381 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said , 2 "Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge ? 3 "Now gird up your loins like a man , And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ? Tell Me, if you have understanding , 5 Who set its measurements ? Since you know . Or who stretched the line on it? 6 "On what were its bases sunk ? Or who laid its cornerstone e , 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 8 "Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth , it went out from the womb ; 9 When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band , 10 And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors , 11 And I said , 'Thus far you shall come , but no farther ; And here shall your proud waves stop '?
12 "Have you ever e in your life e commanded the morning , And caused the dawn to know its place , 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth , And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14 "It is changed like clay under the seal ; And they stand forth like a garment . 15 " From the wicked their light is withheld , And the uplifted arm is broken . 16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep ? 17 "Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness ? 18 "Have you understood the expanse of the earth ? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light ? And darkness , where is its place , 20 That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home ? 21 "You know , for you were born then , And the number of your days is great ! 22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow , Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail , 23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress , For the day of war and battle ? 24 "Where is the way that the light is divided , Or the east wind scattered on the earth ?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 38:1-24
Commentary on Job 38:1-3
(Read Job 38:1-3)
Job had silenced, but had not convinced his friends. Elihu had silenced Job, but had not brought him to admit his guilt before God. It pleased the Lord to interpose. The Lord, in this discourse, humbles Job, and brings him to repent of his passionate expressions concerning God's providential dealings with him; and this he does, by calling upon Job to compare God's being from everlasting to everlasting, with his own time; God's knowledge of all things, with his own ignorance; and God's almighty power, with his own weakness. Our darkening the counsels of God's wisdom with our folly, is a great provocation to God. Humble faith and sincere obedience see farthest and best into the will of the Lord.
Commentary on Job 38:4-11
(Read Job 38:4-11)
For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. As we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not fear concerning it. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Corner-stone. The church stands as firm as the earth.
Commentary on Job 38:12-24
(Read Job 38:12-24)
The Lord questions Job, to convince him of his ignorance, and shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we thus try ourselves, we shall soon be brought to own that what we know is nothing in comparison with what we know not. By the tender mercy of our God, the Day-spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those that sit in darkness, whose hearts are turned to it as clay to the seal, 2 Corinthians 4:6. God's way in the government of the world is said to be in the sea; this means, that it is hid from us. Let us make sure that the gates of heaven shall be opened to us on the other side of death, and then we need not fear the opening of the gates of death. It is presumptuous for us, who perceive not the breadth of the earth, to dive into the depth of God's counsels. We should neither in the brightest noon count upon perpetual day, nor in the darkest midnight despair of the return of the morning; and this applies to our inward as well as to our outward condition. What folly it is to strive against God! How much is it our interest to seek peace with him, and to keep in his love!