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Job 38

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1 Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that makes my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?
3 Be strong like a man! I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
4 Where were you when I made the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know! Who stretched a ruler across it?
6 What were the earth's foundations set on, or who put its cornerstone in place
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted with joy?
8 "Who shut the doors to keep the sea in when it broke through and was born,
9 when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea and wrapped it in dark clouds,
10 when I put limits on the sea and put its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said to the sea, 'You may come this far, but no farther; this is where your proud waves must stop'?
12 "Have you ever ordered the morning to begin, or shown the dawn where its place was
13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges and shake evil people out of it?
14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal; the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
15 Light is not given to evil people; their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
16 "Have you ever gone to where the sea begins or walked in the valleys under the sea?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
18 Do you understand how wide the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things.
19 "What is the path to light's home, and where does darkness live?
20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the way to their homes?
21 Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened! Have you lived that many years?
22 "Have you ever gone into the storehouse of the snow or seen the storehouses for hail,
23 which I save for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
24 Where is the place from which light comes? Where is the place from which the east winds blow over the earth?
25 Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
26 Who waters the land where no one lives, the desert that has no one in it?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land so the grass begins to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who is father to the drops of dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the sky
30 when the water becomes hard as stone, and even the surface of the ocean is frozen?
31 "Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades or loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
32 Can you bring out the stars on time or lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the sky and understand their rule over the earth?
34 "Can you shout an order to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way? Do they come to you and say, 'Here we are'?
36 Who put wisdom inside the mind or understanding in the heart?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can pour water from the jars of the sky
38 when the dust becomes hard and the clumps of dirt stick together?
39 "Do you hunt food for the female lion to satisfy the hunger of the young lions
40 while they lie in their dens or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
41 Who gives food to the birds when their young cry out to God and wander about without food?
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Job 38:4

Job 38 Commentary

Chapter 38

God calls upon Job to answer. (1-3) God questions Job. (4-11) Concerning the light and darkness. (12-24) Concerning other mighty works. (25-41)

Verses 1-3 Job had silenced, but had not convinced his friends. Elihu had silenced Job, but had not brought him to admit his guilt before God. It pleased the Lord to interpose. The Lord, in this discourse, humbles Job, and brings him to repent of his passionate expressions concerning God's providential dealings with him; and this he does, by calling upon Job to compare God's being from everlasting to everlasting, with his own time; God's knowledge of all things, with his own ignorance; and God's almighty power, with his own weakness. Our darkening the counsels of God's wisdom with our folly, is a great provocation to God. Humble faith and sincere obedience see farthest and best into the will of the Lord.

Verses 4-11 For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. As we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not fear concerning it. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Corner-stone. The church stands as firm as the earth.

Verses 12-24 The Lord questions Job, to convince him of his ignorance, and shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we thus try ourselves, we shall soon be brought to own that what we know is nothing in comparison with what we know not. By the tender mercy of our God, the Day-spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those that sit in darkness, whose hearts are ( 2 Corinthians. 4:6 ) government of the world is said to be in the sea; this means, that it is hid from us. Let us make sure that the gates of heaven shall be opened to us on the other side of death, and then we need not fear the opening of the gates of death. It is presumptuous for us, who perceive not the breadth of the earth, to dive into the depth of God's counsels. We should neither in the brightest noon count upon perpetual day, nor in the darkest midnight despair of the return of the morning; and this applies to our inward as well as to our outward condition. What folly it is to strive against God! How much is it our interest to seek peace with him, and to keep in his love!

Verses 25-41 Hitherto God had put questions to Job to show him his ignorance; now God shows his weakness. As it is but little that he knows, he ought not to arraign the Divine counsels; it is but little he can do, therefore he ought not to oppose the ways of Providence. See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence; it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing. And he that takes care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting to his people. This being but one instance of the Divine compassion out of many, gives us occasion to think how much good our God does, every day, beyond what we are aware of. Every view we take of his infinite perfections, should remind us of his right to our love, the evil of sinning against him, and our need of his mercy and salvation.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38

In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1-7; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8-11; concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12-15; concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darkness, Job 38:16-21; concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the stars, Job 38:22-38; and concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40,41.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Job 38 Commentaries

Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.