JOB Chapter 42 “Job has just been given a guided tour through a portion of God’s zoo. Hopefully he has learned a few lessons along the way. He should have learned that God is the Author of the universe and the animate creation; man is not. He should have noted that the Lord is not absent, but that He operates in and sustains His creation. He should have been impressed with the fact that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so Jehovah’s ways are higher than man’s (Isaiah 55:8-9). Accordingly, no one has the right to accuse God, or to criticize Him, rather man must learn to trust Him, love Him, and devoutly serve Him. Well, exactly what has been the effect upon the patriarch? That, we are now about to observe” (Jackson p. 91). 42:1 Notice that Job now speaks first, instead of God speaking and asking Job to answer. 42:2 “I know that Thou canst do all things”: Jackson reminds us that this statement means that God can do all things that are consistent with His nature. By contrast, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Formerly, Job had said he would say no more (40:3-5), yet there are some things that Job needs to say, such as affirming God’s power and wisdom. Man needs to learn the lesson of getting rid of the murmuring and grumbling and glorifying God instead. 42:3 “And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted”: God’s purposes cannot be altered or disrupted, thus it was really useless for Job to question God’s actions. “Note: we can learn something here. Even though Satan, angels, and man, have rebelled against the Creator, that does not in any way suggest that His plan has failed. In acknowledging Jehovah’s limitless power, Job has also implied the Lord’s moral justice, for as Prof. Davidson noted, ‘Omnipotence cannot exist apart from righteousness’. The patriarch has thus taken a giant step closer to his God” (Jackson p. 91). Job was overwhelmed by considering the strength of behemoth and leviathan and yet such creatures are mere products of the Creator’s hands. Job senses his own puny strength and must realize that if God can manage such beasts then certainly God can rule the world as well.
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