Job 40:6-24: a reflection

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: 7“Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me. 8Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified? 9Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him? 10“Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with honor and majesty. 11Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. 12Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place. 13Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place. 14Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you. 15“See now behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox. 16Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly. 17He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18His bones are like tubes of bronze. His limbs are like bars of iron. 19He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword. 20Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play. 21He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh. 22The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him. 23Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth. 24Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?

When God answers Job out of the whirlwind, he presses a searching question: would Job condemn God, find fault with his justice, in order to justify himself? Will you even annul my judgment? God asks; will you condemn me, that you may be justified? In his suffering, Job had come close to charging God with injustice, to justifying himself by finding fault with God's dealings. And God challenges this presumption: does Job have an arm like God, can he govern the world, humble the proud, and set all things right? The implication is clear: Job is in no position to sit in judgment on God's justice, to condemn the God who governs all. This confronts the presumption of judging God's justice by our own understanding. Do not presume to condemn God's justice to justify yourself. We are in no position to sit in judgment on God. God challenges our presumption to find fault with his dealings. Humble yourself before God rather than judging his justice.

Notice the presumption God confronts in Job, and in us. In his suffering, Job had begun to find fault with God's justice, to imply that God was dealing wrongly with him, even to justify himself at God's expense. And God, answering from the whirlwind, presses the question: will you condemn me, that you may be justified? Then he challenges Job to consider whether he could do what God does, govern the world, bring the proud low, set all things right; the implication being that Job could not, and so was in no position to sit in judgment on the God who does. This confronts a real presumption in us. In our suffering or confusion, we can begin to find fault with God's justice, to charge him with dealing wrongly, to set ourselves up as judges of his dealings, condemning him to justify ourselves. But we are not in a position to do so. We do not govern the world, do not see the whole, do not have the wisdom or the arm of God. God's justice is not answerable to our limited understanding. The fitting response is not to sit in judgment on God, but to humble ourselves before him, trusting that the God who governs all is just, even when we cannot understand his dealings. We are not in a position to judge God's justice; humble yourself before him. Do not condemn God to justify yourself in your suffering. God's justice is not answerable to our limited understanding. Trust that the God who governs all is just, even when we cannot understand.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are in no position to sit in judgment on God's justice, and the fitting response, even in suffering, is to humble ourselves before him rather than condemn him to justify ourselves. We can, in suffering or confusion, begin to find fault with God's justice, to charge him with dealing wrongly, setting ourselves up as judges of his dealings; but God challenged Job, will you condemn me that you may be justified, showing that Job, who could not govern the world, was in no position to judge the God who does. God is just though we cannot always understand. Do not sit in judgment on God's justice; humble yourself before him, trusting he is just. Humble yourself before God rather than presuming to sit in judgment on his justice or condemn him to justify yourself, even in suffering, as God answered Job out of the whirlwind, asking, will you condemn me, that you may be justified, and challenging him to consider whether he could do what God does, govern the world, humble the proud, and set all things right; for in his suffering Job had come close to charging God with injustice and justifying himself at God's expense, and God confronted this presumption, showing that Job was in no position to sit in judgment on the God who governs all, and the same presumption can be in us, for in suffering or confusion we can begin to find fault with God's justice and set ourselves up as judges of his dealings, but we do not govern the world, do not see the whole, and do not have the wisdom of God, so that God's justice is not answerable to our limited understanding, and the fitting response is not to sit in judgment on God but to humble ourselves before him, trusting that the God who governs all is just even when we cannot understand his dealings.

Lord, when you answer Job out of the whirlwind, you press a searching question: would Job condemn you, find fault with your justice, in order to justify himself? Will you even annul my judgment? you ask; will you condemn me, that you may be justified? In his suffering, Job had come close to charging you with injustice, to justifying himself by finding fault with your dealings. And you challenge this presumption: does Job have an arm like God, can he govern the world, humble the proud, and set all things right? The implication is clear: Job is in no position to sit in judgment on your justice. This confronts the presumption of judging your justice by my own understanding. Show me the presumption you confront in Job, and in me. In his suffering, Job had begun to find fault with your justice, even to justify himself at your expense. And you press the question, will you condemn me, that you may be justified? Then you challenge him to consider whether he could do what you do; the implication being that he could not, and so was in no position to sit in judgment on you. This confronts a real presumption in me. In my suffering or confusion, I can begin to find fault with your justice, to charge you with dealing wrongly, to set myself up as a judge of your dealings, condemning you to justify myself. But I am not in a position to do so. I do not govern the world, do not see the whole, do not have your wisdom. Your justice is not answerable to my limited understanding. The fitting response is not to sit in judgment on you, but to humble myself before you, trusting that you who govern all are just, even when I cannot understand. Take that to my heart, for I am in no position to sit in judgment on your justice. Even in suffering, keep me from condemning you to justify myself; help me humble myself before you, Lord, trusting that you who govern all are just, even when I cannot understand your dealings, rather than presuming to sit in judgment on your justice.