Open your Bibles, if you would, to Job chapter 38.
If you're using the Pew Bible, don't have a Bible of your own, I would encourage you to turn there.
It's on page 443, Job 38.
We head into the homestretch, as it were, of our study in the book of Job.
And finally the moment is here.
The moment we've all been waiting for has finally come in Job 38,
where up to this point God has been audibly silent.
We've been learning about the suffering and the silence of God,
and God has been silent to Job, silent to his friends,
at least in an audible way up to this point, and finally God will speak.
We're going to hear his words.
What will he say?
How will he come and address the counsel that's been happening to Job's friends?
How will he address Job's heart and the strugglings and the wrestlings of his heart?
What will he say?
How will God set all the things back in order?
Well, of course, God has not been silent.
And we've seen that throughout the whole book.
And while his voice has not been audible,
it's clear that the truth about God has been present.
We've seen it in the address, the counsel of Job's friends.
We've seen it in Job himself, as he addresses God and draws truth out of creation.
We've seen it from Elihu and how Elihu will state very true things about God that he's observed in creation.
And of course, we know that this is the case.
As the psalmist says in Psalm 19, verses 1 to 4, he says,
Notice all the times where voice and speech and knowledge
and declare and proclaim all of these words that describe the voice of God
that comes through the created order, the heavens that declare the glory of God.
God can be perceived and truth about God can be known through creation.
It's an accurate picture, an accurate representation of God.
The challenge, though, comes to how we perceive this truth
and how we interpret the truths that can be known through the universe.
So that in Romans chapter 1, we find this in 19 and 20,
What can be known about God is plain to them,
speaking about anyone who has access to creation and the world that God made.
Because God has shown it to them for his invisible attributes,
namely, his eternal power, his divine nature,
have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world
in the things that have been made so that they are without excuse.
God has made himself known.
God has declared truth about himself through creation
that is accurate, that is clear, that can be perceived,
that is accessible to us.
The problem, however, is that it's limited by our perspective.
It's limited by the way that we interpret the truths that we perceive.
That while we see God's nature,
while we can experience God's power,
it has to run through a filter, through a grid of our interpretation,
and we make assumptions based upon the truths we see.
So that when Romans 1 goes on,
it helps us understand what the inevitable conclusion is every time without the Scripture.
For although they knew God, it says,
they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.
But they became futile in their thinking,
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
We're going to see a measure of that as God addresses Job today,
and God says directly to Job,
who is this who darkens counsel?
That's where we're all left,
without the Scripture in front of us.
The way that we interpret the truths
is going to be polluted by our own assumptions about God.
We all know this.
There are, I'm sure, a number of times where you have observed situations,
and you thought you knew the facts,
and you thought you were able to kind of discern what was going on,
but you realize later on that your assumptions were made improperly.
This past Friday night,
our family was at a sporting event,
and there was a family sitting just in front and to the left of us,
and three of the members of this family,
a little girl who was seven,
and two young women who were there.
And she was skipping on the tops of the bench that was there,
the bleachers that were there,
hopping from the top to the bottom,
and then on the way to the top.
And I turned to look at the sporting event,
and all of a sudden I hear a thud.
And then I hear a, ah, a cry.
And I turn and look, and here's this little girl.
She's down on the floor of the bleachers,
and she's crying her eyes out.
And the young woman who's sitting next to her says,
will you stop it already?
Will you just be quiet?
That's enough.
And I thought to myself,
wow, that seems a little hard.
What should I do?
Should I intervene?
Should I help to provide some tenderness that's missing?
And what I came to discover over a little bit of time,
in talking to this little girl through the rest of the evening,
is that she is a,
she is one of ten siblings in a family.
And so I asked her, you know, the obvious question,
hey, so you're the youngest of ten.
Would you say that you get the most attention or the least attention?
And without hesitation, she said, the most attention.
And I thought to myself, okay, now this makes sense.
She has learned how to manipulate the situation
and to get the attention that she really, really wants.
And she was fine.
And her sister, who was sitting there, older sister,
knew that she was fine,
knew that she was a drama queen,
knew that she often does this to try to get attention
and just to be, just be quiet.
I've had enough.
And it was a delightful interchange the rest of the evening
as she talked our ear off
and we got to know the family a little bit better.
But God has made himself known through creation.
There are things that we can perceive,
truths that we can perceive about God,
but it's limited because we're missing the conversation.
And it wasn't until our family,
I had a conversation with this little girl
that now things began to be clear
and now I was beginning to read things in the right way.
We're going to see
through the course of our time this morning
that God is going to show up
and God is going to now begin to set things straight for Job.
He's had a lot of things right.
He's declared a lot of truths about God,
but he's come to the wrong conclusions about God.
And now God will finally break the silence
and help to establish who he really is
and help to set the grid
by which his creation needs to be understood.
So open up, if you would,
if you're not already there,
to Job chapter 38.
We're going to cover this morning,
the plan was to cover chapter 38 and 39,
but my plan is just to cover verses 1 to 3,
and then we'll come back to the rest of it next week.
We're just going to lay the foundation for this
and help us understand the framework
for what God is doing,
maybe review a lot of the complaints that Job had,
kind of catch us up to where we are in this study
so we can really appreciate what God is doing here.
And it's amazing.
Job 38 verses 1 to 3 says this,
Here at the very beginning,
the Lord will answer Job.
The Lord answered Job.
And in his answer,
in the way that he answers,
we're going to see three very distinct
and very significant things about God.
Things that should encourage all of us
and certainly were a blessing to Job
through the course of this conversation.
That Job answered God
meant that God was present first of all.
First, God is present.
With these opening words,
then the Lord answered Job.
You can almost sense this sigh of relief.
God is here.
God is present.
God hasn't abandoned me.
God isn't really my enemy like I thought he was.
God has not pushed me aside.
God has not counted me as unworthy.
God is present.
God is here.
And God is speaking.
He's answered me.
Almost like a child
who's kind of wandered away in the store.
And maybe you've had this experience.
Maybe you've been that kid.
Or maybe you've been that parent.
Or you've told your kids who are younger,
Hey, stay close to me.
Don't move away from where I am.
This is a big store.
There are a lot of people here.
I don't want you to get lost.
But that child,
and maybe it was you,
you saw that thing in the last aisle.
You were passing by with your mom
and it just seemed so enticing.
You know, it had the button that said,
Touch here.
And you didn't get a chance to touch
because it was out of reach.
And you just want to go back
and see what touching does.
And so mom's not looking.
She's at the shelves.
And you kind of slip away
just briefly and quickly
to go do what you wanted to do
and to touch whatever it was
and to hear that sound
or to see that motion.
And then you make your way back
to the first aisle
where your mother was
and now she's missing.
You've been rebellious.
You've been disobedient.
You have done what your mom said not to do
in leaving her side.
And now you know there will be consequences
because of your disobedience.
But it does not matter.
Because all you want
is to have the presence of mom again.
And so what do you do?
You cry out,
Mommy, where are you?
Willing to accept whatever consequences might come.
But it doesn't matter
because you need Mommy to be there.
I'm lost.
I'm alone.
But all of that doesn't matter
as long as I have Mommy back in my presence.
And now Job
is finally experiencing the presence of God again.
And you can better believe
that Job is feeling a sense of relief.
Whatever my complaint was,
whatever the answer is,
it really doesn't matter
because God is here.
God is present.
And whatever consequences will come,
whatever this darkening of counsel means,
whatever the confrontation or rebuke will be,
at least God is present here.
At least God has come.
And Job knows it's going to be a terrible encounter.
He's stated so much through the course of this book.
We've seen back in Job chapter 9 verse 11
and some of the complaints of Job's heart.
Behold, he says,
he passes by me
and I see him not.
He moves on,
but I do not perceive him.
Where is the Lord?
How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
Though I am in the right,
I cannot answer him.
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
I don't understand what's going on here.
I used to enjoy such fellowship with God.
We had sweet communion together.
I worshipped him.
I pointed my family to him.
I enjoyed the blessings from him.
And somehow he's distant.
Somehow I feel like I've become his enemy
and I have no idea what has happened.
Oh God, just come and let me know what's taken place.
I'll fix whatever it is
and then we can get right on with how things were.
In Job chapter 13,
he echoes this complaint in verse 3.
But I would speak to the Almighty.
I desire to argue my case with God.
Withdraw your hand from me.
Let not dread of you terrify me.
Then call and I will answer
or let me speak and you reply to me.
How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgressions and my sins.
Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?
That's really what this has been about.
It's not necessarily been about Job's complaint about God's injustice.
But it's been about Job understanding the justice of God
but also seeing the integrity of his own heart
and the two he just cannot reconcile.
How can both be true?
If I just speak with God,
he can set the record straight.
He can just tell me what's going on.
I can make this right.
We can get on with the way things were.
In Job 23,
I don't have this in the slide.
Oh, he says,
that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his seat.
I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
There an upright man could argue with him
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
Behold, I go forward but he is not there
and backward but I do not perceive him
on the left hand when he is working.
I do not behold him.
He turns to the right hand but I do not see him
but he knows the way I take.
When he has tried me,
I shall come out as gold.
Therefore, I am terrified of his presence
when I consider I am in dread of him.
Job understands that meeting with God
is a fearful venture
but if that's what it takes
to resolve the issue between him and God,
it's worth the cost.
More than anything,
Job just wanted to hear from God.
More than anything,
Job just wanted to understand
that things were good.
They were cleared.
That he could reconcile between God
and he could enjoy that relationship with him again.
But the counsel that he was getting
throughout the course of this book
is a counsel that would say,
God doesn't care about you.
God is not going to show up
and meet with you, Job.
Eliphaz would say
something along those lines in Job 5, verse 1.
He says,
Call now.
Is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Job, God doesn't care about your situation.
God is not going to answer your pleas
for meeting with him.
The only way that God is going to meet with you
is if you resolve the sin in your life
and then maybe God will entertain
the possibility of meeting with you again.
Elihu will say much the same thing
in Job, chapter 35, verses 13 and 14.
Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almighty regard it.
How much less when you say
that you do not see him,
that the case is before him
and you are waiting for him.
I'm quoting you, Job.
These are your words.
When you say that God does not hear you
and God is not there,
how can you imagine
that empty kinds of cries
are going to elicit a response from God?
And here we are in Job 38, verse 1.
And the Lord answered.
The Lord answered because
the Lord delighted in Job.
And the Lord delights in answering
the cries of those who come to him.
Those who call on the name of the Lord
will be saved.
They will be delivered.
They will enjoy.
His help.
You see, Eliphaz didn't speak for God.
Elihu didn't speak for God.
They were both dead wrong.
And God shows up to answer Job.
And he will hear and answer those
who call on him in humility.
I want to take just a mini detour
so you can see the wonder of this God
that we serve from Psalm 107.
It's one of my favorites.
Who will God answer?
Who will God save?
Who will God deliver?
And we get snapshots of four different groups
of individuals who experience the delivering hand of God.
And the one similarity between every single one of them is
they will call
and they will ask for help
and God will deliver.
Notice this in verse 1.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord
for he is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.
His love is dependable.
His love is steady.
His love can be counted on.
You can count on the love of God.
Here are some examples.
Beginning in verse 4.
Some have wandered in the desert wastes
finding no way to a city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love
for his wondrous works to the children of men.
Then moving down to verse 10.
Some sat in darkness in the shadow of death.
Prisoners in affliction in an iron.
For they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Now, do you get that for a second?
They're experiencing the devastating consequences
of their own actions.
They're in prison.
They're experiencing difficulty and suffering
because of their own rebellion.
Verse 13.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness
in the shadow of death.
He burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men.
And in verse 17.
Some were fools through their sinful ways.
And because of their iniquities,
they suffered affliction.
They loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distress.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men.
And in verse 23.
Some went down to the sea and ships
doing business on the great waters.
They saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind.
And I've underlined that
because that's the same word
as the whirlwind that we see in our passage.
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to the heavens.
They went down to the depths.
Their courage melted away.
And in their evil plight.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distress.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men.
God delights in answering the prayers of those who cry.
He delights in the humility of those
who will recognize the desperation of their need.
And they turn to God and say,
Save me!
Deliver me!
Help me!
And the greatest deliverance we need, of course,
is the deliverance from sin.
And God sent his son Jesus
to deal with that on the cross
so that those who ask forgiveness for their sin
and believe that he died and rose again
can enjoy the benefits of forgiveness
in salvation and deliverance.
So we find from Romans chapter 10,
verses 9 to 13,
where it says,
Because if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes
and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses
and is saved.
For the scripture says,
Everyone who believes in him
will not be put to shame.
There is no distinction
between Jew and Greek.
For the same Lord is Lord of all,
bestowing his riches on all
who call on him.
for everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord
will be saved.
Do you need deliverance this morning?
The greatest deliverance
you could ever need
is deliverance
of the bondage of sin in your life.
Is the forgiveness and cleansing
that comes from God
through belief in his son Jesus Christ.
And the deliverance that God gives
is not deliverance always
from the struggles that you face,
but it's always a struggle.
It's the deliverance that he gives,
the peace that passes understanding,
and the strength that God delivers
to carry us through
the trials that we face.
And an awareness of the fact
that God is present in our life,
even when he seems so distant
that God is there.
He delights in answering those
who call on him
because he's present.
Well, God is also powerful.
Not just present,
that God is powerful.
The Lord answered Job
out of the whirlwind
and said,
Who is this
that darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
The fact that God shows up
in this whirlwind
is to establish emphatically
that he is a God
that cannot be trifled with.
He's a God
of unstoppable power.
He comes to Job
in this whirlwind
to help him recognize
that God is a force.
And of course,
Job understood
the force
and the power
and the supremacy
of God.
But he's reminded now,
again,
of God's power
in the whirlwind.
We'll see this again
in Job 40,
verses 6 and 7.
Next week,
the Lord answered Job
out of a whirlwind
and said,
Dress for action
like a man.
I will question you
and you make it known to me.
Well, why a whirlwind?
It's a way
to arrest Job's attention.
It's a way for him
to recognize,
again,
in a very visual way
that God is in charge,
that God is powerful.
But so often
throughout the Old Testament
especially,
we see that God
shows up in this way
to show the unstoppable
nature of his power.
We see it in Isaiah
chapter 29,
verses 5 to 7,
where the nation of Israel,
Jerusalem in particular,
they're under siege.
And these powerful nations
are coming against them.
And from a human standpoint,
there was no answer.
There was no solution.
There was no helper.
But God shows up
through the prophet Isaiah
to say,
I am a helper
and I'm going to show you
how this is going to happen.
The multitude of your foreign foes
shall be like a small dust.
The multitude of the ruthless
like passing chaff.
In an instant,
suddenly,
you will be visited
by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and earthquakes
and a great noise.
With a whirlwind
and a tempest
and flame
and devouring fire.
And the multitude
of all the nations
that fight against Ariel.
It's another word
for Jerusalem.
All that fight against her
and her stronghold
and distress her
shall be like a dream,
like a vision
of a night.
Like nothing.
Nothing before the power
of God
represented
by Isaiah
as an earthquake
and a fire
and this tempest
or whirlwind.
This unstoppable power
is a way
for God
to demonstrate
through even
the physical world
that Job
and his friends
have been drawing from.
The nature of God
that has become
clear to them
is now showing up
and represented
once again
by power
in this whirlwind.
It reminds us as well
that grace
is cheap
without a proper
understanding
or fear
of God.
This tempest,
if you've ever been
in a situation,
maybe even a tornado,
I remember as a young child
and just moving
to Ohio
and growing up
in Cedarville,
it had a reputation
just a couple of years
before
of this huge tornado
that came through
and did massive
devastation
and as a
six-year-old boy,
I was terrified
of the tempest.
I had a hard time
getting to sleep
at night
because of
the power
of a tornado
and the whirlwind
as it were
and God
reminds us
through this whirlwind
that the grace
that he offers
to us
is cheap
unless we understand
his power,
unless we stand
in reverence
and fear
of him.
Job will even say
in chapter 9
verse 15,
though I am
in the right,
I cannot answer him.
I must appeal
for mercy
to my accuser.
He recognizes
that he stands
in reverence
to God
and he is pleading
for mercy.
You see,
we must never
lose sight
of the glory
of God.
We must never
make God common
and that's what
the writer
to the Hebrews
is constantly
referring to.
How through
our sin
and through
our disobedience
we bring God
down.
We make him
common.
It's okay,
I can offend him,
he's just like
anyone else.
Maybe that's not
what we say
in our hearts
but that's essentially
what we are
affirming
through our actions.
Job understood
the fear of God.
He understood
the terror
of standing
before him.
He understood
the mercy
and the grace
of God's presence
and that's what
he was appealing
to.
And finally here,
God is wise.
God is present.
God is powerful.
God is wise.
Again,
in verse 1,
the Lord answered
Job out of the whirlwind
and said,
Who is this
that darkens
counsel
by words
without knowledge?
Who do you think
you are,
Job?
The knowledge
you've had
about me
is so convoluted.
You're speaking
ignorantly.
And Job understood
the significance
of God's wisdom.
He appeals to that
in Job 28,
verse 28,
when he says this,
he said to man,
behold the fear
of the Lord.
That is wisdom.
And to turn away
from evil
is understanding.
He understood
and grasped
some aspects
of this.
But there are also
times in Job's life
where he couldn't
compute,
he couldn't put
the pieces together
and so he made
assumptions about
God that weren't
true.
There are a number
of references
throughout the book
of Job that draw
on this illusion
of light and darkness.
light that appeals
or refers to
clarity
and truth
and darkness
that refers to
ignorance
and blindness
to the truth
that's in front of them.
In Job 12,
verse 22,
Job says,
he uncovers
deep things
out of darkness.
He brings the shadow
of death
to life,
light.
He takes away
the understanding
of the chiefs,
of the people.
They grope
in the dark
without light.
Job understood
the significance
of getting wisdom
from God.
He desired
to have that wisdom.
He knew
there was a difference
between light
and darkness
and while he understood
some things
about God,
there were
some gaps
in his understanding.
It had been
concealed from him.
He had spoken
in ignorance.
He tried to put
the pieces together
but he made
the wrong
assumptions.
He was limited.
He was limited
because he didn't
have access
to the special
revelation,
the word of God
that we have access
to.
And so while he was
trying to reconcile
the justice of God,
he didn't have
a category
for life
after death.
And so in his mind
he thought
the justice of God
needed to be
meted out
in the here and now.
And so if
wicked people
prosper
and righteous
people suffer,
how can that
equate
and compare
with God's
justice?
He had no
category for
life after death.
And interestingly,
there is no
mention
by Job
or even
Job's friends
of Satan.
They had no
concept
of an
adversary,
the devil,
who is coming
against God's
plans and seeking
to undermine
God's good
things.
While they knew
about angels,
they seemed to be
oblivious to Satan
and his part
in all of these
things.
And so they
assign the
suffering to God
instead of seeing
that it's coming
through the avenue
of Satan
and seeking to
undo God's
plans.
And of course,
God is ultimately
in control.
In Job chapter 2
verse 3,
God in speaking
with Satan
says,
Job still holds
fast his
integrity.
Although you,
Satan,
have incited me
against him
to destroy him
without reason.
God is ultimately
responsible.
He's the one
who permits
Satan
to do his
thing.
But Satan
is the one
who is coming
after Job.
Satan is the one
who is unleashing
this suffering
on Job.
But Job doesn't
understand this.
And so in Job
chapter 6
verse 4,
he says,
the arrows
of the Almighty
are in me.
My spirit
drinks their
poison.
The terrors
of God
are arrayed
against me.
In Job
chapter 9
verse 17,
he says,
for he,
speaking of the
Lord,
crushes me
with a tempest
and multiplies
my wounds
without cause.
In Job
19
verse 6,
8,
and 22,
he says,
God has
wronged me.
He has
fenced up
my way.
He has
stripped me
of glory.
He breaks
me down
on every
side.
He has
kindled
his wrath
against me.
He counts
me as
one of
his enemies.
The hand
of God
has struck
me.
And Job,
of course,
was wrong.
He speaks
ignorantly.
He's trying
to derive
the truths
that he knows
about his
own suffering
and he
doesn't
recognize
the parts
that he's
missing.
Of course,
God has
given to us
his word.
And in
Psalm 19,
God has
not only
given us
the words
of himself
through the
heavens,
the heavens
declaring the
glory of
God,
but the
rest of
the psalm
speaks about
the wonder
of the
scriptures
that we
have.
The law
of the
Lord is
perfect,
reviving
the soul.
The testimony
of the Lord
is sure,
making wise
the simple.
The precepts
of the Lord
are right,
rejoicing the
heart.
The commandment
of the Lord
is pure,
enlightening
the eyes.
The fear
of the Lord
is clean,
enduring forever.
The rules
of the Lord
are true
and righteous
altogether.
More to be
desired are
they than
gold,
even much
fine gold,
sweeter also
than honey,
and drippings
of the honeycomb.
Moreover,
by them
is your servant
warned.
In keeping
them,
there is
great reward.
God
the word
of God
now becomes
the compass
that we can
understand
the revelation
of God
through creation.
We can begin
to interpret it
and understand
it accurately.
And God
has given
to us
his word.
We have
the completed
revelation
of the word
of God
that we have
access to
every day.
I trust
and pray
that you
are allowing
your heart
to be
encouraged,
refined,
and directed
through the
words of
God day by
day.
As God
ministers to
you and
fellowships with
you through
the scriptures.
And finally,
we'll come
back to this
next week
and try to
fill this out
some more.
Not only
does the Lord
answer Job,
but we see
that the Lord
questions Job.
The Lord
questions Job.
We'll see
that in the
remaining parts
of chapter 38
and in chapter
39 and 40
and 41.
And what's
fascinating about
the way that
the Lord
questions Job
is how he
does it.
How will God
now that he
finally speaks,
how will God
finally address
Job's situation?
How will God
finally resolve
the conflict
that Job
has in his
heart?
How will God
help to
clarify
the confusion
that Job
had?
And God
says in verse
3,
dress for
action like
a man.
I will
question you
and you
make it
known to
me.
God begins
by establishing
who the
authority is.
God begins
by helping
Job to
understand
his rightful
place.
Not as one
who has
the right
to challenge
God,
but as the
one who
is a subject
of God
who is
over all.
And Job
is referred
to God
throughout this
book as
Shaddai,
the one
who is
over all
creation.
And God
wants Job
to be
reminded of
the fact,
remember
who your
creator is.
Remember
who the
one who
has the
right to
ask questions
is and
let that
settle your
own heart.
I just
want to
read a few
pieces of
this.
See if you
can begin
to hear the
answer that
God gives
to Job
about his
situation.
Verse 4,
Where were
you when
I laid
the foundation
of the
earth?
Tell me
if you
have
understanding.
Who
determined
its
measurements?
Surely
you know.
Or who
stretched
the line
upon it?
On what
were its
bases
sunk?
Or who
laid
its
cornerstone
when the
morning stars
sang together
and all
the sons
of God
shouted
for joy?
Verse 8,
Who shut
in the
seas with
the doors
when it
burst out
from the
womb?
Verse 12,
Have you
commanded
the morning
since your
days began
and caused
the dawn
to know
its place?
Verse 16,
Have you
entered
into the
springs of
the sea
or walked
in the
recesses
of the
deep?
Verse 19,
Where is
the way
to the
dwelling
of light?
Where is
the place
of darkness?
Verse 22,
Have you
entered
the storehouse
of the
snow or
have you
seen the
storehouses
of the
hail?
Verse 25,
Who has
cleft a
channel for
the torrents
of rain
and a
way for
the
thunderbolt?
Verse 28,
Has the
rain a
father?
Or who
has begotten
the drops
of dew?
Verse 31,
Can you
bind the
chains of
Pleiades
or loose
the cords
of Orion?
Can you
lead forth
the
Maseroth,
which is
another word
for constellations,
in their
season?
Or can you
guide the
bear with
its
children?
Verse 34,
Can you
lift up
your voice
to the
clouds,
that a
flood of
waters may
cover you?
Verse 41,
Who provided
for the
raven its
prey,
when its
young ones
cry to
God for
help,
and wander
about for
lack of
food?
What is
the answer?
How does
God begin
to answer
Job's
question?
God
What's
fascinating
about this
whole discourse
that we're
going to see
from chapters
38 to
41,
is God
will not
give Job
any
new
revelation.
God
will tell
Job
exactly the
things that
Job has
already
affirmed
about who
God is.
He is
sovereign,
he is
just,
he is
benevolent,
he is
over all,
he is
the one
who guides
and governs,
he is
wise and
strong.
All of
these things
that Job
has already
given assent
to,
God will
confirm
through this
speech.
There is
nothing in
this speech
from God
that Job
doesn't
already know.
That's
really amazing
to me.
You see,
Job already
had what he
needed.
Job had
access to
revelation
and Job
had drawn
out from
creation
those truths
and those
truths were
enough to
help Job
through this
situation.
Essentially,
to summarize
and to kind
of pull it
all together,
God's like,
I am
creator,
I am
not
destroyer.
I am
a God
of benevolence
and care.
I take
care of
my creatures,
I do
not
crush
them.
I am
a God
of order
and design.
I am
not a God
of chaos.
I am
a God
of wisdom.
I am
not a God
who can
be trifled
with,
can be
challenged.
I am
the God
who is
over all.
I am
sovereign
and ultimate
and you
can trust
me,
Job.
there is
nothing
about
what God
says
that Job
didn't
already
know.
That,
by the
way,
is the
issue for
all of
us.
There are
things that
we know
about God
and we
can't
accuse
God
of
leading us
into sin
when
he has
already
revealed
himself to
us through
his word.
and that
every
disobedience
of our
life
is a
result
of a
lack
of
faith,
not a
lack
of
knowledge.
Let me
just give
you a
couple
examples
as I
close.
To the
one
who
struggles
with
lust,
God
is the
one who
takes care
of your
needs.
The
one
who
struggles
with
stealing,
God
is the
one who
provides.
You can
trust
him to
take care
of your
needs.
To the
one who
is often
afraid,
God
is the
one who
delivers.
God
is the
one who
is in
control.
God
is the
one who
is strong.
To the
one who
struggles
with
jealousy,
God
has made
me in
his
image.
And God
has made
me the
way he
wants me
to be
and he
desires
to use
those
things
according
to his
purpose.
And I
don't need
to be
jealous
of other
people's
gifts.
For those
who dishonor
their parents,
we understand
that we're
not at the
top of the
pile.
That God
is the
one who
is ultimate.
For those
who lie,
we know
that God
knows it
all.
God
is not
disguised
and we
are exposed
to him.
He's not
limited.
For those
who feel
at the
end of
themselves,
we recognize
that God's
yoke is
easy,
his burden
is light,
and he
just desires
for us
to entrust
our anxieties
and our
pressures to
him,
to cast
all your
cares upon
him because
he cares
for you.
We know
those things
to be true
and so
when we
wrestle with
anxiety
and fear
and lust
and lying
and jealousy
and bitterness
and frustration
and anger,
whatever it
is,
it is not
a deficiency
of knowledge
but a
deficiency
of faith.
And that's
what I believe
God is doing
for Job.
You know
these truths,
put them
to work.
Trust me,
I am
these things
and you
can rest
in those
truths.
And God
wants us
to do the
same.
And when we
feel at the
end of
ourselves
and I
trust we
feel that
often,
that is a
gift to
us.
And so
in that
wrestling
with God
where we
feel like
we're at
the end
of ourselves,
it is a
gift to
us to
point us
to dependence
on him.
Oh may
God help
us to do
what the
folks in
Psalm 107
did and
that is
that we
cry out to
the Lord
and he
delivers us
and helps
to answer
those struggles
that we face.
Let me pray.
Lord thank
you for
your steadfast
love.
That loyal
dependable
love
and your
presence
and your
power
and for
your wisdom.
And Lord I
pray that you
would help us
to put our
confidence in
that.
Whatever the
situation is
that we're
facing
and that we
would see
that you
are who
you say
you are.
You are
wise,
you are
sovereign,
you are
strong,
you are in
control and
we can
trust you.
May our
lives reflect
the truths
that we
say we
believe in.
And may
they show
up from
day to
day so
the world
around us
says I
want to
know your
God.
May that
be true
of us I
pray in
Jesus name.
Amen.
God bless
you.
Have a
great week.