Psalms 32

Psalms 32:1

The Hawk and the Eagle

The last two animals that God asks Job about are birds of prey: the hawk and the eagle. God points out to Job the wonder of the hawk’s migrating instinct. Did Job give this bird the instinct to spread its wings and soar toward the south at a certain time (Job 39:26)? The migratory instinct is still today a miracle that man looks at with amazement. The navigation of migratory birds is astonishing. They know exactly where to go and what route to follow. Who other than God has given the migratory birds this insight and equipped them with such a navigation system?

For the eagle – or probably better: vulture – the same applies. The astonishing thing about the eagle is not a migratory instinct, but its ability to rise to great heights and make a nest on high (Job 39:27). Does Job command the eagle to fly high up and make a nest there? He lives and spends the night at that height inaccessible to man (Job 39:28). No one can reach him there or disturb him. His dwelling on the tip of a rock offers the security of a fortress.

For his food supply he can rely on his phenomenal eyesight (Job 39:29). As soon as he sees prey from his place in the distance, he flies toward it like a thunderbolt. With the prey in his beak, he returns to his nest. There he gives his prey to his young who suck up its blood (Job 39:30). His food also consists of “the slain”, i.e. animals that are so badly injured that they no longer have the strength to bring themselves to safety. They may also be people who have been so badly injured in war that they are dying on the battlefield. The eagle awaits the moment when it can feast on them.

Psalms 32:2

The Hawk and the Eagle

The last two animals that God asks Job about are birds of prey: the hawk and the eagle. God points out to Job the wonder of the hawk’s migrating instinct. Did Job give this bird the instinct to spread its wings and soar toward the south at a certain time (Job 39:26)? The migratory instinct is still today a miracle that man looks at with amazement. The navigation of migratory birds is astonishing. They know exactly where to go and what route to follow. Who other than God has given the migratory birds this insight and equipped them with such a navigation system?

For the eagle – or probably better: vulture – the same applies. The astonishing thing about the eagle is not a migratory instinct, but its ability to rise to great heights and make a nest on high (Job 39:27). Does Job command the eagle to fly high up and make a nest there? He lives and spends the night at that height inaccessible to man (Job 39:28). No one can reach him there or disturb him. His dwelling on the tip of a rock offers the security of a fortress.

For his food supply he can rely on his phenomenal eyesight (Job 39:29). As soon as he sees prey from his place in the distance, he flies toward it like a thunderbolt. With the prey in his beak, he returns to his nest. There he gives his prey to his young who suck up its blood (Job 39:30). His food also consists of “the slain”, i.e. animals that are so badly injured that they no longer have the strength to bring themselves to safety. They may also be people who have been so badly injured in war that they are dying on the battlefield. The eagle awaits the moment when it can feast on them.

Psalms 32:3

The Hawk and the Eagle

The last two animals that God asks Job about are birds of prey: the hawk and the eagle. God points out to Job the wonder of the hawk’s migrating instinct. Did Job give this bird the instinct to spread its wings and soar toward the south at a certain time (Job 39:26)? The migratory instinct is still today a miracle that man looks at with amazement. The navigation of migratory birds is astonishing. They know exactly where to go and what route to follow. Who other than God has given the migratory birds this insight and equipped them with such a navigation system?

For the eagle – or probably better: vulture – the same applies. The astonishing thing about the eagle is not a migratory instinct, but its ability to rise to great heights and make a nest on high (Job 39:27). Does Job command the eagle to fly high up and make a nest there? He lives and spends the night at that height inaccessible to man (Job 39:28). No one can reach him there or disturb him. His dwelling on the tip of a rock offers the security of a fortress.

For his food supply he can rely on his phenomenal eyesight (Job 39:29). As soon as he sees prey from his place in the distance, he flies toward it like a thunderbolt. With the prey in his beak, he returns to his nest. There he gives his prey to his young who suck up its blood (Job 39:30). His food also consists of “the slain”, i.e. animals that are so badly injured that they no longer have the strength to bring themselves to safety. They may also be people who have been so badly injured in war that they are dying on the battlefield. The eagle awaits the moment when it can feast on them.

Psalms 32:4

The Hawk and the Eagle

The last two animals that God asks Job about are birds of prey: the hawk and the eagle. God points out to Job the wonder of the hawk’s migrating instinct. Did Job give this bird the instinct to spread its wings and soar toward the south at a certain time (Job 39:26)? The migratory instinct is still today a miracle that man looks at with amazement. The navigation of migratory birds is astonishing. They know exactly where to go and what route to follow. Who other than God has given the migratory birds this insight and equipped them with such a navigation system?

For the eagle – or probably better: vulture – the same applies. The astonishing thing about the eagle is not a migratory instinct, but its ability to rise to great heights and make a nest on high (Job 39:27). Does Job command the eagle to fly high up and make a nest there? He lives and spends the night at that height inaccessible to man (Job 39:28). No one can reach him there or disturb him. His dwelling on the tip of a rock offers the security of a fortress.

For his food supply he can rely on his phenomenal eyesight (Job 39:29). As soon as he sees prey from his place in the distance, he flies toward it like a thunderbolt. With the prey in his beak, he returns to his nest. There he gives his prey to his young who suck up its blood (Job 39:30). His food also consists of “the slain”, i.e. animals that are so badly injured that they no longer have the strength to bring themselves to safety. They may also be people who have been so badly injured in war that they are dying on the battlefield. The eagle awaits the moment when it can feast on them.

Psalms 32:6

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Genesis 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Matthew 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).

Psalms 32:7

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Genesis 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Matthew 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).

Psalms 32:8

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Genesis 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Matthew 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).

Psalms 32:9

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Genesis 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Matthew 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).

Psalms 32:10

Job Humbles Himself

God has pointed out to Job the wonders of His creation. It has been shown that only He knows, understands and constantly cares for and maintains everything in all their depths, in their details and in their coherence. Man has only a very limited understanding of God’s actions and then becomes small. It has become apparent that Job has made no contribution whatsoever to God’s actions and could never and never will be able to do so. God is so great and he is so small.

Before God presents the conclusion in the form of a question to Job in Job 40:2, we are first reminded that God is in the process of speaking to or answering Job (Job 40:1; Job 38:1). God’s answer after His speech is a challenge to Job. Job is contending with Him, “the Almighty” (Job 40:2; Job 13:3; 15). After all, he has accused God of injustice, because He makes him suffer while he is innocent. He wanted to call God to account for this.

‘Well’, says God, ‘here I am. But first prove that you are capable of this lawsuit by teaching Me and answering Me all the questions I have put to you in the preceding chapters.’ God challenges Job to teach or correct Him with respect to His rule of the universe. By doing so, he would prove that he is an equal party for God and thus able to contend with God. Whoever criticizes God, as if he knows things better than He does, must be able to answer these questions from God, otherwise he must keep his mouth shut.

God does expect an answer to this question, He even demands that Job answers (“let him … answer”). Because it has turned out that Job is completely ignorant about the course of events in creation, he must now choose. The choices are: Trust God in the awareness that He rules the world with wisdom, or persist in his accusation against God by which he exalts himself above God. What will Job do: trust Him or persist in accusing Him? The word is up to Job.

Then Job answers the LORD (Job 40:3). He acknowledges that he is too little, too insignificant (cf. Genesis 32:10) to say anything against that great, exalted God and answer Him (Job 40:4). Seeing God in His creation and the care He spends on it, he puts his hand on his mouth, indicating that he is silencing himself. God has humbled him. He acknowledges that it is inappropriate to speak against God. He has done this again and again, but he will not do it again (Job 40:5). No further defense comes out of his mouth. Here the goal of God seems to have been achieved.

Yet God will speak further with him, for His goal has not yet been achieved. Job does stop accusing, but that is because he recognizes that this is inappropriate toward Someone infinitely greater and more powerful than he is. However, he has not yet confessed this as sin. Job’s answer is too poor to God. Job wouldn’t say a bad word about God’s policy anymore, but could always have his own thoughts about it. That is why God continues His work on Job in grace, because Job still has to come to repentance. Only when that has happened God will have reached His goal.

God has spoken to Job once, but He sees the need to speak to him a second time. We will hear this in the following verses and chapters.

The LORD speaks in His first speech to Job about His care for His creation and His creatures (Job 38-39). In His second speech He points out the control He has over all creatures that man cannot control (Job 40-41). As an extreme example, He points to two creatures that man is completely powerless and defenseless against. They are types or examples of the irresistible power and pride that control man by nature and against which he is utterly powerless and defenseless. The two beasts that God presents to Job point above themselves to “the spiritual [forces] of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12), especially to the power of satan. These “rulers” and “powers” are also subject to the authority of the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The intention here goes far beyond showing Job that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world of nature. He does this in His first speech. In His second speech it is about convincing Job that God is also Lord of the evil spiritual powers that turn His good order upside down and overthrow it. In a way Job has been their mouthpiece by objecting to God’s government, because he felt that God did not take the right attitude toward evil (cf. Matthew 16:22-23).

In the introduction to the second speech (Job 40:6-14), God talks about His power and His ability to crush evil. He looks down upon every proud power to humble and subdue it. In the two beasts that symbolize evil, we see that God is Lord and Master of evil, and deals with it as He wills and not as Job sees fit. When Job is convinced of the wrong of his criticism of God’s government, this time his answer is a response of profound repentance (Job 42:1-6).

Psalms 32:11

God Continues With Job

After Job’s answer to the first speech, the LORD begins His second speech. As said, this is necessary because Job has not yet taken the place before the LORD that suits him. A deeper work has yet to be done in him. It is a proof of God’s grace that He does not lose His patience with Job, but continues to answer with him (Job 40:6; Job 38:1). God’s aim is not to crush and destroy Job, but to teach and persuade him, for which He is lovingly bending down to him.

Like His first speech, the LORD answers Job “out of the storm” (cf. Job 38:1). Also the challenge with which God turns to Job in Job 40:7 is similar to His challenge with which He began His first speech (Job 38:3). Again He advises Job to gird up his loins like a man. Job must gather new strength and position himself in his masculine power, for God will continue to “ask” him. After all, Job himself has challenged God with the words “call, and I will answer” (Job 13:22). There will be new issues that will demand all his attention. He will have to listen carefully and then answer.

God has also asked him questions in the previous chapters. But the tone in which He now speaks to Job is stricter. This is necessary to reach the depths of Job’s heart. We already see this in the first question God asks (Job 40:8). In the previous chapter God said that Job darkened His counsel by words without knowledge (Job 38:2). Now God is pointing out to Job that things are even worse for him, because he wants to annul His judgment, i.e. to declare it invalid. Job has said that God turns things around by not punishing the wicked who deserve punishment and punishing him who does not deserve punishment.

Job has declared God guilty of committing injustice, bending the law (Job 27:2). For God has punished him, an innocent one. Job has made this accusation because he sees himself as a righteous one. According to his conviction there is nothing wrong with him and despite that, God is punishing him anyway. Then there is something wrong with God. He accuses God in order to prove himself right. God is going to make it clear to Job that he considers himself to be righteous, which neither is his right nor true. Someone who is righteous gives everyone what is due to him and above all to God. That is where Job went wrong. Only he still has to see this for himself, and that is what God is doing.

God cannot simply ignore this serious accusation. However, He does not confront Job with his erroneous statements, but with Himself, with His power and omnipotence (Job 40:9). If Job thinks he has to take the floor against Him, he must first prove that he is His equal, that he is a match for Him. Let him show his arm. The arm of God symbolizes His power in salvation and in judgment (Psalms 44:3; Psalms 89:13; Isaiah 59:16; Ezekiel 20:33-34). What does the “arm of the flesh” (2 Chronicles 32:8) of Job mean? Is he as strong as God? If so, then Job can be a judge, because power is needed to do justice.

And what about the voice of Job? Can he thunder with his voice like God (Job 37:4-5)? When God speaks, creation vibrates. In His voice “the thunder of His power” sounds (Job 26:14). And what happens when Job speaks? Nothing at all. Both his physical strength and the power of his words vanish into nothingness compared to the power of God’s deeds and words.

Let Job stand up as a judge and adorn himself “with eminence and dignity”, so that everyone can see that he is above the matter with which he must concern himself (Job 40:10). He should act like God and, like God, clothe himself “with honor and majesty” (Psalms 104:1). Then he can sit on the throne and show that he can rule the world better than God.

When he is adorned and clothed with such excellences, he can act against evil and “pour out the overflowings” of his anger (Job 40:11). Then he can do what God fails to do. After all, God makes nothing of it. His government is no good. This is evident from the way He treats Job. Well, Job has to show that he can eradicate all injustice in the world. If he knows so well what to do with the proud, let him “look on everyone who is proud” and humble them by his gaze, without overlooking one.

The word “look” means to look harshly and threateningly, so that the one who is looked on realizes that the judge knows him through and through and that he cannot hide anything from him. God can. This humbles the proud one. He has nothing left to hold on to, nothing he can boast about or hide behind, because the Judge sees through him. With this God points to one of the many examples of His power and asks Job to imitate Him in this.

Job must not only look on and make low everyone who is proud, he must also look on everyone who is proud and humble or subdue him (Job 40:12; cf. Isaiah 2:11-12). Making low takes away from him in his pride. Humbling him means compelling him to do his will. Job must also deal with the wicked. He must tread them down “where they stand”. This means judgment without delay. Wherever they are, it must be done so that they can no longer commit any wickedness. Isn’t that what Job expects God to do, but what He doesn’t do? Then he must show it himself.

After the execution of judgment Job must ensure that the proud and wicked are hidden “in the dust” of the earth together (Job 40:13). They must disappear completely out of sight. To underline the definitive of their judgment, Job must bind them, or: their faces, in the hidden. In this way he places a double darkness on these criminals. They are already hidden in the dust, and now a blindfold is added. In this way they are no longer seen by anyone, and they can no longer see anyone. Someone whose face is wrapped, sees nothing anymore. It happens to those sentenced to death (Esther 7:8).

‘Look Job’, God says, ‘if you can do this with the wicked, I will confess to you (Job 40:14) that you are the powerful man who can turn his words into deeds. Your own right hand has so much power that you have saved yourself from the wicked and from all kinds of difficult situations. You don’t need help from anyone. Then it is proved that you are equal to Me and that you can sue Me for a lawsuit.’

We can summarize the message of this introduction in such a way that Job cannot be saved by his own right hand, but only by God’s right hand, and that he is absolutely no match for God, for he is not equal to God. Job must acknowledge God not only as Creator, but also as Savior. God is the only One worthy of all praise, not Job.