Job 38:8-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-15

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 1. Concerning the creation. I. THE CREATION OF THE EARTH THE HANDIWORK OF GOD . 1 . An exclusively Divine work. Jehovah claims not simply to have been the Framer of the mighty fabric of the globe, but to have shared the honour of that stupendous achievement with no co-worker. Hence certainly not with Job. "Where wast thou when I established the earth?" Not taking part or even looking on, since thou wast not then in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-33

Human impotence and ignorance exposed. Job's affliction is a mystery—a mystery that needs to be revealed. Job has not given the explanation of it. He has not known it. His friends have failed. It has been attributed to his sin; but he is confident in his honest integrity, and cannot be persuaded that he is suffering punishment, for he has not a consciousness of guilt. Elihu has indicated the hidden nature of the Divine works, and has not made the mystery clearer. But he has closed the lips... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8

Or who shut up the sea with doors? From the earth a transition is made to the sea, as the second great wonder in creation (comp. Genesis 1:9 , Genesis 1:10 ; Exodus 20:11 ; Psalms 104:24 , Psalms 104:25 ). God's might is especially shown in his power to control and confine the sea, which rages so terribly and seems so utterly uncontrollable. God has blocked it in "with doors"— i.e. with "bounds that it cannot pass, neither turn again to cover the earth" ( Psalms 145:9 ).... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 2. Concerning the sea. I. THE PRODUCTION OF THE SEA . 1 . The place whence it issued. The sea, by a bold metaphor, is represented as a child proceeding from its mother's womb. The allusion apparently is to the third day's creative work, when the terrestrial waters were collected into seas by "the upheaval of the land through the action of subterranean fires, or the subsidence of the earth's crust in consequence of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

Lessons of the sea. Passing from the thought of the joy of creation, when the morning stars sang together, we find our thoughts directed to the sea in its power and pride, first formed by the hand of God, and ever reined in by his commanding voice. I. GOD 'S POWER OVER WHAT IS MOST GREAT . The sea strikes our imagination chiefly because of its vastness. It only consists of water, which, when we see it in the trickling rill or hold it in the cup, is one of the most simple... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:9

When I made the cloud the garment thereof . The account of creation here given is certainly not drawn wholly from Genesis It is to be viewed as a second, independent, account of the occurrences, in fuller detail, but vaguer, by reason of the poetical phraseology. And thick darkness a swaddllng-band for it . The infant sea, just come from the womb (verse 8), is represented as clothed with a cloud, and swaddled in thick darkness, to mark its complete subjection to its Creator from the first. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:10

And brake up for it my decreed place ; rather, as in the margin, and established my decree upon it; or, as in the Revised Version, and prescribed for it my decree. The decree itself is given in Job 38:11 . And set bars and doors (see above, Job 38:8 , where the imagery of "doors" has been already introduced). As Professor Lee observes, "The term דְּלָתַיִם contains a metaphor taken from the large folding-doors of a city, which are usually set up for the purpose of stepping the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:11

And said, Hitherto shalt thou corns, but no further . The law is not quite absolute. Wherever the sea washes a coast-line, there is a continual erosive action, whereby the land is, little by little, eaten away, and the line of the coast thrust back. But the action is so slow that millennia pass without any considerable effect being produced, and encroachments in some places are generally counterbalanced by retrenchment in others, so that the general contour of laud and water, with the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:12

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days? rather, by reason of ray length of days—a similar irony to that observable in Job 38:5 , Job 38:21 , etc. The third marvel of creation brought before us is the dawn, or daybreak—that standing miracle of combined utility and beauty. Has Job authority to issue his orders to the dawn, and tell it when to make its appearance? Has he caused the dayspring to know his place? Job cannot possibly pretend to any such power. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:12-15

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 3. Concerning the light. I. THE LIGHT OF THE MORNING THE SERVANT OF GOD . 1 . The light of the morning is a servant to some one. It is under the commandment of a Superior. Every movement that it makes proclaims it to be under law. Modern science is even able with much precision to formulate the laws to which it renders obedience. And these operate with such unfailing regularity and such irresistible potency, that even... read more

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