Psalms 27
KingCommentsPsalms 27:1
The Closing Words of Elihu to Job
Elihu is ready for his closing words after the climax of Job 37:13. In it he turns to Job (Job 37:14). He asks him to listen “to this”, these are the lessons of God’s rule over nature. To do this, Job must remain in an attitude of awe and attention and pay attention “to the wonders of God” which He shows in nature. If he is willing to hear, he will absorb God’s wonders and his spirit will be filled with the reverence that is appropriate toward Him.
From Job 37:15, Elihu asks Job some questions intended to make him realize how ignorant he really is and how incapable he is of judging God in His dealings with him. In this light, it must become clear to him that it is absolutely out of place for him to call God to account. He knows nothing at all and God knows everything. This method of teaching in the form of asking questions is the one God also uses in His speech to Job in the following chapters. God will do nothing but ask Job the same kind of questions, only much more extensively and with the result that Job goes on his knees before Him.
Elihu’s first question is about the ordering God has put into His works and through which He controls them (Job 37:15). Does Job have any idea of how God connects all of His works and how they relate to each other? Of course he does not. He also has to answer the question of how God “makes the lightning of His cloud to shine”.
The next question to Job is whether he knows about the layers of the thick clouds (Job 37:16). Job does not know the answer. He had no knowledge of the laws of nature that man has discovered in the course of time. He can only look at them with silent amazement and wonder how clouds heavy with water float anyway. It cannot be other than through the mighty hand of God. But how He does it, cannot be explained. But with all our knowledge of physics do we know the answer? We don’t know the answer either. We see the laws, but how those laws originated, we do not know without the revelation by God that He gives in His Word.
God, Who does all these wonders, is perfect in knowledge. Someone who is able to make such an ordering in nature and make the clouds float must know everything (1 Samuel 2:3b). He has perfect knowledge in Himself and of all His works, of all that is outside Him, of all creation, and of every human being, for everything has come forth out of Him. On the other hand, man is a completely ignorant creature.
The temperature is completely in God’s hand. Does Job know how the temperature can rise so high that it warms him up and makes his clothes stick to his body (Job 37:17)? He knows that a south wind brings heat (Luke 12:55). But does he know how God makes the earth still and then lets that wind blow from the south?
And what can he do about it? Surely, he has not helped God to spread out the skies which during the heat are “strong as a molten mirror”, has he (Job 37:18)? God did that all alone (Isaiah 44:24b). Job cannot command clouds to temper the heat. Only God can. What can Job do other than endure the heat patiently? If things are as they are, what can such a weak, helpless and ignorant human being do against God when He acts with him?
Elihu is aware of his ignorance of the things he has told Job about God. But perhaps Job knows more and wants to tell him and everyone what they should say to God (Job 37:19). After all, Job has said to God that he wants to present his case before Him (Job 13:3; 18-22). He would let God know that God was not acting well with him. Elihu feels himself in darkness when it comes to judging God and that will be felt by everyone who looks at God in His rule over nature. Who dares to say that he can fathom God’s actions? In what Elihu says here, there is a gentle admonition to Job.
Elihu knows that no one has to tell God what he (Elihu) has said (Job 37:20). For God has known everything already for a long time (Psalms 139:4). If anyone thinks he has to do so with the thought that something has eluded Him and wants to correct Him, he will be “swallowed up”. If such a person goes to God to inform Him, he will be overwhelmed by the awareness of His omniscience. When it comes to the judgment of God in His reign, everyone is well advised to keep silent: “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD” (Zechariah 2:13a).
Apart from not being able to say anything about what God does, we also see nothing of it, we are blind to it (Job 37:21). About what God does, we lack light, it is hidden from us in the clouds. We see the clouds. What God is going to do with them escapes us. But the light shines in them, we may know that. And in His time He will drive away the clouds by the wind. Then the sky will be clear.
We can apply this to our lives. The clouds are a picture of trials and tribulations that may be present in our life. Then we don’t see the light, but we know it’s there. We know that He is beyond our difficulties, though it is difficult to see Him. When the time comes when He expels the clouds, the light becomes visible. We see Him. Maybe the troubles are not gone, but He shows us the purpose for which they serve.
When the heavens have been cleared by God, it turns out that gold has come with the wind from the north, the gold of the bright weather (Job 37:22). With these last words of Elihu, Job is, as it were, prepared for the gold of the speaking of God Himself. In the application to our lives we can say that it has not only become clear, but has also enriched. The purification of faith is more precious than the purification of gold (1 Peter 1:7). We have been given a deeper impression of God’s “awesome majesty” than we had before. He had and has control over everything and controls the clouds in our life.
Elihu finishes his closing words with a kind of conclusion. He points out that he and others cannot find “the Almighty” (Job 37:23). What he means by that is what he then says about God. God is incomparable to man and immeasurable in His “power”. His “justice” is incorruptible. He never does anything that is contrary to the law, to the correctness of a matter with which He is concerned. The same goes for Job.
Furthermore, His “abundant righteousness” is in the use of His means. Abundant righteousness is literally ‘a multitude of righteousness’. In all the means at His disposal, His righteousness shines forth, He floods with it, it is His hallmark. This also means that “He will not do violence”. He uses all His perfect qualities in such a way that in His dealings with people all insensitive or barbaric hardness is lacking.
Because of these qualities which He uses for the benefit of men, they fear Him, that is, they have respect and awe for Him (Job 37:24; cf. Psalms 130:4). It is a general fear of God when they see the revelation of His power (Revelation 15:4). Those who have a stubborn heart are those who have their own opinion of God and want to tell Him how to rule. They lack the awe of Him. That is why He does not see them, He ignores them.
With this Elihu has said what he had on his heart. The three friends of Job believed that suffering is the result of God’s ‘tit for tat policy’. In judging suffering, they adhered to what we might call a ‘compensation theology’. This theology assumes that there is a connection between righteousness and prosperity, and between sinful conduct and misery. Elihu has shown how wrong this theology is.
Job questions the government of God in his life. But he already understands nothing of the government of God in nature. Elihu therefore admonishes Job to acknowledge God’s wisdom in both matters and to trust Him. Now that Elihu has spoken about the coming of the sun after the storm, the coming of God in His majesty (Job 37:22), the time has come for God Himself to teach Job in a wonderful way about His ways (cf. Hebrews 1:1). This is what the following chapters are about.
Psalms 27:3
Introduction
God is going to speak. He spoke to Adam and Eve and they hid. When He spoke to Moses, Moses had to remove his sandals from his feet. Elijah wrapped his face when he met God in the gentle blowing of a wind. The voice, perhaps more than the apparition, reveals the person. A lot has been said about God in the previous conversations by Job and the friends and Elihu, but His actual presence was not felt. Now that God Himself is showing Himself, Job is going to change. So it is with us.
In the speaking of God we will not hear an explanation of the problem with which Job has wrestled. The problem is not even mentioned. God does not defend Himself against Job’s accusations of injustice. He does not come as the next Speaker to make a new attempt to convince Job, but He comes as the One Who speaks the last and decisive word in majesty. God comes simply as the Supreme.
God does not come with “new witnesses” (Job 10:17) to Job, of which he was so afraid. He also does not come in a storm to sweep away Job and no longer to hear him (Job 9:16-18). God does not come to make his suffering greater, but to provide pastoral care for Job in a very personal way. He does not show that to others. But when God has done His work, His care, to Job, He presents him to His friends as a changed Job. We see something similar in what the Lord Jesus did to Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5a; Luke 24:34; John 21:15).
Job wanted to sue God for His role in the suffering that afflicted him. But when God appears to Job, the roles are reversed. God calls him to account. He asks Job more than seventy questions to which he has no answers at all. This proves that Job is incapable of understanding God’s ways with nature, let alone having power over it. If he does not even know and understand the natural coherence of it, how could he expect to understand God’s ways with man? Finally, this leads to Job being convinced and his breakdown. He retracts and repents in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
God is known from His creation (Romans 1:20). He speaks of His wondrous works, not of the works of Job. No mention is made of Job’s good works. God lets Job know by His appearance to him that He has not abandoned him. Nor does God blame Job for certain sins as the cause of his suffering. God only blames Job for the incongruous words he spoke in his bitterness during his suffering. This is exactly what Elihu did before, which proves that Elihu spoke according to God’s will.
In their conversations, the three friends and Job discussed a difficult problem. Everywhere in creation it appears that everything is subject to fixed statutes and laws. If the Creator deals with the whole cosmos according to recognizable rules, why shouldn’t there be such reliable rules in His dealings with people? God now shows how much man overestimates himself when he claims to understand His actions as Creator and Sustainer. And if he does not understand God’s actions in natural things, how much less he does understand His ways with men.
God Answers Job
One of Job’s closing words was: “Let the Almighty answer me!” (Job 31:35; cf. Job 9:35; Job 10:2; Job 13:3). The answer comes now (Job 38:1). But nothing of Job’s intention to approach the Almighty “as a prince” (Job 31:37) comes to pass. The answer of “the LORD” comes “out of the whirlwind”, not to crush Job by that whirlwind, but to answer him (cf. Job 9:17). God answers as “the LORD”, the Name which is also used in Job 1-2 and which is characteristic of God’s relationship with man. The LORD comes to him in an impressive way. Job must acknowledge with Whom he has to do. But He comes to restore him, not to destroy him. When Job was plunged into misery, He also spoke through a terrible storm. It killed all his children (Job 1:19).
The first words of God immediately make clear what He blames Job for (Job 38:2). God begins with the question: “Who is this?” Therein already resounds the great exaltation of God and the great nothingness of man, Job. They are not words of contempt or of wrath, but a reproach. They are words of indignation, for Job has had the audacity to darken God’s counsel by misrepresenting His ways. This indignation of God is understandable when we remember that we do not appreciate it when things are said of us that are not true.
With his words, Job has darkened God’s counsel, which is His government of the world, including the disasters that have struck him. God reigns in disasters and plagues, in which His hand is clearly visible. But His counsel is darkened by human approaches, explanations and reasoning about them. Job has also given his explanation. In doing so he has come to accuse God of injustice, and by doing so he has darkened God’s counsel.
He has spoken “words without knowledge” about God because he misinterpreted God’s actions. He believed he knew what God should have done, but did not do. We, too, must be careful not to assume that we know God’s will and way about situations in which someone or we ourselves have ended up and which we do not understand. We do not know all the facts that God takes into account and uses in His actions.
God calls Job to gird his loins like a man (Job 38:3; Job 40:6-7; cf. 1 Kings 20:11). In this way God says to him, as it were: ‘Brace yourself to listen to My questions and then give the right answer.’ Job expressed powerful language about what he would say to God (Job 13:22; Job 23:4-5). God will test the power of his words by questioning him, by asking him a number of questions. God’s questions will place the proportions in the right light.
They are not questions that a man cannot understand. They are not ‘quiz questions’ to test Job’s knowledge, but educational questions. God’s goal is not to deeply make Job aware of his ignorance and thereby sweep him away, which would be very simple, but to bring him to the true knowledge of himself and of God. To grow in that knowledge is to grow in the true knowledge. That God comes to Job in this way and speaks to him in this way shows His mercy toward Job.
Psalms 27:4
Introduction
God is going to speak. He spoke to Adam and Eve and they hid. When He spoke to Moses, Moses had to remove his sandals from his feet. Elijah wrapped his face when he met God in the gentle blowing of a wind. The voice, perhaps more than the apparition, reveals the person. A lot has been said about God in the previous conversations by Job and the friends and Elihu, but His actual presence was not felt. Now that God Himself is showing Himself, Job is going to change. So it is with us.
In the speaking of God we will not hear an explanation of the problem with which Job has wrestled. The problem is not even mentioned. God does not defend Himself against Job’s accusations of injustice. He does not come as the next Speaker to make a new attempt to convince Job, but He comes as the One Who speaks the last and decisive word in majesty. God comes simply as the Supreme.
God does not come with “new witnesses” (Job 10:17) to Job, of which he was so afraid. He also does not come in a storm to sweep away Job and no longer to hear him (Job 9:16-18). God does not come to make his suffering greater, but to provide pastoral care for Job in a very personal way. He does not show that to others. But when God has done His work, His care, to Job, He presents him to His friends as a changed Job. We see something similar in what the Lord Jesus did to Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5a; Luke 24:34; John 21:15).
Job wanted to sue God for His role in the suffering that afflicted him. But when God appears to Job, the roles are reversed. God calls him to account. He asks Job more than seventy questions to which he has no answers at all. This proves that Job is incapable of understanding God’s ways with nature, let alone having power over it. If he does not even know and understand the natural coherence of it, how could he expect to understand God’s ways with man? Finally, this leads to Job being convinced and his breakdown. He retracts and repents in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
God is known from His creation (Romans 1:20). He speaks of His wondrous works, not of the works of Job. No mention is made of Job’s good works. God lets Job know by His appearance to him that He has not abandoned him. Nor does God blame Job for certain sins as the cause of his suffering. God only blames Job for the incongruous words he spoke in his bitterness during his suffering. This is exactly what Elihu did before, which proves that Elihu spoke according to God’s will.
In their conversations, the three friends and Job discussed a difficult problem. Everywhere in creation it appears that everything is subject to fixed statutes and laws. If the Creator deals with the whole cosmos according to recognizable rules, why shouldn’t there be such reliable rules in His dealings with people? God now shows how much man overestimates himself when he claims to understand His actions as Creator and Sustainer. And if he does not understand God’s actions in natural things, how much less he does understand His ways with men.
God Answers Job
One of Job’s closing words was: “Let the Almighty answer me!” (Job 31:35; cf. Job 9:35; Job 10:2; Job 13:3). The answer comes now (Job 38:1). But nothing of Job’s intention to approach the Almighty “as a prince” (Job 31:37) comes to pass. The answer of “the LORD” comes “out of the whirlwind”, not to crush Job by that whirlwind, but to answer him (cf. Job 9:17). God answers as “the LORD”, the Name which is also used in Job 1-2 and which is characteristic of God’s relationship with man. The LORD comes to him in an impressive way. Job must acknowledge with Whom he has to do. But He comes to restore him, not to destroy him. When Job was plunged into misery, He also spoke through a terrible storm. It killed all his children (Job 1:19).
The first words of God immediately make clear what He blames Job for (Job 38:2). God begins with the question: “Who is this?” Therein already resounds the great exaltation of God and the great nothingness of man, Job. They are not words of contempt or of wrath, but a reproach. They are words of indignation, for Job has had the audacity to darken God’s counsel by misrepresenting His ways. This indignation of God is understandable when we remember that we do not appreciate it when things are said of us that are not true.
With his words, Job has darkened God’s counsel, which is His government of the world, including the disasters that have struck him. God reigns in disasters and plagues, in which His hand is clearly visible. But His counsel is darkened by human approaches, explanations and reasoning about them. Job has also given his explanation. In doing so he has come to accuse God of injustice, and by doing so he has darkened God’s counsel.
He has spoken “words without knowledge” about God because he misinterpreted God’s actions. He believed he knew what God should have done, but did not do. We, too, must be careful not to assume that we know God’s will and way about situations in which someone or we ourselves have ended up and which we do not understand. We do not know all the facts that God takes into account and uses in His actions.
God calls Job to gird his loins like a man (Job 38:3; Job 40:6-7; cf. 1 Kings 20:11). In this way God says to him, as it were: ‘Brace yourself to listen to My questions and then give the right answer.’ Job expressed powerful language about what he would say to God (Job 13:22; Job 23:4-5). God will test the power of his words by questioning him, by asking him a number of questions. God’s questions will place the proportions in the right light.
They are not questions that a man cannot understand. They are not ‘quiz questions’ to test Job’s knowledge, but educational questions. God’s goal is not to deeply make Job aware of his ignorance and thereby sweep him away, which would be very simple, but to bring him to the true knowledge of himself and of God. To grow in that knowledge is to grow in the true knowledge. That God comes to Job in this way and speaks to him in this way shows His mercy toward Job.
Psalms 27:5
Introduction
God is going to speak. He spoke to Adam and Eve and they hid. When He spoke to Moses, Moses had to remove his sandals from his feet. Elijah wrapped his face when he met God in the gentle blowing of a wind. The voice, perhaps more than the apparition, reveals the person. A lot has been said about God in the previous conversations by Job and the friends and Elihu, but His actual presence was not felt. Now that God Himself is showing Himself, Job is going to change. So it is with us.
In the speaking of God we will not hear an explanation of the problem with which Job has wrestled. The problem is not even mentioned. God does not defend Himself against Job’s accusations of injustice. He does not come as the next Speaker to make a new attempt to convince Job, but He comes as the One Who speaks the last and decisive word in majesty. God comes simply as the Supreme.
God does not come with “new witnesses” (Job 10:17) to Job, of which he was so afraid. He also does not come in a storm to sweep away Job and no longer to hear him (Job 9:16-18). God does not come to make his suffering greater, but to provide pastoral care for Job in a very personal way. He does not show that to others. But when God has done His work, His care, to Job, He presents him to His friends as a changed Job. We see something similar in what the Lord Jesus did to Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5a; Luke 24:34; John 21:15).
Job wanted to sue God for His role in the suffering that afflicted him. But when God appears to Job, the roles are reversed. God calls him to account. He asks Job more than seventy questions to which he has no answers at all. This proves that Job is incapable of understanding God’s ways with nature, let alone having power over it. If he does not even know and understand the natural coherence of it, how could he expect to understand God’s ways with man? Finally, this leads to Job being convinced and his breakdown. He retracts and repents in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
God is known from His creation (Romans 1:20). He speaks of His wondrous works, not of the works of Job. No mention is made of Job’s good works. God lets Job know by His appearance to him that He has not abandoned him. Nor does God blame Job for certain sins as the cause of his suffering. God only blames Job for the incongruous words he spoke in his bitterness during his suffering. This is exactly what Elihu did before, which proves that Elihu spoke according to God’s will.
In their conversations, the three friends and Job discussed a difficult problem. Everywhere in creation it appears that everything is subject to fixed statutes and laws. If the Creator deals with the whole cosmos according to recognizable rules, why shouldn’t there be such reliable rules in His dealings with people? God now shows how much man overestimates himself when he claims to understand His actions as Creator and Sustainer. And if he does not understand God’s actions in natural things, how much less he does understand His ways with men.
God Answers Job
One of Job’s closing words was: “Let the Almighty answer me!” (Job 31:35; cf. Job 9:35; Job 10:2; Job 13:3). The answer comes now (Job 38:1). But nothing of Job’s intention to approach the Almighty “as a prince” (Job 31:37) comes to pass. The answer of “the LORD” comes “out of the whirlwind”, not to crush Job by that whirlwind, but to answer him (cf. Job 9:17). God answers as “the LORD”, the Name which is also used in Job 1-2 and which is characteristic of God’s relationship with man. The LORD comes to him in an impressive way. Job must acknowledge with Whom he has to do. But He comes to restore him, not to destroy him. When Job was plunged into misery, He also spoke through a terrible storm. It killed all his children (Job 1:19).
The first words of God immediately make clear what He blames Job for (Job 38:2). God begins with the question: “Who is this?” Therein already resounds the great exaltation of God and the great nothingness of man, Job. They are not words of contempt or of wrath, but a reproach. They are words of indignation, for Job has had the audacity to darken God’s counsel by misrepresenting His ways. This indignation of God is understandable when we remember that we do not appreciate it when things are said of us that are not true.
With his words, Job has darkened God’s counsel, which is His government of the world, including the disasters that have struck him. God reigns in disasters and plagues, in which His hand is clearly visible. But His counsel is darkened by human approaches, explanations and reasoning about them. Job has also given his explanation. In doing so he has come to accuse God of injustice, and by doing so he has darkened God’s counsel.
He has spoken “words without knowledge” about God because he misinterpreted God’s actions. He believed he knew what God should have done, but did not do. We, too, must be careful not to assume that we know God’s will and way about situations in which someone or we ourselves have ended up and which we do not understand. We do not know all the facts that God takes into account and uses in His actions.
God calls Job to gird his loins like a man (Job 38:3; Job 40:6-7; cf. 1 Kings 20:11). In this way God says to him, as it were: ‘Brace yourself to listen to My questions and then give the right answer.’ Job expressed powerful language about what he would say to God (Job 13:22; Job 23:4-5). God will test the power of his words by questioning him, by asking him a number of questions. God’s questions will place the proportions in the right light.
They are not questions that a man cannot understand. They are not ‘quiz questions’ to test Job’s knowledge, but educational questions. God’s goal is not to deeply make Job aware of his ignorance and thereby sweep him away, which would be very simple, but to bring him to the true knowledge of himself and of God. To grow in that knowledge is to grow in the true knowledge. That God comes to Job in this way and speaks to him in this way shows His mercy toward Job.
Psalms 27:6
The Foundations of the Earth
In Job 38:4 God begins with the questions. Each question makes Job a bit smaller, until finally the last trace of pride is gone. The first subject God touches upon is the creation of the earth, the abode of man (Job 38:4). Job complained that God moves and reverses the mountains, makes the earth wobble, and eclipses the sun and the stars (Job 9:5-7). But in order to be able to answer questions about creation, he must have been a witness or be able to bring witnesses of the creation. Job believed he had knowledge of creation (Job 9:5-10). Can he also say where he was when God “laid the foundation of the earth?” ‘Well, Job, say it, let Me know, “tell” Me. If you can, show that “you have understanding”.’
But Job, of course, was nowhere to be found at the time of the creation of the earth; he didn’t even exist. In this respect, Bildad was telling the truth when he said to Job: “For we are of yesterday and know nothing” (Job 8:9). Well, if someone has no knowledge of the way the earth is founded, he also lacks knowledge of the way the earth and life on it functions and is governed. Anyone who, despite this lack of knowledge, makes statements about it can only speculate and speak foolishness.
No one, not a human being, has been present at creation. By faith we know that the Son of God is the Creator (Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3). Through Him all things exist (Colossians 1:16-17). When God speaks here of ‘foundation’ and in Job 38:5 of ‘the line’, it is of course imagery derived from everyday life. The earth is not literally founded on anything, and no literal line to measure has been used in the design and creation of the earth (cf. Job 26:7). God uses these concepts to make clear to us what He means.
The question in Job 38:5 connects to the previous one in which we hear the Creator and Sustainer of the universe talking about its design and construction. God asks Job who has set its measurements. Has He given God a hand in the design, or given Him a tip in setting its dimensions and proportions, so that all parts of creation can be perfectly harmoniously joined together by a proportional and balanced form and quantity? In addition to the fact that the earth functions, does he know how and why it functions? The words “measurements” and “line” mean that God works according to a perfect predetermined plan.
Let Job say it, for he “knows” how the earth functions. In any case, that is what he claimed. Or perhaps he helped to carry it out, that he held on the line when God was setting everything in its place? Job didn’t. He has not been able to give God any advice as to the dimensions and characteristics He would attribute to the parts of His creation. The lesson we can learn from this is that God alone sets the measurements of everything, whether it is creation or our days, our possessions, our gifts, or our suffering (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
In Job 38:6, God does not ask for a person, but for the way of functioning. It is about the durability of the work of creation. Can Job also say how God has worked to give the earth the stability it has? Can he make something that remains? Here too God uses imagery when He speaks of “its bases” and “its cornerstone”. Bases support a building and the cornerstone makes sure that the foundation is laid well. Through these pictures, God shows Job that everything He has built is solid and stable.
Those who were present at God’s creation works are the angels, who are called “morning stars” and “sons of God” (Job 38:7; Job 1:6; Job 2:1). Angels are sons of God – not by birth or adoption like New Testament believers, but – because of their creation by God. In the same sense, this is only said of Adam in the case of men (Luke 3:38). Angels were created before God created the visible universe. When God created creation out of nothing, that is, out of what is invisible to the eye, they saw it and cheered and shouted about it.
[N.B. The word “sang” (Job 38:7) is not a good translation. Angels do not sing. Neither did they in the fields of Ephrathah. Singing is reserved for people who have been redeemed by God from their bondage and their sins. See for example Exodus 15, where we hear about singing for the first time in the Bible, and the book of Revelation, where singing is mentioned for the last time in the Bible (Exodus 15:1; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:3].
God did not create from nothing, but out of Himself. The angels had never seen anything of substance and everything that goes with it, such as form, color, and size. And suddenly it was there. They saw it because God called “into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17b), He had called it forth. This brought them to an exuberant expression of their admiration for the wisdom and power of God, their Creator.
Psalms 27:7
The Foundations of the Earth
In Job 38:4 God begins with the questions. Each question makes Job a bit smaller, until finally the last trace of pride is gone. The first subject God touches upon is the creation of the earth, the abode of man (Job 38:4). Job complained that God moves and reverses the mountains, makes the earth wobble, and eclipses the sun and the stars (Job 9:5-7). But in order to be able to answer questions about creation, he must have been a witness or be able to bring witnesses of the creation. Job believed he had knowledge of creation (Job 9:5-10). Can he also say where he was when God “laid the foundation of the earth?” ‘Well, Job, say it, let Me know, “tell” Me. If you can, show that “you have understanding”.’
But Job, of course, was nowhere to be found at the time of the creation of the earth; he didn’t even exist. In this respect, Bildad was telling the truth when he said to Job: “For we are of yesterday and know nothing” (Job 8:9). Well, if someone has no knowledge of the way the earth is founded, he also lacks knowledge of the way the earth and life on it functions and is governed. Anyone who, despite this lack of knowledge, makes statements about it can only speculate and speak foolishness.
No one, not a human being, has been present at creation. By faith we know that the Son of God is the Creator (Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3). Through Him all things exist (Colossians 1:16-17). When God speaks here of ‘foundation’ and in Job 38:5 of ‘the line’, it is of course imagery derived from everyday life. The earth is not literally founded on anything, and no literal line to measure has been used in the design and creation of the earth (cf. Job 26:7). God uses these concepts to make clear to us what He means.
The question in Job 38:5 connects to the previous one in which we hear the Creator and Sustainer of the universe talking about its design and construction. God asks Job who has set its measurements. Has He given God a hand in the design, or given Him a tip in setting its dimensions and proportions, so that all parts of creation can be perfectly harmoniously joined together by a proportional and balanced form and quantity? In addition to the fact that the earth functions, does he know how and why it functions? The words “measurements” and “line” mean that God works according to a perfect predetermined plan.
Let Job say it, for he “knows” how the earth functions. In any case, that is what he claimed. Or perhaps he helped to carry it out, that he held on the line when God was setting everything in its place? Job didn’t. He has not been able to give God any advice as to the dimensions and characteristics He would attribute to the parts of His creation. The lesson we can learn from this is that God alone sets the measurements of everything, whether it is creation or our days, our possessions, our gifts, or our suffering (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
In Job 38:6, God does not ask for a person, but for the way of functioning. It is about the durability of the work of creation. Can Job also say how God has worked to give the earth the stability it has? Can he make something that remains? Here too God uses imagery when He speaks of “its bases” and “its cornerstone”. Bases support a building and the cornerstone makes sure that the foundation is laid well. Through these pictures, God shows Job that everything He has built is solid and stable.
Those who were present at God’s creation works are the angels, who are called “morning stars” and “sons of God” (Job 38:7; Job 1:6; Job 2:1). Angels are sons of God – not by birth or adoption like New Testament believers, but – because of their creation by God. In the same sense, this is only said of Adam in the case of men (Luke 3:38). Angels were created before God created the visible universe. When God created creation out of nothing, that is, out of what is invisible to the eye, they saw it and cheered and shouted about it.
[N.B. The word “sang” (Job 38:7) is not a good translation. Angels do not sing. Neither did they in the fields of Ephrathah. Singing is reserved for people who have been redeemed by God from their bondage and their sins. See for example Exodus 15, where we hear about singing for the first time in the Bible, and the book of Revelation, where singing is mentioned for the last time in the Bible (Exodus 15:1; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:3].
God did not create from nothing, but out of Himself. The angels had never seen anything of substance and everything that goes with it, such as form, color, and size. And suddenly it was there. They saw it because God called “into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17b), He had called it forth. This brought them to an exuberant expression of their admiration for the wisdom and power of God, their Creator.
Psalms 27:8
The Foundations of the Earth
In Job 38:4 God begins with the questions. Each question makes Job a bit smaller, until finally the last trace of pride is gone. The first subject God touches upon is the creation of the earth, the abode of man (Job 38:4). Job complained that God moves and reverses the mountains, makes the earth wobble, and eclipses the sun and the stars (Job 9:5-7). But in order to be able to answer questions about creation, he must have been a witness or be able to bring witnesses of the creation. Job believed he had knowledge of creation (Job 9:5-10). Can he also say where he was when God “laid the foundation of the earth?” ‘Well, Job, say it, let Me know, “tell” Me. If you can, show that “you have understanding”.’
But Job, of course, was nowhere to be found at the time of the creation of the earth; he didn’t even exist. In this respect, Bildad was telling the truth when he said to Job: “For we are of yesterday and know nothing” (Job 8:9). Well, if someone has no knowledge of the way the earth is founded, he also lacks knowledge of the way the earth and life on it functions and is governed. Anyone who, despite this lack of knowledge, makes statements about it can only speculate and speak foolishness.
No one, not a human being, has been present at creation. By faith we know that the Son of God is the Creator (Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3). Through Him all things exist (Colossians 1:16-17). When God speaks here of ‘foundation’ and in Job 38:5 of ‘the line’, it is of course imagery derived from everyday life. The earth is not literally founded on anything, and no literal line to measure has been used in the design and creation of the earth (cf. Job 26:7). God uses these concepts to make clear to us what He means.
The question in Job 38:5 connects to the previous one in which we hear the Creator and Sustainer of the universe talking about its design and construction. God asks Job who has set its measurements. Has He given God a hand in the design, or given Him a tip in setting its dimensions and proportions, so that all parts of creation can be perfectly harmoniously joined together by a proportional and balanced form and quantity? In addition to the fact that the earth functions, does he know how and why it functions? The words “measurements” and “line” mean that God works according to a perfect predetermined plan.
Let Job say it, for he “knows” how the earth functions. In any case, that is what he claimed. Or perhaps he helped to carry it out, that he held on the line when God was setting everything in its place? Job didn’t. He has not been able to give God any advice as to the dimensions and characteristics He would attribute to the parts of His creation. The lesson we can learn from this is that God alone sets the measurements of everything, whether it is creation or our days, our possessions, our gifts, or our suffering (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
In Job 38:6, God does not ask for a person, but for the way of functioning. It is about the durability of the work of creation. Can Job also say how God has worked to give the earth the stability it has? Can he make something that remains? Here too God uses imagery when He speaks of “its bases” and “its cornerstone”. Bases support a building and the cornerstone makes sure that the foundation is laid well. Through these pictures, God shows Job that everything He has built is solid and stable.
Those who were present at God’s creation works are the angels, who are called “morning stars” and “sons of God” (Job 38:7; Job 1:6; Job 2:1). Angels are sons of God – not by birth or adoption like New Testament believers, but – because of their creation by God. In the same sense, this is only said of Adam in the case of men (Luke 3:38). Angels were created before God created the visible universe. When God created creation out of nothing, that is, out of what is invisible to the eye, they saw it and cheered and shouted about it.
[N.B. The word “sang” (Job 38:7) is not a good translation. Angels do not sing. Neither did they in the fields of Ephrathah. Singing is reserved for people who have been redeemed by God from their bondage and their sins. See for example Exodus 15, where we hear about singing for the first time in the Bible, and the book of Revelation, where singing is mentioned for the last time in the Bible (Exodus 15:1; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:3].
God did not create from nothing, but out of Himself. The angels had never seen anything of substance and everything that goes with it, such as form, color, and size. And suddenly it was there. They saw it because God called “into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17b), He had called it forth. This brought them to an exuberant expression of their admiration for the wisdom and power of God, their Creator.
Psalms 27:9
The Foundations of the Earth
In Job 38:4 God begins with the questions. Each question makes Job a bit smaller, until finally the last trace of pride is gone. The first subject God touches upon is the creation of the earth, the abode of man (Job 38:4). Job complained that God moves and reverses the mountains, makes the earth wobble, and eclipses the sun and the stars (Job 9:5-7). But in order to be able to answer questions about creation, he must have been a witness or be able to bring witnesses of the creation. Job believed he had knowledge of creation (Job 9:5-10). Can he also say where he was when God “laid the foundation of the earth?” ‘Well, Job, say it, let Me know, “tell” Me. If you can, show that “you have understanding”.’
But Job, of course, was nowhere to be found at the time of the creation of the earth; he didn’t even exist. In this respect, Bildad was telling the truth when he said to Job: “For we are of yesterday and know nothing” (Job 8:9). Well, if someone has no knowledge of the way the earth is founded, he also lacks knowledge of the way the earth and life on it functions and is governed. Anyone who, despite this lack of knowledge, makes statements about it can only speculate and speak foolishness.
No one, not a human being, has been present at creation. By faith we know that the Son of God is the Creator (Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3). Through Him all things exist (Colossians 1:16-17). When God speaks here of ‘foundation’ and in Job 38:5 of ‘the line’, it is of course imagery derived from everyday life. The earth is not literally founded on anything, and no literal line to measure has been used in the design and creation of the earth (cf. Job 26:7). God uses these concepts to make clear to us what He means.
The question in Job 38:5 connects to the previous one in which we hear the Creator and Sustainer of the universe talking about its design and construction. God asks Job who has set its measurements. Has He given God a hand in the design, or given Him a tip in setting its dimensions and proportions, so that all parts of creation can be perfectly harmoniously joined together by a proportional and balanced form and quantity? In addition to the fact that the earth functions, does he know how and why it functions? The words “measurements” and “line” mean that God works according to a perfect predetermined plan.
Let Job say it, for he “knows” how the earth functions. In any case, that is what he claimed. Or perhaps he helped to carry it out, that he held on the line when God was setting everything in its place? Job didn’t. He has not been able to give God any advice as to the dimensions and characteristics He would attribute to the parts of His creation. The lesson we can learn from this is that God alone sets the measurements of everything, whether it is creation or our days, our possessions, our gifts, or our suffering (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
In Job 38:6, God does not ask for a person, but for the way of functioning. It is about the durability of the work of creation. Can Job also say how God has worked to give the earth the stability it has? Can he make something that remains? Here too God uses imagery when He speaks of “its bases” and “its cornerstone”. Bases support a building and the cornerstone makes sure that the foundation is laid well. Through these pictures, God shows Job that everything He has built is solid and stable.
Those who were present at God’s creation works are the angels, who are called “morning stars” and “sons of God” (Job 38:7; Job 1:6; Job 2:1). Angels are sons of God – not by birth or adoption like New Testament believers, but – because of their creation by God. In the same sense, this is only said of Adam in the case of men (Luke 3:38). Angels were created before God created the visible universe. When God created creation out of nothing, that is, out of what is invisible to the eye, they saw it and cheered and shouted about it.
[N.B. The word “sang” (Job 38:7) is not a good translation. Angels do not sing. Neither did they in the fields of Ephrathah. Singing is reserved for people who have been redeemed by God from their bondage and their sins. See for example Exodus 15, where we hear about singing for the first time in the Bible, and the book of Revelation, where singing is mentioned for the last time in the Bible (Exodus 15:1; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:3].
God did not create from nothing, but out of Himself. The angels had never seen anything of substance and everything that goes with it, such as form, color, and size. And suddenly it was there. They saw it because God called “into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17b), He had called it forth. This brought them to an exuberant expression of their admiration for the wisdom and power of God, their Creator.
Psalms 27:10
The Limits of the Sea
In these verses, God is changing the subject. He goes from the earth to the sea and asks Job some questions about it. In those questions He shows that He is both the Maker and the Master of it. He dominates and controls the sea. The origin of the earth has been compared by God to building a house. For the origin of the sea He uses the picture of a birth (Job 38:8). Immediately at birth the sea shows its temperament of wildness and ferocity that must be controlled by God.
God does not ask Job any further questions about the sea, but describes His way of dealing with it. This shows His complete mastery of it and also His care for it. He even compares the sea to a newborn child who is completely dependent on His care (cf. Ezekiel 16:2-4). He clothes the sea with “a cloud” and gives her “thick darkness” as “its swaddling band” (Job 38:9). This garment gives an appearance that increases the threat that has always posed to man from the sea. It makes him even more aware of his powerlessness and nullity in the face of that power full of threat.
If God does not place boundaries on the sea and does not control it (Job 38:10), no one can prevent the sea from doing an all destructive work. Great floods by storms, tsunamis and spring tides are impressive proof of this. The water raged in the most terrible way when God used a worldwide flood to judge the earth (Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2).
Is there a man who can tame or limit the sea? Man, with his abilities, can make all kinds of arrangements to prevent a flood disaster, such as the enormous Delta Works in the Netherlands, to protect its coasts. But a guarantee that a new flood disaster is out of the question cannot even be given by such masterly performances. Only God has the power to stop the water. He places boundaries, and sets a bolt and doors so that it will not go beyond the boundaries without His will (cf. Psalms 104:9-10; Jeremiah 5:22; Proverbs 8:29).
God never loses control of the sea (Job 38:11). He may occasionally allow the sea to break through those boundaries. Then He opens the doors to remind man of his total inability to exert any influence on the devastating mass and power of the water. Then He gathers the waters back into the storehouses designated by Him for that purpose (Psalms 33:7) and brings them to rest.
God reigns over the sea simply because He “said” to the sea, that is, by His word. The waters obey the word of God (2 Peter 3:5-6). He speaks to them as if they were a person who stands before Him, with their own rebellious will, and to whom He lets it be known what their boundary is to abide by it.
If God has complete control over the sea, what right does man, who did not create the sea and cannot control it, have to criticize God for the way He deals with it? We can apply this to the trials and sufferings that can affect the life of a believer. They do not happen by chance to him, but arise from ‘the womb of God’s counsel’ for him. But God is and remains with us in the trials (Isaiah 43:2). He has set a boundary to need and misery so that the believer does not perish (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His trials He keeps the pride of men in check, just as He keeps the pride of the waters in check.
There has been one moment in history when God has removed all bars and doors, bringing boundless misery upon Someone. That was when the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross in the three hours of darkness. Then He cried out: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me” (Psalms 42:7). There He was immersed in the wrath of God over sin. We cannot fathom what this meant to Him. But we will worship Him eternally for undergoing God’s wrath over sin in our stead.
Psalms 27:11
The Limits of the Sea
In these verses, God is changing the subject. He goes from the earth to the sea and asks Job some questions about it. In those questions He shows that He is both the Maker and the Master of it. He dominates and controls the sea. The origin of the earth has been compared by God to building a house. For the origin of the sea He uses the picture of a birth (Job 38:8). Immediately at birth the sea shows its temperament of wildness and ferocity that must be controlled by God.
God does not ask Job any further questions about the sea, but describes His way of dealing with it. This shows His complete mastery of it and also His care for it. He even compares the sea to a newborn child who is completely dependent on His care (cf. Ezekiel 16:2-4). He clothes the sea with “a cloud” and gives her “thick darkness” as “its swaddling band” (Job 38:9). This garment gives an appearance that increases the threat that has always posed to man from the sea. It makes him even more aware of his powerlessness and nullity in the face of that power full of threat.
If God does not place boundaries on the sea and does not control it (Job 38:10), no one can prevent the sea from doing an all destructive work. Great floods by storms, tsunamis and spring tides are impressive proof of this. The water raged in the most terrible way when God used a worldwide flood to judge the earth (Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2).
Is there a man who can tame or limit the sea? Man, with his abilities, can make all kinds of arrangements to prevent a flood disaster, such as the enormous Delta Works in the Netherlands, to protect its coasts. But a guarantee that a new flood disaster is out of the question cannot even be given by such masterly performances. Only God has the power to stop the water. He places boundaries, and sets a bolt and doors so that it will not go beyond the boundaries without His will (cf. Psalms 104:9-10; Jeremiah 5:22; Proverbs 8:29).
God never loses control of the sea (Job 38:11). He may occasionally allow the sea to break through those boundaries. Then He opens the doors to remind man of his total inability to exert any influence on the devastating mass and power of the water. Then He gathers the waters back into the storehouses designated by Him for that purpose (Psalms 33:7) and brings them to rest.
God reigns over the sea simply because He “said” to the sea, that is, by His word. The waters obey the word of God (2 Peter 3:5-6). He speaks to them as if they were a person who stands before Him, with their own rebellious will, and to whom He lets it be known what their boundary is to abide by it.
If God has complete control over the sea, what right does man, who did not create the sea and cannot control it, have to criticize God for the way He deals with it? We can apply this to the trials and sufferings that can affect the life of a believer. They do not happen by chance to him, but arise from ‘the womb of God’s counsel’ for him. But God is and remains with us in the trials (Isaiah 43:2). He has set a boundary to need and misery so that the believer does not perish (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His trials He keeps the pride of men in check, just as He keeps the pride of the waters in check.
There has been one moment in history when God has removed all bars and doors, bringing boundless misery upon Someone. That was when the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross in the three hours of darkness. Then He cried out: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me” (Psalms 42:7). There He was immersed in the wrath of God over sin. We cannot fathom what this meant to Him. But we will worship Him eternally for undergoing God’s wrath over sin in our stead.
Psalms 27:12
The Limits of the Sea
In these verses, God is changing the subject. He goes from the earth to the sea and asks Job some questions about it. In those questions He shows that He is both the Maker and the Master of it. He dominates and controls the sea. The origin of the earth has been compared by God to building a house. For the origin of the sea He uses the picture of a birth (Job 38:8). Immediately at birth the sea shows its temperament of wildness and ferocity that must be controlled by God.
God does not ask Job any further questions about the sea, but describes His way of dealing with it. This shows His complete mastery of it and also His care for it. He even compares the sea to a newborn child who is completely dependent on His care (cf. Ezekiel 16:2-4). He clothes the sea with “a cloud” and gives her “thick darkness” as “its swaddling band” (Job 38:9). This garment gives an appearance that increases the threat that has always posed to man from the sea. It makes him even more aware of his powerlessness and nullity in the face of that power full of threat.
If God does not place boundaries on the sea and does not control it (Job 38:10), no one can prevent the sea from doing an all destructive work. Great floods by storms, tsunamis and spring tides are impressive proof of this. The water raged in the most terrible way when God used a worldwide flood to judge the earth (Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2).
Is there a man who can tame or limit the sea? Man, with his abilities, can make all kinds of arrangements to prevent a flood disaster, such as the enormous Delta Works in the Netherlands, to protect its coasts. But a guarantee that a new flood disaster is out of the question cannot even be given by such masterly performances. Only God has the power to stop the water. He places boundaries, and sets a bolt and doors so that it will not go beyond the boundaries without His will (cf. Psalms 104:9-10; Jeremiah 5:22; Proverbs 8:29).
God never loses control of the sea (Job 38:11). He may occasionally allow the sea to break through those boundaries. Then He opens the doors to remind man of his total inability to exert any influence on the devastating mass and power of the water. Then He gathers the waters back into the storehouses designated by Him for that purpose (Psalms 33:7) and brings them to rest.
God reigns over the sea simply because He “said” to the sea, that is, by His word. The waters obey the word of God (2 Peter 3:5-6). He speaks to them as if they were a person who stands before Him, with their own rebellious will, and to whom He lets it be known what their boundary is to abide by it.
If God has complete control over the sea, what right does man, who did not create the sea and cannot control it, have to criticize God for the way He deals with it? We can apply this to the trials and sufferings that can affect the life of a believer. They do not happen by chance to him, but arise from ‘the womb of God’s counsel’ for him. But God is and remains with us in the trials (Isaiah 43:2). He has set a boundary to need and misery so that the believer does not perish (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His trials He keeps the pride of men in check, just as He keeps the pride of the waters in check.
There has been one moment in history when God has removed all bars and doors, bringing boundless misery upon Someone. That was when the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross in the three hours of darkness. Then He cried out: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me” (Psalms 42:7). There He was immersed in the wrath of God over sin. We cannot fathom what this meant to Him. But we will worship Him eternally for undergoing God’s wrath over sin in our stead.
Psalms 27:13
The Limits of the Sea
In these verses, God is changing the subject. He goes from the earth to the sea and asks Job some questions about it. In those questions He shows that He is both the Maker and the Master of it. He dominates and controls the sea. The origin of the earth has been compared by God to building a house. For the origin of the sea He uses the picture of a birth (Job 38:8). Immediately at birth the sea shows its temperament of wildness and ferocity that must be controlled by God.
God does not ask Job any further questions about the sea, but describes His way of dealing with it. This shows His complete mastery of it and also His care for it. He even compares the sea to a newborn child who is completely dependent on His care (cf. Ezekiel 16:2-4). He clothes the sea with “a cloud” and gives her “thick darkness” as “its swaddling band” (Job 38:9). This garment gives an appearance that increases the threat that has always posed to man from the sea. It makes him even more aware of his powerlessness and nullity in the face of that power full of threat.
If God does not place boundaries on the sea and does not control it (Job 38:10), no one can prevent the sea from doing an all destructive work. Great floods by storms, tsunamis and spring tides are impressive proof of this. The water raged in the most terrible way when God used a worldwide flood to judge the earth (Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2).
Is there a man who can tame or limit the sea? Man, with his abilities, can make all kinds of arrangements to prevent a flood disaster, such as the enormous Delta Works in the Netherlands, to protect its coasts. But a guarantee that a new flood disaster is out of the question cannot even be given by such masterly performances. Only God has the power to stop the water. He places boundaries, and sets a bolt and doors so that it will not go beyond the boundaries without His will (cf. Psalms 104:9-10; Jeremiah 5:22; Proverbs 8:29).
God never loses control of the sea (Job 38:11). He may occasionally allow the sea to break through those boundaries. Then He opens the doors to remind man of his total inability to exert any influence on the devastating mass and power of the water. Then He gathers the waters back into the storehouses designated by Him for that purpose (Psalms 33:7) and brings them to rest.
God reigns over the sea simply because He “said” to the sea, that is, by His word. The waters obey the word of God (2 Peter 3:5-6). He speaks to them as if they were a person who stands before Him, with their own rebellious will, and to whom He lets it be known what their boundary is to abide by it.
If God has complete control over the sea, what right does man, who did not create the sea and cannot control it, have to criticize God for the way He deals with it? We can apply this to the trials and sufferings that can affect the life of a believer. They do not happen by chance to him, but arise from ‘the womb of God’s counsel’ for him. But God is and remains with us in the trials (Isaiah 43:2). He has set a boundary to need and misery so that the believer does not perish (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His trials He keeps the pride of men in check, just as He keeps the pride of the waters in check.
There has been one moment in history when God has removed all bars and doors, bringing boundless misery upon Someone. That was when the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross in the three hours of darkness. Then He cried out: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me” (Psalms 42:7). There He was immersed in the wrath of God over sin. We cannot fathom what this meant to Him. But we will worship Him eternally for undergoing God’s wrath over sin in our stead.
Psalms 27:14
Day and Night
After questions about the beginning of creation, the next topic on which God questions Job is the beginning of the day. Has Job, since he was alive, ever caused the day to dawn, that the morning began to shine, and the dawn to be seen (Job 38:12)? Has he been able to influence the alternation between day and night? Has he determined when and where that would happen? Also this question is not answered. God does not expect an answer either. All questions must lead Job to the only correct answer and that is that he no longer has any rebuttal to God’s government in his life. If he acknowledges God’s guidance, he doesn’t need answers.
Job and we too would never have come to that question. The rising and setting of the sun is so mundane, so self-evident, that we don’t even think about Who is behind it. Nor do we dwell on the fact that this process has been going on since creation, when God said: “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). No man can make it day, and no man can break through that daily recurring wonder. Day and night belong to God (Psalms 74:16).
The dawn of the day also has an effect on the wicked (Job 38:13). When it becomes light, it is to “to take hold of the ends of the earth”. When the sun rises, the whole horizon is suddenly illuminated. This gives the picture that it is as if the light is taking hold of the earth like a tablecloth to shake the crumbs off. The wicked are then seen here as the crumbs being shaken off the earth.
Here we see the effect of light on those who love the works of darkness. They hate the light (John 3:19-20), for it reveals their evil works (Ephesians 5:13). As soon as it becomes light, they flee the light; they fear the light and are driven away by it (cf. Job 24:17). God asks Job if he has commanded them to do so at dawn.
Another consequence of the dawning of the day after night is that the form of all things becomes visible again (Job 38:14). In the night everything is dark and the outlines fade away. The earth then seems to be a shapeless and colorless piece of “clay”. But just as the impression of a seal in the soft clay changes the shape of the clay into something recognizable, so the dawn of the day changes the shape of the earth into something recognizable. The “garment” of the earth, where we can think, for example, of the trees and flowers that we do not see at night, is seen. In the morning light we see the whole structure and beauty of the earth.
Opposite the recognizability of God’s creation works in the light is the disappearance of the wicked (Job 38:15). The daylight breaks through, but they do not benefit from it. On the contrary, they do not want the light and crawl away from it. Because they do not want to see the light, but prefer darkness, they will never see the light. Their “uplifted arm”, a picture of their rebellion against God, will be broken forever (cf. Numbers 15:30; Psalms 10:15; Psalms 37:17). In the realm of peace, when Christ has risen as the Sun of righteousness, He will wipe out all the wicked from the land every morning (Malachi 4:2-3; Psalms 101:8).