Jan 15: Job 40-42

Jan 15, Job 40-42

Chapter 40. God has brought Job to silence, literally. God asks Job a bunch of questions and wants some answers. God wants to know if Job thinks that he can do a better job than God can. Then God talks about the Behemoth, this giant solid and strong animal that God made, just like He made Job and everything else. Some think that this is a long necked dinosaur. If it is, it shows that evolution didn't create or kill off the dinosaurs. But that God created them, and now they are extinct. How can dinosaurs and God mix? Easily, God created them. If this kind of thing confuses you and interests you, I encourage you to take some time and look at Ken Ham's website 'Answers in Genesis,' to help understand how this all correlates if you want to learn more, and not just take my word for it. Here is the link: https://answersingenesis.org/

Chapter 41 is a summation of the grandeur of the Leviathan - the beastly dragon that God made, to convince Job of his place and God’s Omnipotence (God is all-Powerful)! Since dragons are now extinct, we might not be aware that they were indeed created by God, and that the records and designs of dragons are all very similar; making the point that those who have seen them, all saw the same thing. Plus how cool is it that God created a fire, breathing dragon in verse 18-21!  God basically uses the Leviathan as an example of going after it is like trying to go after the Creator of the universe. Man is no match for the giant and beastly dragon, just like no man is a match to go up against God. If you would like some books and movies that help you understand this and fit it into creation, here is a link to Ken Ham's books and DVD's on dragons. I have seen a couple of them, and they are very helpful and very easy to understand. Here is the link : https://answersingenesis.org/search/?csrfmiddlewaretoken=1WCBx1qMenxeh3oY5Ld1IrhV8TKM1yuW&site=AiGall&q=dragon

Chapter 42 is a great culmination to the book, and shows the humility of Job. It starts out by Job confessing the greatness of God and the ignorance that Job displayed to him by uttering things he didn't understand. Job is fully repentant. Then we are able to see how God handles the ‘friends’ of Job. Job wanted an arbitrator this whole time and he finally gets one! Eliphaz, the one with the ‘vision’ if you recall, gets it first, as God’s anger burns against him because he didn't speak about God correctly, like Job did. Here, we also learn, that although it might not feel like it, God hears everything that we say and He knows everything that we think. There is no getting around the Almighty. So, God instructs the 3 ‘friends’ to make an offering to God for themselves, and to have Job pray for them. Basically, God wouldn't accept their sacrifice unless Job interceded (Prayed on behalf of) for them. And the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. This is full of irony again, in that Job’s ‘friends’ were attempting to give him wisdom in his suffering and they were totally mistaken. Also, remember in the beginning of the book, Job used to intercede for his kids - Job’s heart is for the Lord.

And like a very happy ending, the Lord restores the fortunes of Job times 2. God doubled up everything He had already given him in the beginning and He doubled all that He had taken away. His daughters were the most beautiful in all the land. He got to live to see 4 generations of his family.

To sum it all up:

• Yahweh is awesome. When He speaks to us, we are to revere it. Whether through His Word, audible, signs, visions, dreams - if it is from the Lord, we are to treat it with the same respect as Job did. I don’t read too often when God is speaking with His people in the Bible and the obedient receiving person was casual about it. We should want to hear from the Lord and be ready to obey - regardless of what God is revealing to us. 
• So, Job’s ‘friends’ were wrong. God didn't kill them for being wrong - just straightened them out. Job’s relationship with God matured through this season as well. This book is not intended to be a ‘prosperity theology’ - which you may have heard of. If you are not familiar, some famous speakers/preachers teach that if you are obedient to God, He will make all your dreams come true. Money. Health. Wisdom. Stuff. Houses. Well, God is not a genie in a bottle that you can just rub and get whatever your little selfish heart wants. God gives good gifts to His kids - but we have to trust that God knows what is best for us. 
• To sum up the book of Job. It teaches us that the Lord is allowed and has the right to bring evil and disaster upon any that He chooses. (Job 42:11) We might not like to admit that someone other than us has control. But the Lord is trustworthy, and has purpose in doing everything He does. The Lord definitely changed Job's outlook through all of this, and possibly saved the spiritual lives of Job's 3 friends by correcting them and accepting their forgiveness. Whatever the Lord brings us through, it will change us, let's pray for the better in obedience to the Lord. 
• Congratulations - Some of you reading this have just read through an entire Old Testament book of the Bible for the 1st time. Keep it up, God’s Word is awesome!