Page 139 - Job

whirlwind. Chances are, God came in some kind of a storm. But if there
was a literal storm, I believe it was an object lesson picture. Job was in a
whirlwind. He was blown away. He was in a mental tornado, and God
speaks from the chaos.
They had been debating back and forth and it was chaotic, and out of the
midst of that, God spoke.
First of all, I would like to set the stage and examine the question, “What
happened here?” Let’s try and put ourselves in Job’s place. God
overwhelms Job with seventy-nine questions. He asks question after
question. He doesn’t wait for Job’s answer. The fact is, Job probably
could not answer most of them. God just hurls those questions on twenty-
four different subjects. And the result of this great discourse and collision
of opposites is: “The full answer to the problem of suffering and the
mysteries of life”.

All right, let me set the stage and try to bring you into the spirit of what is
happening. Remember now, through the three cycles of debates Job was
getting nowhere with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. And of course he was
getting nowhere with God. Let me show you some of those verses. Turn
to chapter 9, please. This was the first expression of his challenge to God.
Of course, it shocked the daylights out of his friends when they heard him
say this. Chapter 9, verse 32
“For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, that we may go
to court together. There is no umpire between us, who may lay his
hand upon us both. Let Him remove His rod from me, and let not
dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him; But
I am not like that in myself.”
Here is what Job was saying. “It’s not fair! He is God and I am a man! He
can do anything He wants to me, and I cannot do anything against Him!”
If He were a man, as I am a man, then we could square off and we could
settle this thing. Or if there were an umpire between us – someone who
was God/man, who could lay his hand upon us both. Of course, this is a
picture of Christ who is going to come later on, who can put one hand on
God and one hand on man and bring them together. But in Job’s day, he
said, if there was only somebody. If He would let the pressure off, then I
would stand face to face with God and I would debate Him. Look at
chapter 13 verse 21
“Remove Your hand from me, (now he is praying to God) and let not
the dread of You terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; Or let me
speak, then reply to me.”

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