The Lord Rebukes Job

Job 40:1–14 AV

Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

Rebukes are never easy to receive. Who wants to be told he’s wrong. Even the Bible refers to rebukes as wounds. Proverbs 27:6 says, Faithful are the wounds of a friend. But sometimes we need them. And when we do, we have to pay attention.

In preparation for this morning’s message, I did a concordance search to see how the word rebuke is used in different contexts and found something that I had never really thought of: a healthy percentage of the occurences of this word is God rebuking men. It occurs as a statement of fact. Psalm 9:5 says, Thou hast rebuked the heathen. It occurs as a prayer. In Psalm 6:1 David pleaded with God, O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger. And it also occurs in prophecy. Isaiah 66:15 says,

Isaiah 66:15 AV

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Even Jesus himself said,

Revelation 3:19 AV

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

This is something we should all pay attention to. We’ve all seen God’s rebukes in our lives. How often have we done something sinful or unwise only to have it blow up in our faces? Or consider those times when we wanted to do something good but our attitude was one of self-righteousness or self-reliance. How did it go?

The wise will recognize God’s rebukes for what they are and submit to them.

The Lord’s Question

In this morning’s text, the Lord rebuked Job in verse 2. He said,

Job 40:2 AV

Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

This is kind of the rebuke of all rebukes. It goes directly to the point of every question that God had asked Job thus far. By questioning the rightness of his circumstances, Job had clearly implied that God didn’t know what he was doing. Job didn’t need correction, but God did. At least, that seemed to be what Job had been saying.

But look at what God did. In the original Hebrew verse 2 consists of just seven words; yet in these few words, the Lord rebuked Job for three specific things:

He rebuked him first for contending with the Almighty. In English contend means to fight. But the word used here is more specific than that. It means to press a lawsuit, which is exactly what Job said he wanted to do. Of course, a lawsuit against God is never advisable — especially when, as we’ve seen in the previous two chapters, the whole creation testifies to the wisdom and power of God.

Next, the Lord rebuked Job for thinking he could instruct him. In the original Hebrew, this is actually a noun, not a verb, and it refers to someone who finds fault. The ESV says, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” It can also be translated ‘accuser.’ This gives an interesting twist to Job’s story. Earlier in the book Satan was the accuser. In fact, that’s what the word Satan (שָׂטָן) means. But now Job is the accuser, i.e., he’s doing the devil’s work, just like Peter did when he rebuked Jesus for predicting his death. But Jesus turned around and said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men (Mark 8:33).

And third, the Lord rebuked Job for reproving him. Here, again, when we look at the original, we find that the word used here means to pass a judgment, to render a verdict, to determine what’s right and wrong. Had Job passed judgment against God? Yes, he had. He didn’t do it explicitly, but his intent was clear. Consider how often he raised questions about God’s fairness.

The Lord’s rebuke put Job in a very unenviable position. If he were to defend himself, the Lord would rebuke him more. On the other hand, refusing to respond would be an acknowledgement of guilt. Either way, God had exposed Job.

So, what does all of this mean? It means that Job was learning what was really going on. It was all about trust. One commentator put it like this:

The Book of Job Aim

Now the issue Yahweh puts before him is whether he will continue to place his trust in Yahweh as a good and faithful God or reject God, thinking him to be a capricious, hostile force.

All the questions that God had asked Job should have shown him how little he knew. Job couldn’t explain how or why things are as they are, so how could he possibly think that he can pursue a complaint against the Lord? Instead, he should just cast himself on God’s mercy, like the publican who said, God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13).

Job’s Answer

The next two verses — verses 4 and 5 — tell us that Job did answer the Lord. Here the one thing that stands out immediately is the brevity of his reply. His responses to his friends were often very long, but his response to God was just two verses. He said,

Job 40:4–5 AV

Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

This is exactly what Job himself predicted. In his second speech, he said that if the Lord were to speak to him, he wouldn’t be able to answer (Job 9:14). He was afraid that God would crush him, and in a sense he did. He didn’t crush him with brute force but with a powerful and convincing argument. He showed Job what he really was.

Job’s reply focuses on two points.

First, Job acknowledged his limitations. He accepted his smallness, which is really what the word translated vile means. It’s the opposite of glory. Glory is that which is weighty, substantive, majestic. But Job wasn’t weighty. He was small, light, blown about like a leaf in the wind, as he described himself in chapter 13 (v. 25).

What Job said about himself is also true of every one of us. Psalm 8:3–4 says,

Psalm 8:3–4 AV

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

And it’s even worse than that. We’re not just small, but we are truly vile, exceedingly wicked, sinners in God’s sight. Job knew that. Earlier he said,

Job 15:14–16 AV

What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

(cf. Job 25:4–6).

Thankfully, both our smallness and our sin have been taken care of by our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the second person of the Trinity, assumed our flesh and offered himself for us to satisfy God’s justice and wrath. By doing so, he lifted us up and restored us to our original honor. In fact, he gave us even more. Hebrews 2 says that he fulfilled Psalm 8 for us. Verses 8 and 9 say,

Hebrews 2:8–9 AV

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

And second, although Job realized that he could add nothing new to his defense, he insisted that what he had said previously — in fact, on more than one occasion — was still true. He maintained his innocence.

More Questions

Now, let’s add some perspective to this dialog. On the positive side of the ledger, we can say that Job at least recognized the power of God’s argument when he admitted his littleness. But against this was his obvious self-righteousness. So, God spoke to him again from the whirlwind and said,

Job 40:7–8 AV

Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

The Lord then challenged Job to prove himself. Later in the chapter, he’ll insist that Job defeat the most powerful creatures on earth — Behemoth and Leviathan. If he can’t overcome them, he’ll have to give up his complaint.

Yet, the thing that really fascinates me here is the glorious truth that God didn’t give up on Job, even with Job’s continued insistence on his own righteousness. He was wrong to maintain his innocence before the Lord, even though the Lord didn’t mention any other sin contrary to the accusations of Job’s friends. Yet, Job eventually admitted that his attitude was the problem. He said,

Job 42:6 AV

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The Lord kept on him. He kept drilling him, questioning him at length about his weaknesses and lack of understanding. But he never gave up.

Thankfully, God continues to pursue us, too. Psalm 23 says so: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (v. 6). Here the word follow doesn’t mean to come after, like when we follow a docent in a museum, but to pursue in an effort to overtake. Romans 14:19 says,

Romans 14:19 AV

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

First Corinthians 14:1 adds, Follow after charity. And 1 Timothy 6:11 says, Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. This is our calling as the people of God. We must zealously chase after those things that please him.

And we find countless evidences of God pursuing us both in Scripture and in our experience. Did Jesus turn away from Peter when Peter denied him three times on the night of his arrest? Does he turn away from us when we fail in one way or another? This last year with all of its viruses and lockdowns and civil unrest has tested every one of us in ways that we could never have imagined, and it has exposed our weaknesses. But did the Lord give up on us? No, he continued to pursue us. The ultimate proof that God pursues us is that he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.

This is expressed beautifully in a poem by Francis Thompson called “The Hound of Heaven.” Although Thompson was a Roman Catholic who was addicted to opium, lived on the streets and eventually died of tuberculosis, his poem reflects his belief that God chase him down through it all, just like a hound chases a rabbit and won’t let it go after picking up its scent. That’s how relentlessly God pursues everyone who belongs to him.

The Lord pursued Job in the remaining verses of our text by asking him to prove himself by doing things he couldn’t possibly do:

Did he have an arm like God? That is, did he have God’s strength — his omnipotence or sovereign power?

Could his voice thunder like God’s? God merely speaks and what he says happens. Can Job command the universe?

Could Job dress himself in majesty and glory?

Could Job cast down the high and mighty, and exalt those who are low?

If Job could have done these things, then God would have said, I also will confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. That’s how much God pursued him.

How is God pursuing you today? Are you hiding in a sin? Are you nurturing self-righteousness or self-reliance in your heart? Is the Lord convicting you that your life is not as it should be, and yet you won’t listen to him calling you to faith and greater obedience? If so, then it’s time to put away such things and pursue him as vigorously as he pursues you.

The key to God’s rebukes is that they are full of mercy. He never gives us what we deserve. When David took the census, the Lord could have destroyed his whole army, but he didn’t. He killed only seventy thousand men (2 Sam. 24:15; 1 Chron. 21:14). When Peter denied him, he could have excluded him from the apostolic company or even taken his life. Instead, he restored him and allowed him to be their spokesman.

What mercies has the Lord shown you when you stubbornly refuse his will? Does he still give you family, friends, homes, food, jobs, and much more? And most of all, doesn’t he still give you his Holy Spirit to lead you more to Jesus Christ and his precious death for your sins?

One of the most precious truths of the Bible is that God will not let go of his people. We are his for time and eternity, and he will pursue us every step of the way. He often pursues us through his rebukes, which are always a blessing in disguise. Amen.