Job 40
Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Job 40:1
He who argues with God, let him answer it.
With that, God pauses for a moment and challenges Job to prove himself. This is the moment that Job has been waiting for. This is his opportunity to set forth his case and clear his name. It is also his chance to fall on his face and repent. So which will it be?
Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
Job 40:4-5
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.
In other words, he has said what he has said, and that is enough. He is not going to venture further. I guess Job recognizes that he is a bit overmatched…but he doesn’t yet retract anything! Stunning! After all that God has already said, Job is only mildly humbled; he still maintains his position. And so, in a tremendous display of patience, mercy, and grace, the LORD continues:
Dress for action like a man;
Job 40:7-9
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Verse 7 is a repeat of Job 38:3 (so here we go again!) and verse 8 goes directly to the crux of the problem, that Job, in his self-justification, is condemning the all-righteous God. God’s challenge continues:
Have you an arm like God,
Job 40:9-14
and can you thunder with a voice like His?
Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
When Job can do what God does, then God will acknowledge that Job can save himself. (But until then, maybe not…) The same, of course, is true for us. That is, we have no hope of saving ourselves. We are utterly in need of a Savior. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25a)
John rightly points out what I had missed – although Job declares that he has nothing more to say (vv. 4-5), he does not retract anything that he has, in fact, said, nor does he “repent” of any of his earlier words. So God goes on to challenge Job a bit more. Interestingly, in all that God says to Job, He does not belittle him as Job’s friends had done; almost gently He reminds Job of who He is and who Job is not. The Lord’s harshest rebuke is in verse 8b, “Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?” No doubt that in itself is a hard word for Job to accept, but God is speaking truth.
The words that truly struck me today were verses 11b-13: “…look on every proud man and bring him low. Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave…”. God speaks twice of “every proud man” in conjunction with “the wicked”. That is to say, He likens them to one another. I have never thought of myself as particularly “wicked” – certainly not faultless, but really not “wicked”. However, I am one with “every proud man”! I am that very “every proud man”. And if pride is on a level with wickedness, even mentioned before “the wicked”, then I am truly in need of a Savior!! The proud are singled out – we must be at the highest level of God’s contempt for sin. A harsh reality…!