Page 137 - Reading Job to Know God

you for telling me. I didn’t know. They said You were punishing my sin,
but really, You were trying my righteousness. If You had just explained
that, it would be all over. But God didn’t do that because Job’s problems
had been compounded. It was not only his suffering now. It was Job
himself that was the problem. And so now God begins. God speaks, and
Job listens. I believe that his heart was quivering like a leaf in the
whirlwind as he stood before God.

Let me suggest a simple outline of this message that God speaks. There
are a number of ways to look at it. It is a series of questions that God
slings at Job. Nothing, like the debates that have gone before. Man tried to
use logical arguments. God throws out judicial interrogations. He suggests
the Supremacy and Wisdom of all things He has created.
Here is one way to look at this section. God speaks two times and with
each of His messages answers a different question. In 38:1 through 40:5,
He answers the question: Shall a mortal man contend with God? When
you finish that section, you will see that the answer is no. A mortal man
should never do what Job did and contend with God. And then chapter
40:6 through 42:6: Shall a mortal man charge God with wrong doing in
the way He rules His world? Once again, the answer to that question is,
no, we should not challenge the way God does things. Chapter 40:3,
“Then Job answered the LORD and said, (You see this is right in the
middle of the speech and Job speaks) ‘Behold, I am insignificant;
What can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have
spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing
more.’ ”
Is this the same Job that says let Him come and I will fill my mouth with
arguments? Now he has both hands over his mouth and says, “Okay,
Lord, that’s enough. I get Your point; I am insignificant; I see it.” God
says, “You do not get my point, because it is not My point to show you
that you are insignificant”. So Job speaks again in verse 6 and the Lord
answered. God speaks. Job speaks. God speaks again.

Or, you can look at it in terms of what God said. In God’s argument, He
illustrates His greatness through the world He created. Chapter 38:1-35,
He uses the inanimate creation – the earth, the sea, the day, the night, the
light, the darkness, storms, stars and heavenly bodies. And then in
chapters 38:36 - 42:6, He speaks of living things, animate things – man,
animals, insects and birds.
Here is how we’re going to look at it. First, I am going to go through it,
not verse by verse, but truth by truth. I tried to play a little game and put
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