Job 38 Commentary: This week I left work one day and I was puzzled. I had so many questions. Why am I here? Things are so hard sometimes. Why has God allowed things to transpire in my life that are painful and difficult? Why, why, why?

And thankfully God’s questions to Job came to my mind. And God through his word started asking me some questions.

Paul – do you really understand everything I’m doing in your life? Would you ever be able to begin to comprehend all of the things that I am working in your life – not to mention throughout the universe! – for my own glory and for your good? You can stop your questioning my goodness now.

And I’m not sure if I’m the only one who has experienced something like that. Have you gone through that exercise in your mind this week? Have you been tempted to question God’s goodness or his justice in your life or in this world? Have you allowed God’s questions to Job to be redirected to you?

Well, we’ve seen God ask so far 12 questions to Job. He’s asked…

Q1: Who is this?

Q2: Foundations of the Earth

Q3-4: Measuring the Earth

Q5-6: Foundation and Corner Stone of the Earth

Q7: The Sea

Q8: Bring the Morning

Q9-10: Source of the Seas

Q11-12: Death and Darkness

And that’s where we ended last time. So, let’s turn our attention to Job 38.

We’ll be covering verses 18-33, Lord-willing this time.

And so, I had just mentioned that God was asking questions about the realm of death as we ended last time. But now at this point God returns to the land of the living and questions Job about the earth.

18 Hast thou [perceived/understood/considered] the [breadth/expanse/vast expanse] of the earth?

Did Job understand how wide the earth is? I don’t know – perhaps he did. In fact, if you do a search on the internet for this question you’ll learn that the earth is 7,917.5 miles around at the equator. Don’t forget that half a mile at the end there!

You can also discover at the tips of your fingers that the surface area of the earth is 196.9 million mi². That’s the total land that covers the earth.

Did Job know this? Again, I’m not sure.

But perhaps the question is not so much a matter of knowing bare facts – just like I can type a search phrase into a web browser and have the answer spit back out at me. But maybe the point of God’s question is more – “have you, Job, personally experientially seen the vast expanse of the earth? Have you walked around on all of it, seeing every one of those nearly 200 million square miles? Have you walked around the earth at the equator for all of those nearly 8,000 miles?”

And as God asks that question and Job and all of us answer with blank stares – then God is able to say, “Well, I have seen each and every square mile – as if God works in miles – of the surface of the earth.”

And that kind of thought gives God reason to challenge Job. Did you hear that last line of verse 18? What do you think of God’s question there?

He said “[declare/tell me] if thou knowest [it all/all this].” That question is a little forceful. God is challenging Job.

He’s indicating that Job has been implying that he knows everything. Why does God do that? It’s because Job has been maintaining his righteousness – and that’s fine. But he’s been doing so at God’s expense. He’s been making himself look good – that’s fine – but in the process he’s been insinuating that God is bad.

Job has been demanding God to explain his ways to him. But to do so would not even make sense to Job. God’s ways include and involve managing everything on the earth and in the sky and in the water and even in the realm of the dead. How would a human even comp

Job 38 Commentary: Well, something really interesting happens at this point. Elihu has been focusing on storms and clouds and lightning. And now all of a sudden – the Lord appears in one of those storms.

KJV Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

So, two things to note.

First, it seems like this whirlwind was nearby. The author phrases it as if the whirlwind is there and God just starts speaking to Job from it.

And I think we also need to have in our minds an accurate picture of what this would have looked like.

When you hear “whirlwind” you can think of a tornado. And that very well could be the case here. But the word in the Hebrew could refer to a storm in general – any storm – not just a tornado.

But it’s not just any storm. This is a storm or whirlwind with God’s voice is coming from it. Like he spoke from the burning bush later on in history.

So, those are some thoughts about the appearance of this storm.

Also, I think that the transition from Elihu to God is another piece of evidence that tells us that God is in favor of what Elihu said. The narrator didn’t have to tell us that God came to correct Elihu – like he earlier explained when Elihu came on the scene to correct Job and the friends. It’s like God comes and simply serves to continue Elihu’s points that he’s already made – confirming that what Elihu has been saying has basically been God’s message to Job and his friends.

Or you can look at it the other way – God sent Elihu ahead of himself to speak on God’s behalf.

Whatever the case, God is now speaking. And he continues questioning Job just like Elihu was doing. And here’s his first question.

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel

3 [Gird up now thy loins/Get ready for a difficult task] like a man;

[for I/and I/I] will [demand of thee/ask you/question you],

And of course, this first question of God’s is not looking for an answer. In fact, most of God’s questions to Job are not expecting an answer. Really, Job doesn’t give any answer to anything God asks.

But this question serves to put Job in his place. Who are you – who have no knowledge of all sorts of areas – to speak of what you don’t understand – and in so doing, you give counsel that is dark – that doesn’t help at all?

And then God challenges Job to get ready for a difficult task. Since Job feels that he is in the position to judge the Judge of the Universe, then he needs to act the part and answer God in these numerous questions that God has for him.

And of course, God is being sarcastic. He knows that Job won’t have any answer. He’s saying this to Job to show him how little he really does know. And when it comes down to it, the only answer Job can give to most of these questions is either “No, I can’t do whatever you just asked.” or “I don’t know the answer to your question.”

So, here’s the second question that God asks – but the first one that really deals with how much Job actually knows about anything in this world.

4 Where wast thou when I laid the [foundations/foundation] of the earth?

So, this question has to do with origins – the origin of Job and of the world.

God pictures the creation of the world as if he laid it on its foundations – like you would do for a house or other building.

And then he asks Job where he was when God did that. Of course, the answer is that J

Job 36 Commentary: Let’s turn our attention to Job 36.

In Job 36, we’re still hearing from this man named Elihu. And he’s still attempting to correct Job.

So, Elihu begins by urging Job to listen to him.

KJV Job 36:1 Elihu [also proceeded, and said,/continued and said,/said further:]

2 [Suffer me a little/Wait for me a little/Be patient with me a little longer], and I will [shew/instruct] thee

3 [I will fetch/With] my knowledge [from afar/I will speak comprehensively],

4 For [truly/in truth] my words [shall not be/are not] false:

And embedded in Elihu’s plea for Job to listen to him is Elihu’s purpose. Elihu wants to “ascribe righteousness to” his Maker and Creator – to God.

Elihu believes that God has been – to use a common phrase these days – “thrown under the bus.” How is that?

Well, Job has been struggling to understand why he’s suffering. He has believed that if he’s righteous then God will continue to bless him. Instead, now Job is seeming to be punished – even though he’s still righteous.

And as we saw in this book – Job has an explanation for this and his three friends do, too.

The three friends say that Job has sinned and that’s why he’s getting punished.

But Job – for his part – has been starting to accuse God of doing wrong – of denying him justice.

And Elihu wants to set the record straight. God is righteous in all that he does. And so, that’s what Elihu is going keep doing in this chapter – ascribing righteousness to God.

So, let’s investigate Elihu’s next point in this book. How is Elihu going to ascribe righteousness to God now?

5 [Behold/Indeed], God is mighty, [and/but] despiseth not [any/people]:

So, God is mighty. And Elihu could be saying that God is both mighty and that he doesn’t despise or think little of anyone – or he could be saying that despite God’s might, he still doesn’t think little of all the little people in this world.

Because the tendency of people in this world – if they’re strong – if so think little of those who are weak. But that’s not the way that God works. He is just in that sense.

So, that’s positive. But there’s a negative that Elihu wants Job to know about.

6 He [preserveth not the life of/does not keep alive/does not allow to live] the wicked:

So, God deals with the wicked and the poor in different ways. He doesn’t despise anyone – but at the same time he’s not going to give special protection to the wicked. Likewise, God gives justice to the poor and afflicted – which is what Job has been challenging – thinking that God has denied him justice. Elihu says, “Not so!”

Then Elihu focuses-in on the righteous and how God treats them.

7 He [withdraweth/takes off] not his eyes from the righteous:

yea, he doth establish them for ever,

So, not only does God not despise the righteous poor and

Job 35 Commentary: Sometimes we get the idea that God reacts to our sin or righteousness in predictable ways that make sense to us.

We might look at the effect and assume the cause. What I mean by that is we might witness ourselves or others being blessed and we assume that the cause for that blessing is that we somehow pleased God and that obliged him to do something good for us.

Or we might observe the cause and then assume what the effect will be. Under that system, we might see others sinning and we assume that God is going to really deal with them in this life. Because after all that makes sense to us. That person is sinning against God. That’s a personal offense to God. And he certainly won’t let that slide!

But those assumptions are faulty. God is above mankind and doesn’t need to immediately respond to us in kind. You’ve heard of the phrase, “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” But you’ve never heard it from the lips of God.

And that is going to be the point of Elihu – the character in the book of Job whose words we’ve been taking in for the last several lessons in this book.

So, let’s turn our attention to the 35th chapter of the book of Job. Job chapter 35.

And here we see Elihu beginning this short chapter by asking a question intended to challenge something that Job said.

KJV Job 35:1 Elihu [spake moreover, and said,/continued and said,/answered:]

2 [Thinkest thou this to be right/Do you think this is according to justice/Do you think this to be just],

My [righteousness/right] [is more than/before] [God’s/God]?

So, Elihu is saying that Job apparently asserted that he is more righteous than God. Either that, or Job is maintaining that he is right or righteous – and he’s doing that before God’s presence. Or Job is demanding his right – his fair hearing – in God’s presence.

And so, Job is asserting either that he’s more righteous than God or simply that he is righteous in God’s sight. But Elihu wants to challenge that assertion because of a few more statements that Job has made that seem to contradict what Job has insisted on.

How could a righteous man say the following things?

3 [For thou saidst/For you say/But you say],

What [advantage will it be unto/will it profit] thee? and,

So, basically, Job – according to Elihu – is questioning how it even profited him to not sin.

How does that work?

Well, in Job’s mind, God works like this: you do good, you get good. You do bad, you get bad. Like my illustration at the start of this message.

What has Job done in his life? Good or bad? Good!

So, what does Job – in his mind – deserve as a result? Good or bad? Good.

But what has Job received from God’s hand? Good or bad? Bad.

But in Job’s mind, what kind of action calls for God to bring bad things into your life? Good works or bad works? Bad works call for bad things from God.

So, Job is looking at that situation and saying, “If I’m going to receive bad from God, then why did I strive to live such a righteous life? I might as well have done evil and I would have received the same result from God.”

And Elihu of course does not agree with Job on that point. And really – I’m pretty sure that Job under normal circumstances would have disagreed with that sentiment – that it doesn’t matter if you’re righteous of

Job 34 Meaning: It’s a sad reality that in our times of suffering, it’s all too common – as we’re grasping for answers and struggling to be content with our situation – to suspect that God has gotten something wrong. We might ask, “why, God?” And sometimes – though we would be embarrassed to say it – that question is really revealing that in our hearts we’re questioning God’s justice – we’re questioning whether he’s doing right in our situation.

And we’ve seen Job do just that in this book that we’ve been studying. And what we’re going to see today is that this relatively new character – Elihu – take great issue with Job’s assertion that god is being unjust.

So, let’s turn our attention to Job 34.

And Elihu here begins this chapter with an appeal for Job and his three friends to listen to him.

KJV Job 34:1 [Furthermore/Then] Elihu [answered/continued] and said,

2 [Hear/Listen to] my words, [O ye/you] wise men;

And we’re not given any reason to believe that Elihu is being sarcastic or disrespectful in any way. He is addressing these men – probably all four of them – Job and his three friends – as “wise” and ones that have “knowledge.”

And Elihu acknowledges that what he says is open for their evaluation.

3 For the ear [trieth/tests/assesses] words,

So, just like a person can taste food and determine whether it’s good or not – Elihu claims that these men should be able to listen to what he’s saying and determine whether or not it’s right.

And then he encourages all of these men – and himself included – to believe and practice what is right in terms of what he’s been saying and what he will be saying in this chapter.

4 Let us [choose/evaluate] [to us/for ourselves] [judgment/what is right]:

And I admit to personally being on the fence regarding how to think about Elihu. It’s more comfortable to not come down on what he’s saying as either right of wrong.

But if Elihu were sitting right here, he would strongly disagree with that approach. Elihu doesn’t want you and me to be neutral about what he’s saying. It’s either right or wrong. And he asserts that we are able to evaluate what he says and to render a judgement.

And if Elihu is right – then he wants Job and his friends to adopt his mindset and thoughts about Job’s situation.

And the words that Elihu wants Job and his three friends to test are now what Elihu will be talking about in the rest of this chapter.

And just like Elihu’s first speech, in this – his second speech – he’ll be starting with what he’s heard Job saying.

5 For Job [hath said/says],

[‘] I am [righteous/innocent]:

6 Should I lie [against/concerning] my right?

my wound is incurable

So, Job has maintained that he is righteous and innocent of all crimes that he thinks would move God to punish him in the way that Job perceives himself to be being punished. And that much is fine for Job to say.

But Job has gone further than that. And he’s claimed that God has taken away his judgement or his justice.

And we all closely identify with Job’s struggles and feelings and temptations. And I think that we would tend to overlook statements made

Titus 1 1 Commentary: So, we’ve heard Paul tell us that he’s a servant of God and apostle of Jesus. He serves God as one sent with the message of the Gospel.

And he does this according to the faith of God’s elect – so that those who are chosen by God would hear and believe the truth that we find in Titus 2:13-14 – that we’re sinners, that Christ died for our sin, and that he rose from the dead.

But as awesome and important as that is – that God’s elect should come to initially believe the Gospel message – that’s not where Paul leaves them.

Because in the next statement Paul indicates another purpose for which he slaves for God and goes around giving Christ’s message – and it seems to be focused more on the progressive aspect of faith.

and [i.e., according to…] the [acknowledging/knowledge] of the truth

Now, it might not be so obvious in English, but in Greek, the “and” here ties the “acknowledging of the truth” to “the faith of God’s elect” that we saw earlier in this verse.

So, Paul is saying that he’s a slave of God and messenger of Christ for the purpose of seeing God’s elect come to faith in Christ.

And then beyond that, Paul does these things for the purpose of these individuals acknowledging the truth.

So, what does that mean?

Well, there’s a sense in which God’s elect acknowledge the truth initially – but then they also grow in this knowledge.

It’s like a seed that germinates and sprouts – and then grows into a full plant. There’s a point at which that seed goes from being a living seed to then dying and becoming something that looks totally different. And that different thing itself then starts to grow.

And yet, at the same time, we all know that you can put a seed in the ground and have it just die and produce nothing – no new life.

And we can apply that seed metaphor to what Paul is talking about here concerning people coming to faith initially and then progressively acknowledging the truth. That’s the way it ought to work.

And yet according to other passages in the New Testament, most people, in fact – never come to this knowledge at all. And not only do people not come to grow in their knowledge of Christ – they actually never even come to faith in him to begin with.

Paul in Romans 1:28 tells us that there are those who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” They didn’t and don’t want to know God – either initially or progressively.

In Romans 10:2 Paul admits with sorrow that his unbelieving Jewish compatriots “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” They are zealous for God – but it’s not the kind of zeal that’s accurately informed by God’s truth.

And in fact, the only knowledge that a person can have of spiritual things before receiving Christ is “the knowledge of sin” – which Paul says in Romans 3:20 is the purpose of the Law.

And yet, some get so close to this knowledge – but they ultimately never attain it. That’s what Paul means when he speaks in 2 Timothy 3:7 of those who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

And actually, the apostle Peter tells us that there are false teachers who “have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” But these people end up entangling themselves in those old pollutions of the world and being overcome. And Peter says of those people that their last state is worse than the first.

So, the Scripture testifies that most people in this world never come to this knowledge that Paul speaks of in Titus 1:1 – the knowledge for which he serves God and for which Christ sends h

Job 33 Commentary: People say things about God and other people that just aren’t right. 

And when we hear people saying those kinds of things, we’re often compelled to speak in defense of God or those other people. 

And that’s the position that the biblical character Elihu finds himself in in the 33rd chapter of the book of Job.  

So, let’s turn our attention to Job, chapter 33. 

We enter this chapter with Elihu requesting that Job listen to him. And that’s really the gist of what he says for the first seven verses of this chapter. 

KJV Job 33:1 [Wherefore/However now/But now], Job, [I pray thee, hear/please hear/listen to] my [speeches/speech/words],

Then, Elihu requests that Job take notice that he’s speaking to him. 

2 [Behold/See], now I [have opened/open] my mouth,

And Job should listen, because Elihu promises that both the source and the content of his speech are pure and good. 

3 My words [shall be of/are from/come from] the uprightness of my heart:

And then Elihu tells Job that the God who alone gives wisdom created him. 

4 The Spirit of God hath made me,

And we remember that Elihu in the last chapter (Job 32:8) declared that it’s not just old age that guarantees that a person is going to be wise. The greater your age does not necessarily indicate that your wisdom will be greater than those younger than you. That’s what Elihu claimed. 

Instead, Elihu said that it’s the Spirit of God that gives wisdom. The breath of the Almighty gives understanding. 

And so, Elihu is saying here in this verse that God made – God, who alone gives

Job 32 Commentary: I think that many of us have found ourselves in situations in which two people are arguing. And they battle it out for a while. But finally, they’re done and they have nothing left to say.

But you do have something to say. And you really want to say it.

Well, that’s the situation that the biblical character Elihu finds himself in – in the 32nd chapter of the book of Job. So, let’s turn our attention there – to Job, chapter 32.

We recall from our last message in Job that Job 31 – the chapter that precedes this one – ends with a statement to the effect that “the words of Job have ended.”

And so, Job 32 picks right up from there.

And the author informs us that as Job finishes his last speech, so too do his friends. They stop talking as well.

KJV Job 32:1 [So/Then] these three men [ceased/refused] [to answer/answering/to answer further] Job,

Now, there’s a sense in which being righteous in one’s own eyes is roundly condemned in Scripture.

But for Job here, this seems to be saying that he simply is viewing himself as God was viewing him. He didn’t commit any sin worthy of the suffering that he’s receiving. That’s not why he was suffering – because of his sin. He’s righteous.

But even though Job is viewing himself as righteous – that doesn’t settle anything. We still have an innocent man suffering and his friends still thinking that he is secretly wicked and Job himself thinking in one way or another that God is misinformed about the situation.

But Job is done talking and so are the friends. And that’s why Elihu enters the picture and is angry with Job and his three friends.

2 [Then/But] [was kindled the wrath of/the anger of … burned/became very angry] Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the [kindred/family] of Ram:

Now, we’re given a short genealogy of this man. He’s a Buzite. Buz was a son of Abraham’s brother. And probably because of that, there was a land located in the desert near Edom with that name – probably named after this man.

The rest I don’t know anything about. But this information makes it possible that Job’s story took place even within the life of Abraham or shortly thereafter. And it likely took place around Edom – outside of and to the southeast of Israel.

So, that’s a little information on where Elihu comes from.

But now here’s whom Elihu is angry with.

First, Job.

against Job [was his wrath kindled/his anger burned/he was angry with],

Now, it can be difficult to know who’s right in the book of Job. But here’s one thing we know – that the narrator is always right. That’s how stories work – the one telling them is never wrong.

And in this case, the narrator is ultimately God. Whoever may have written the book of Job – perhaps Solomon – the doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture teaches us that ultimately it was the Spirit of God who worked through the authors of Scripture to pen exactly what God wanted to be communicated.

So, God ultimately is the narrator of this story. And what the narrator says is unquestionably right.

So, what is the narrator saying made Elihu angry with Job? That Job justified himself rather than God.

And we’ve witnessed that. Job has been justifying himself – proclaiming that he’s not guilty of any sort of crime that would call for the punishment that he’s been experiencing. And in the process, he’s sort of called into question God’s rightness in his situation.

And as

Titus 1 1 Commentary: I’d like us to meditate on the first 18 words of the New Testament letter to Titus. So, let’s turn our focus to Titus, chapter 1.

Titus is a letter written with a great emphasis on healthy Christian living. It turns out that a number of people in Crete were in need of several corrections regarding their behavior and lifestyle. And so, this letter is written to challenge these people to be “sound in the faith.”

And the letter begins as pretty much all New Testament letters do, with an identifying of the one who is sending the letter.

So, Paul starts this letter in verse 1 by introducing himself. He gives his name first.

KJV Titus 1:1 ¶ Paul,

And then he’s going to describe what he is and does.

And of course, the recipient of this letter – whom we discover to be Titus later on – he would have known the following things about Paul. And yet Paul feels the need to state who he is to this man who already knows that information.

And this could be for the sake of reminding Titus or perhaps Paul was looking forward to the possibility that Titus might end up reading this letter to the church which he was shepherding.

So, here’s one thing that Paul is.

a [servant/bond-servant/slave] of God,

So, Paul serves God. He is – as it were – a slave whose main task in life is to please his master.

This phrase “servant of God” first appears in the book of Acts in relation to Paul. In fact, it’s in Acts 16:17 where the fortune-telling slave girl in Philippi kept following Paul and Silas and proclaiming, “these men are servants of the most high God.”

And even though Paul rebuked her for that at the time, it seems like what she was saying was actually true – and this term becomes a title that Paul would later proudly wear. He’s a servant of God.

Now, it’s more common for Paul to speak of himself as the servant “of Christ.” And so, right here in Titus and back in Acts 16 are the only two places where Paul is given this title “servant of God.”

But other people in Scripture also take on this title. Paul gives Epaphras this title (Col 4:12). And James takes on this title for himself (Jam 1:1).

Peter says that all believers are to view themselves as servants of God (1Pe 2:16).

And then there are several references to servants of God in the book of Revelation. Including those who will be taken out of the earth (Rev 7:3), prophets (10:7), Moses (15:3), those around God’s throne (19:5), those entering the new heaven and new earth (22:3), and those who read and believe the book of Revelation (22:6).

So, Paul is just like so many other people in his relationship with God – he’s a simple servant. He slaves for God. That’s his life. He’s nothing special in his own eyes. He’s just a slave.

And that might come in handy for Titus’ people to know later on in this letter. Because Paul – as a slave himself – if going to be addressing how slaves of human masters ought to treat those masters. Paul is just one of them. He knows what it’s like to live that life – in his case, for a heavenly master.

And this is the posture for all of God’s people to take – that we’re simply slaves of God.

It’s because you are like the Apostle Paul. Y

Job 31 Meaning: Let’s turn our attention to Job, chapter 31. 

The 31st chapter of the book of Job contains Job’s last words of self-defense in this book. 

Last time as we studied verses 1-23, we saw that Job denied lusting, lying, committing sins with his hands, heart, and feet, committing adultery, mistreating his servants, and mistreating the poor. 

And this time in verses 24-40, he’s going to deny committing five other types of sin. And in addition he’s going to challenge God – whom he designates as his “adversary” – to reveal why he’s punishing Job. 

So, as we begin – in verses 24-28, Job entertains the theoretical possibility that he has participated in idolatry. But it’s all theoretical, because Job is going to communicate that he hasn’t done it. 

And he sets this up with a very long “if” statement – spanning verses 24-27. And then he has his “then” statement in verse 28. 

And even at that, he breaks-up his “if” statement into two sub-sections – in verses 24-25 he speaks of worshipping money… and then in verses 26-27 he speaks of worshipping the sun and the moon. 

So, let’s witness Job entertain the idea that perhaps he had worshipped his money in times past. 

24 If I have [made gold my hope/put my confidence in gold],

25 If I rejoiced because [my wealth was great/of the extent of my wealth],

So, Job was a man of great means. We learned that back in the first few chapters of this book. He had numerous cattle and sheep and donkeys and servants. He was the greatest of the men of the east in terms of material wealth. 

Added to that wealth – though – was his righteousness before the Lord. And it’s that righteousness that didn’t allow that wealth to become an idol to him. 

I think that many people – if they were to have the wealth of a man like Job – would let it go to their heads, as we say. But beyond that, I think that these same people would let it go to their hearts. 

There’s a way that money can become our source of confidence. Even as we heard last Sunday