God’s 4 Chapter Speech To Job

The later chapters of Job are striking to me for two reasons. First, and most obviously, it is by far the longest speech that God Himself makes in the entire Bible, and not be a little bit, but by a lot.

 In the New Testament the direct speeches from God are just the brief announcements of Jesus as His beloved son at His baptism and transfiguration. In the Old Testament direct speech from God is recorded more often, such as speaking to Moses in the burning bush, giving the Ten Commandments in His own voice the very first time they are given and a conversation with Elijah in 1 Kings 19 about the 7,000 who have not bowed to Baal.  But still, any direct speech from God is extraordinary, especially since there is nothing else near this length.

In this long speech (Ch. 38-41) God doesn’t give Job the answer He seeks.  He rebukes Job for his insolence and then He gives him reason to trust God 

38:4,5“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?“

God goes on to ask about the stars, the sea, the clouds, the sunrise, the snow, hail, rain, the constellations, the beasts: goat, ostrich, horse and hawk, the Behemoth and Leviathan. Was any man there to set that up with God?  If no, and obviously it is no, then why ask how He governs the world and does it wrongly. The answer God gave did not tell Job why he suffered, but that a great and wise God knew about it and was ruling the world in a marvelous manner. That the answer Job got, and its one for all of us to remember.