Verses 6-14
God’s challenge 40:6-14
God introduced this second challenge much the same as He did His first, out of the whirlwind, and with a demand that Job refute Him if he could.
"Yahweh confronts Job with the major flaw in his accusations. In defending his own innocence so emphatically and lashing out so vehemently at God because of his suffering, Job has essentially charged God with acting unjustly. For a mortal to presume himself guiltless and to impugn God’s just governance of the world approaches the sin of presumptuous pride.
"It is important to observe that Yahweh does not accuse Job of any specific sin, thereby agreeing that Job has lived a righteous life. Nevertheless, if the relationship between himself and his servant is to be restored, Job’s self-righteous attitude must be altered and his complaint against God’s just governance of the world must be corrected." [Note: Hartley, p. 519.]
Job had claimed God was unjust. In answering this challenge God did not argue with Job. He simply asked Job questions that made it obvious to Job that he was unable to do what he had blamed God for not doing. In criticizing God, Job had placed himself in a position over God. Therefore God now reminded Job that he was not superior or even equal to God (Job 40:9; Job 40:11-13). If he were superior or equal, Job could deliver himself from his own misery, which he could not do (Job 40:14). Because Job was inferior to God, he had no right to criticize God for behaving as He did (cf. Romans 9:20).
It may be that God used the Hebrew word translated "gird up your loins" in a forensic sense in Job 38:3 and Job 40:7 to heighten the irony of His interrogation. [Note: Parsons, p. 149.]
Be the first to react on this!