks Job if there is anyone (including Job) who can capture the behemoth while he is attentive and on watch? Is there anyone (including Job) who can pierce through the Behemoth’s nose with a snare? These are rhetoric questions and the obvious answer to these questions is a ‘No’.
What Is The Behemoth?
The behemoth is commonly believed to be a large, monstruous creature that cannot be identified with certainty. However, the Amplified Version of The Bible tells that the Behemoth matches the description of the Hippopotamus which was the largest creature that lived along the Nile and even along the Jordan and was probably much larger than the hippopotamus that we see today. It makes sense because God told Job to consider the Behemoth which He created along with Job (He was referring to mankind) in Verse 15. As we see in Genesis 1, God made both the living creatures of the earth and the man on the 6th day.
It is also to be noted that the Hippopotamus are also herbivores (which matches the description of the Behemoth in Verse 15 and 20) and they have an aggressive and wild temper and behaviour. They are also the third largest mammals on the earth as of today.
Why Did God Speak To Job About The Behemoth?
God asked questions about the Behemoth to Job to prove to Job His expression of power and might through the Behemoth. Surely a man cannot create such an animal/creature as the Behemoth. God with His seemingly simple yet thought-provoking complex questions makes Job realise the magnitude of His Power And Omnipotence.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Job 40. God, yet again, reveals His power and might to Job and confronts Job with rhetoric questions that Job does not have any answer for. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey.
If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!