After the prologue of the Book of Job and throughout the book up to the present chapter, when God shows up, Job and the friends had been discussing what God was like, as that pertains to the context of Job’s sufferings. The friends argued that Job must have done something very wicked in order to warrant such judgment upon himself from the wrath of God. On the other hand, Job argued that he was innocent and never did anything to deserve such a terrible rebuke from God. The argument went back and forth through three cycles and ended with Job silencing, but not convincing his friends. They simply stopped arguing with Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes and couldn’t be convinced otherwise. Elihu, a bystander, stood up and offered his point of view, first rebuking the friends for not silencing Job, and then rebuking Job for his apparent wickedness., but Job never considered the words of Elihu worthy of a reply!
Elihu had pointed to an approaching storm, a tempest or hurricane, and he used it to describe the terrible presence of the Lord, and how frightening that would be. He did this to rebuke Job’s desire to argue his case before God, which, if he did actually appear before God, it would be like walking into the eye of a hurricane. How could anyone do that and be as calm as Job seems to believe he would be before God? Nevertheless, the Lord showed up and announced his presence out of the whirlwind that Elihu had just described. He told Job to prepare to give an account of himself, for he would demand answers from him (Job 38:1-3). So, the Lord began by asking Job about 40 rhetorical questions. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth… and who laid the measures thereof… who stretched the line upon it… and upon what are its foundations fastened? Who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4-6). Indeed, the whole heavenly host, that is, the sun, moon and stars poetically shouted for joy, after the Lord had completed his work (Job 38:7; cp. Psalm 148:3).[1]
Job had questioned the Lord’s justice and mercy in light of his own innocence, yet he forgot to bring up the kind of wisdom it had to have required to create such a marvel that the earth truly is. The wisdom of such a Creator logically demands that he knew what he was doing when Job’s life and wealth were destroyed. Job felt pain and personal loss, and, indeed, he didn’t do anything to deserve such terrible calamities. Nevertheless, Job never acknowledged that, although he didn’t know why these things were done, the Almighty and Omniscient God must have known what he was doing and would in the end justify the mysteries of his labor.
Therefore, the Lord showed up in the whirlwind! He came in the storm, but Job, like most folks, didn’t want to hear God in the storm. Rather, let God speak to us during the sunny days of our lives, telling us how much he loves us through his countless blessings. But, finding God in the storm? We don’t want to talk about that, do we (cp. Job 3:25)? However, when storms do arrive, do we respond by questioning God’s competence or his love for us, and are we ready to leave the outcome in the hands of the Almighty and Omniscient God (cp. 2Samuel 24:13-14)?
Next, the Lord pointed to the marvels of his work when he created the seas or the great oceans of the earth. Does mankind have control over them? The Lord created the earth to be inhabited by both man and beasts (Isaiah 45:18). He didn’t create it only to become a vast wasteland, dominated by the uncontrollable waters. When he created the sea and it burst forth as though it were in a womb, he caused this infant giant to respond to his command (Job 38:8). In the beginning he clothed it with clouds and darkness (Job 38:9; cp. Genesis 1:1-2). He gathered the waters into one place (Genesis 1:9-10), and by his decree he set up its bars and doors, poetically describing how he set the limit of its waves upon the beaches, and permitted water to arise out of the land through springs and flow across the land to support life. Later the rivers and streams would become part of its oceans once more (Job 38:10-11).
The point is that the Lord did, indeed, create a very dangerous and perhaps frightening place for man to live in, but he created the earth to be a place for life. Despite all the dangers the oceans present, which, indeed, mankind finds uncontrollable, when its mighty waves are stirred, and despite the dangers of overflowing rivers during and after a storm, the fact is that the land is still not covered with water. Thus, knowing this, not only expresses God’s almighty power and great wisdom, which it took to set these things in place, but it also points to the vast mercies of God toward his creation, vis-à-vis both man and beasts, enabling them to live despite their dangerous environment. In pointing this out, the Lord rebuked Job for not trusting him throughout his calamities. Certainly, there is pain. Certainly, there is loss and suffering. We live in a very dangerous world, but the Lord created it all for life, not death or chaos (cp. Isaiah 45:18), and neither death nor chaos will rule over what God has done. Job forgot to mention this when he was defending his integrity. Job and the friends often spoke of the Lord, describing his greatness in feeble terms. However, the Lord’s question is: “where was Job’s trust in the greatness of God? Look at ME. What kind of a God am I? What do you see? Am I worthy of your trust?
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[1] Most, if not all, commentaries interpret the morning stars to be angels of heaven. However, I have to wonder, if this is true. Why would the text pause in its account of poetically referring to the Lord’s creation of physical Earth (Job 38:4-6), and continuing in Job 38:8-30. It seems to me that the shouting of praise of the morning stars concern their place and importance as viewed and understood from Earth. Earth gives the heavens their importance. Therefore, they shout for joy in praise of God.
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