Daily Scripture Reading Job 39:5 - 40:11

It is quite normal and common for humans to question God. Why am I suffering? Why is life unfair? Why don’t You give me children? Why don’t You give me a better job? Why do You allow bad things to happen to me? Why don’t You give me more money? Why don’t You make people recognize my talents, abilities, and accomplishments? Why do I have a miserable life? Why am I sick?

Job questioned God. After Job lost his children, all his possessions, and his good health, he wanted to stand before God and demand that God explain why all these bad things had happened to him.

Today, we will finish reading Yahweh’s first response to Job. His answer to Job is something we should keep in mind every time we are tempted to question God.

Throughout Yahweh’s first speech to Job, Yahweh asked a series of questions which illustrated Job’s insignificance and ignorance compared to God.

Job 39:5 ¶ “Who sent out the wild donkey free?

And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

Job 39:6 For whom I have set the desert plain as a home

And the salt land as his dwelling place?

The pronoun “I” refers to Yahweh. Yahweh is the One who created the wild donkey and established his dwelling place.

Job 39:7 He laughs at the tumult of the city;

The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.

Job 39:8 He explores the mountains for his pasture

And searches after every green thing.

Job 39:9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you,

Or will he spend the night at your manger?

Humans have managed to capture many wild animals and place them in zoos, but we are still limited in our ability to harness the strength of those animals.

Job 39:10 Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,

Or will he harrow the valleys after you?

Job 39:11 Will you trust him because his power is great

And leave your labor to him?

Job 39:12 Will you believe him that he will return your seed of grain

And gather it from your threshing floor?

Job 39:13 ¶ “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously

But are they the pinion and plumage of a stork?

An ostrich has wings just as a stork has wings, but an ostrich is different than a stork.

Job 39:14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth

And warms them in the dust,

Job 39:15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them,

Or that a beast of the field may trample them.

A stork cares for its young, but an ostrich does not.

Job 39:16 She treats her children cruelly, as if they were not hers;

Though her labor be empty, she is without dread,

Job 39:17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,

And has not given her a share of understanding.

God did not give the ostrich the ability to care about or protect its young, and yet ostriches have successfully reproduced for millennia.

Job 39:18 When she raises herself up high,

She laughs at the horse and his rider.

Look at the word “laugh”. An ostrich laughs at a horse because it can run faster than a horse.

Job 39:19 ¶ “Do you give the horse his might?

Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

Job 39:20 Do you make him leap like the locust?

His splendid snorting is terrible.

Job 39:21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his power;

He goes out to meet the weapons.

Job 39:22 He laughs at dread and is not dismayed;

And he does not turn back from the sword.

Job 39:23 The quiver rattles against him,

The flashing spear and javelin.

Job 39:24 With shaking and rage he races over the ground,

And he does not stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

Stampeding horses are powerful and unstoppable. When a horse is stampeding, all a human can do is wait for the horse to tire out.

Job 39:25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’

And he scents the battle from afar,

And the thunder of the commanders and the shout of war.

Job 39:26 ¶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,

Stretching his wings toward the south?

Job 39:27 Is it at your command that the eagle goes on high

And raises his nest high?

Job 39:28 On the cliff he dwells and lodges,

Upon the rocky crag, a fortress.

Job 39:29 From there he spies out food;

His eyes see it from afar.

Job 39:30 His young ones also suck up blood;

And where the slain are, there is he.”

Job 40:1 ¶ Then Yahweh answered Job and said,

Job 40:2 “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who reproves God answer it.”

Look at the words “faultfinder” and “reproves”. When Job was dialoguing with his friends, he found fault with God. He accused God of mistreating him. Yahweh’s answer was to list things that Job did not know. Yahweh pointed out how insignificant and powerless Job was compared to God. In other words, Yahweh said to Job, “Don’t you dare question Me.”

When our life goes sour, it is tempting to question God. We want to know why God doesn’t treat us fairly. The next time we are tempted to complain about the lot in life God gave us, perhaps we should remember Yahweh’s response to Job. Perhaps we should not dare question God.

Job 40:3 ¶ Then Job answered Yahweh and said,

Look at the name “Job”. This begins the 21st section.

Job 40:4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I respond to You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

Take note of the word “insignificant”. Job grasped the truth about himself. He was nothing compared to God.

Job 40:5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;

Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”

Job 40:6 ¶ Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Notice the name “Yahweh”. This begins the 22nd section.

Job 40:7 “Now gird up your loins like a man;

I will ask you, and you make Me know.

Job answered humbly, but Yahweh was not done.

Job 40:8 Will you really annul My judgment?

Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Job 40:9 Or do you have an arm like God,

And can you thunder with a voice like His?

Job 40:10 ¶ “Adorn yourself with exaltation and loftiness,

And clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

Job 40:11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,

And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.

It is quite normal and common for humans to question God. Why am I suffering? Why is life unfair? Why don’t You give me children? Why don’t You give me a better job? Why do You allow bad things to happen to me? Why don’t You give me more money? Why don’t You make people recognize my talents, abilities, and accomplishments? Why do I have a miserable life? Why am I sick?

After Job lost his children, all his possessions, and his good health, he questioned God. When Job was dialoguing with his friends, he found fault with God. He accused God of mistreating him.

Yahweh’s answer was to list things that Job did not know. Yahweh pointed out how insignificant and powerless Job was compared to God. In other words, Yahweh said to Job, “Don’t you dare question Me.”

When our life goes sour, it is tempting to question God. We want to know why God doesn’t treat us fairly. The next time we are tempted to complain about the lot in life God gave us, perhaps we should remember Yahweh’s response to Job. Perhaps we should not dare question God.

What are the things about your life that you don’t like that cause you to question God?

Is there a time in your life that you doubted God or complained about Him?

Is it possible God’s attitude at that time was, “Don’t you dare question Me?”

What is happening in your life right now that causes you to question God?

How does the story of Job help you understand your suffering and give you a better attitude about your lot in life?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”