Job

Job Chapter 40

God continues to answer Job.

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

Sometimes I think about how I would love to hear God speak directly to me but actually He made the way through Jesus to do just that. First He provides those that were divinely inspired to write all things we need to know in the book we call the bible.

God then send's His only pure sinless Son to leave Heaven and be born as a baby in a virgin that has not yet had any contact intimately with men. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the baby is placed in the womb of Mariam, whom we usually call by the name of Mary, a woman chosen of God to bring forth the savior of all who would believe in Him.

When we receive Him into our lives, our eternal souls can escape hell become new within and inherit eternal life. God the Son became a man. He became flesh and blood as we are. He had to live His whole life on earth without committing one single sin. He had to keep the law perfectly. He had to be perfect. The law of God is eternal, if we break just one law, we lose our souls for eternity. Jesus came to reverse that curse by allowing Himself to die even though He did nothing wrong His entire life. In that way all who receive Him and look to Him for salvation can be forgiven and saved inheriting eternal life.

By one man's sin, through Adam, sin came into the world. The curse of sin was upon all flesh. By one man's obedience, the curse of sin is broken and we can become cleansed of sin and born again by the Holy Spirit of God. God had to become man so that all who receive Him is saved.

He then fills all who will seek Him and believe with the Holy Spirit given to us as individuals. Through the Holy Spirit and through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, God can now speak to any one of us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. By reading the word and being in prayer regularly we can learn to have discernment so that we can know what is a word from the Lord and what is just our flesh or imagination. We can learn to know the difference. He still speaks by His written word, by the preaching of the word by those He sends, by prophetic gifts of the Holy Spirit and at times by angels, and I've heard some that have said they heard an audible voice at times. That one I haven't yet experienced. I believe though that if I needed to hear His voice in an audible form, He would speak that way.

Those in Old Testament days, had to hear from God through prophets or audible voices.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

We who are alive now have the privilege of seeing and witnessing in a different dispensation. We live after Jesus came whereas Job lived before Jesus came to be our savior and die for our sins. Jesus was risen from the dead insuring that all who believe will also have the power within us to be risen from the dead when Jesus returns again to us.

Job Promises Silence

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job, in awe and respect does not want to speak when he hears the voice of our blessed almighty God.

The Lord Challenges Job

Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.

God asks Job why he is condemning Him. Will blaming Him for his troubles make him righteous. Job did not sin against God or curse God but he did think God caused the troubles he was having.

Job 40:11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.
14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

No matter how good we are and what good we can do we cannot save ourselves but we need God's provision for our salvation. Job is being reproved for his former criticism of God for bringing on him all the evil that has happened to him.

Job 40:15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

Whatever this animal is, he was present at the creation of all other animals. It is mere speculation of what this is. Some believe dinasaurs existed here at earth at one time even after the creation of man so this may resemble them but others believe it the be an elephant or some other large animal. Some things we just don't know. He eats grass and has a strong tail. He is a very powerful animal.. Elephants do not have a strong tail that seems to be discribed here. Whatever this animal is we have to just speculate. Might be some sort of dragon that use to live but has died out and is no longer around. Perhaps some the the dragon legends were based on some truth. After the flood of Noah's day though it seems the long lives they had before has been shortened and probably animals do not grow as big. Who knows?

When we read the chapters that speak of the descendents of the sons Noah we see a gradual reduction of ages.

The oldest man ever to live on the earth, at least what we recorded in the bible, is the son of Enoch, the grandfather of Noah named Methuselah who lived 969 years. This was before the flood of Noah's day. When Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah's father was Enoch who didn't die a natural death. He was taken to heaven like Elijah years later. This to me is a preview of the rapture of the future church that is faithful to God just before the great tribulation of the latter days. Of course we know there are some that disagree with that and do not believe the church escapes the great tribulation by way of a rapture.

Shem lived around 600 years even though he lived before and after the flood. The years continued to decrease. By the time of Abraham, we see he lived around 175. Later Joseph lived until the age of 110. Today it is rare that anyone lives to be over 100. My dad lived to be 95 and very few last that long even now in the days of much medical care. Because of sin and increase of evil, our ages are shortened at least on the earth. Our souls never die but go into a place awaiting God's judgment day. Those that die in the Lord, (faith in Jesus), go to a different place. They go to be with the Lord and will stay there until the resurrection of their bodies when Jesus comes to gather all His believers together. DC

Job Chapter41