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Commentary on Job 40 verses 6–14
Job was greatly humbled for what God had already said, but not sufficiently; he was brought low, but not low enough; and therefore God here proceeds to reason with him in the same manner and to the same purport as before, Job 40:6. Observe, 1. Those who duly receive what they have heard from God, and profit by it, shall hear more from him. 2. Those who are truly convinced of sin, and penitent for it, yet have need to be more thoroughly convinced and to be made more deeply penitent. Those who are under convictions, who have their sins set in order before their eyes and their hearts broken for them, must learn from this instance not to catch at comfort too soon; it will be everlasting when it comes, and therefore it is necessary that we be prepared for it by deep humiliation, that the wound be searched to the bottom and not skinned over, and that we do not make more haste out of our convictions than good speed. When our hearts begin to melt and relent within us, let those considerations be dwelt upon and pursued which will help to make a thorough effectual thaw of it.
God begins with a challenge (Job 40:7), as before (Job 38:3): "Gird up thy loins now like a man; if thou hast the courage and confidence thou hast pretended to, show them now; but thou wilt soon be made to see and own thyself no match for me." This is that which every proud heart must be brought to at last, either by its repentance or by its ruin; and thus low must every mountain and hill be, sooner or later, brought. We must acknowledge,
I. That we cannot vie with God for justice, that the Lord is righteous and holy in his dealings with us, but that we are unrighteous and unholy in our conduct towards him; we have a great deal to blame ourselves for, but nothing to blame him for (Job 40:8): "Wilt thou disannul my judgment? Wilt thou take exceptions to what I say and do, and bring a writ of error, to reverse the judgment I have given as erroneous and unjust?" Many of Job's complaints had too much of a tendency this way: I cry out of wrong, says he, but I am not heard; but such language as this is by no means to be suffered. God's judgment cannot, must not, be disannulled, for we are sure it is according to truth, and therefore it is a great piece of impudence and iniquity in us to call in question. "Wilt thou," says God, "condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Must my honour suffer for the support of thy reputation? Must I be charged as dealing unjustly with thee because thou canst not otherwise clear thyself from the censures thou liest under?" Our duty is to condemn ourselves, that God may be righteous. David is therefore ready to own the evil he has done in God's sight, that God may be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, Psa 51:4. See Neh 9:33; Dan 9:7. But those are very proud, and very ignorant both of God and themselves, who, to clear themselves, will condemn God; and the day is coming when, if the mistake be not rectified in time by repentance, the eternal judgment will be both the confutation of the plea and the confusion of the prisoner, for the heavens shall declare God's righteousness and all the world shall become guilty before him.
II. That we cannot vie with God for power; and therefore, as it is great impiety, so it is great impudence to contest with him, and is as much against our interest as it is against reason and justice (Job 40:9): "Hast thou an arm like God, equal to his in length and strength? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him, as he did (Job 37:1, Job 37:2), or does now out of the whirlwind?" To convince Job that he was not so able as he thought himself to contest with God, he shows him, 1. That he could never fight it out with him, nor carry his cause by force of arms. Sometimes, among men, controversies have been decided by battle, and the victorious champion is adjudged to have justice on his side; but, if the controversy were put upon that issue between God and man, man would certainly go by the worse, for all the forces he could raise against the Almighty would be but like briers and thorns before a consuming fire, Isa 27:4. "Hast thou, a poor weak worm of the earth, an arm comparable to his who upholds all things?" The power of creatures, even of angels themselves, is derived from God, limited by him, and dependent on him; but the power of God is original, independent, and unlimited. He can do every thing without us; we can do nothing without him; and therefore we have not an arm like God. 2. That he could never talk it out with him, nor carry his cause by noise and big words, which sometimes among men go a great way towards the gaining of a point: "Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? No; his voice will soon drown thine and one of his thunders will overpower and overrule all thy whispers." Man cannot speak so convincingly, so powerfully, nor with such a commanding conquering force as God can, who speaks, and it is done. his creating voice is called his thunder (Psa 104:7), so is that voice of his with which he terrifies and discomfits his enemies, Sa1 2:10. The wrath of a king may sometimes be like the roaring of a lion, but can never pretend to imitate God's thunder.
III. That we cannot vie with God for beauty and majesty, Job 40:10. "If thou wilt enter into a comparison with him, and appear more amiable, put on thy best attire: Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency. Appear in all the martial pomp, in all the royal pageantry that thou hast; make the best of every thing that will set thee off: Array thyself with glory and beauty, such as may awe thy enemies and charm thy friends; but what is it all to the divine majesty and beauty? No more than the light of a glow-worm to that of the sun when he goes forth in his strength." God decks himself with such majesty and glory as are the terror of devils and all the powers of darkness and make them tremble; he arrays himself with such glory and beauty as are the wonder of angels and all the saints in light and make them rejoice. David could dwell all his days in God's house, to behold the beauty of the Lord. But, in comparison with this, what is all the majesty and excellency by which princes think to make themselves feared, and all the glory and beauty by which lovers think to make themselves beloved? If Job think, in contending with God, to carry the day by looking great and making a figure, he is quite mistaken. The sun shall be ashamed, and the moon confounded, when God shines forth.
IV. That we cannot vie with God for dominion over the proud, Job 40:11-14. here the cause is put upon this short issue: if Job can humble and abase proud tyrants and oppressors as easily and effectually as God can, it shall be acknowledged that he has some colour to compete with God. Observe here,
1.The justice Job is here challenged to do, and that is to bring the proud low with a look. If Job will pretend to be a rival with God, especially if he pretend to be a judge of his actions, he must be able to do this.
(1.)It is here supposed that God can do it and will do it himself, else he would not have put it thus upon Job. By this God proves himself to be God, that he resists the proud, sits Judge upon them, and is able to bring them to ruin. Observe here, [1.] That proud people are wicked people, and pride is at the bottom of a great deal of the wickedness that is in this world both towards God and man. [2.] Proud people will certainly be abased and brought low; for pride goes before destruction. If they bend not, they will break; if they humble not themselves by true repentance, God will humble them, to their everlasting confusion. The wicked will be trodden down in their place, that is, Wherever they are found, though they pretend to have a place of their own, and to have taken root in it, yet even there they shall be trodden down, and all the wealth, and power, and interest, to which their place entitles them, will not be their security. [3.] The wrath of God, scattered among the proud, will humble them, and break them, and bring them down. If he casts abroad the rage of his wrath, as he will do at the great day and sometimes does in this life, the stoutest heart cannot hold out against him. Who knows the power of his anger? [4.] God can and does easily abase proud tyrants; he can look upon them, and bring them low, can overwhelm them with shame, and fear, and utter ruin, by one angry look, as he can, by a gracious look, revive the hearts of the contrite ones. [5.] He can and will at last do it effectually (Job 40:13), not only bring them to the dust, from which they might hope to arise, but hide them in the dust, like the proud Egyptian whom Moses slew and hid in the sand (Exo 2:12), that is, they shall be brought not only to death, but to the grave, that pit out of which there is no return. They were proud of the figure they made, but they shall be buried in oblivion and be no more remembered than those that are hidden in the dust, out of sight and out of mind. They were linked in leagues and confederacies to do mischief, and are now bound in bundles. They are hidden together; not their rest, but their shame together is in the dust, Job 17:16. Nay, they are treated as malefactors (who, when condemned, had their faces covered, as Haman's was: He binds their faces in secret) or as dead men: Lazarus, in the grave, had his face bound about. Thus complete will be the victory that God will gain, at last, over proud sinners that set themselves in opposition to him. Now by this he proves himself to be God. Does he thus hate proud men? Then he is holy. Will he thus punish them? Then he is the just Judge of the world. Can he thus humble them? Then he is the Lord Almighty. When he had abased proud Pharaoh, and hidden him in the sand of the Red Sea, Jethro thence inferred that doubtless the Lord is greater than all gods, for wherein the proud enemies of his Israel dealt proudly he was above them, he was too hard for them, Exo 18:11. See Rev 19:1, Rev 19:2.
(2.)It is here proposed to Job to do it. He had been passionately quarrelling with God and his providence, casting abroad the rage of his wrath towards heaven, as if he thought thereby to bring God himself to his mind. "Come," says God, "try thy hand first upon proud men, and thou wilt soon see how little they value the rage of thy wrath; and shall I then regard it, or be moved by it?" Job had complained of the prosperity and power of tyrants and oppressors, and was ready to charge God with mal-administration for suffering it; but he ought not to find fault, except he could mend. If God, and he only, has power enough to humble and bring down proud men, no doubt he has wisdom enough to know when and how to do it, and it is not for us to prescribe to him or to teach him how to prescribe to him or to teach him how to govern the world. Unless we had an arm like God we must not think to take his work out of his hands.
2.The justice which is here promised to be done him if he can perform such mighty works as these (Job 40:14): "They will I also confess unto thee that thy right hand is sufficient to save thee, though, after all, it would be too weak to contend with me." It is the innate pride and ambition of man that he would be his own saviour (would have his own hands sufficient for him and be independent), but it is presumption to pretend that he is. Our own hands cannot save us by recommending us to God's grace, much less by rescuing us from his justice. Unless we could by our own power humble our enemies, we cannot pretend by our own power to save ourselves; but, if we could, God himself would confess it. He never did nor ever will defraud any man of his just praise, nor deny him the honour he has merited. But, since we cannot do this, we must confess unto him that our own hands cannot save us, and therefore into his hand we must commit ourselves.
These words are not spoken with an offended mind but with zealous affection, so that they may be useful in consoling and instructing him and that he may understand that to perform such a great judgment is beyond human strength. “Then I will also acknowledge you that your own right hand can give you victory.” If you could play the role of such a judge, as I described it in my speech, evidently you would not need any further help.
14. As if He were openly saying, If thou art able to do these terrible things, which I Myself have displayed, I attribute to thee, and not to Myself, all the good things thou hast done. But if thou canst not destroy others, that sin, by a look, it is plain that thou canst not set thyself free from the guilt of wickedness, by thy own power. Behold! it is said by the Divine voice to blessed Job, that he is not saved by his own right hand, and yet certain men, who are far from the strength of this man, despising the assistance of God, trust that they can be saved by their own strength. And for these what else ought we to pray, except that, if they have already received the gifts of good works, they may receive also this gift, to know from Whom they have received them? But since the Lord in the preceding words mentioned the greatness of His power, He now in what follows points out the wickedness of the ancient enemy: in order that the good servant, having first heard of the virtues of the Lord, might know how much to love, and having known afterwards the craft of the devil, might learn how much to fear. Whence it is well said by the Prophet, The lion will roar, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who will not prophesy? [Amos 3, 8] For after the power of his Creator has been made known to him, the strength of his adversary ought not to be concealed from him, in order that he might submit himself the more humbly to his defender, the more accurately he had learned the wickedness of his enemy, and might more ardently seek his Creator, the more terrible he found the enemy to be, whom he had to avoid. For it is certain that he who less understands the danger he has escaped, loves his deliverer less; and that he who considers the strength of his adversary to be feeble, regards the solace of his defender as worthless. Whence the Prophet rightly said, ascribing his deliverance to the Lord; I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength, [Ps. 18, 1] plainly saying, that is, I love Thee the more, the more, feeling my own infirmity, I acknowledge Thee to be my strength. Hence he says again, Make Thy loving-kindness marvellous, O Thou that savest them that trust in Thee: [Ps. 17, 7] because the loving-kindnesses of the Lord doubtless then become wonderful to us who are delivered, when, by the same loving-kindnesses, it is found how grievous were the perils we have escaped.
15. And because the Lord, in the preceding part of His speech, disclosed to blessed Job the marvellous works of subsequent Saints, that he might learn, on hearing them, how humbly he ought to think of the height of his own virtues; it is now shown him with what enemy he is waging war, and his strength and his crafts are more accurately pointed out, in order that he who has been led to converse with his Maker, may know plainly the arguments of the adversary. For in the words which follow, the Lord makes known to His faithful servant all the machinations of the crafty enemy, all wherein he seizes by oppressing, all wherein he flies around with insidiousness, all wherein he frightens by threatening; all wherein he allures by persuasion, all wherein he crushes by desperation, all wherein he deceives by promising.
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SUMMARY
Job 40:14 serves as the climactic conclusion to God's second and final speech to Job, presenting a profound rhetorical challenge. The Almighty demands that Job assume divine omnipotence and administer cosmic justice, humbling the proud and crushing the wicked with his own power. This verse asserts that if Job could indeed accomplish such impossible feats, then God would concede that Job possessed the inherent ability to deliver himself from his predicament, thereby highlighting the vast and unbridgeable chasm between human limitation and divine sovereignty.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Job 40:14 marks the powerful culmination of God's second speech to Job, which commenced in Job 38. Throughout this divine discourse, God does not directly answer Job's questions about the cause of his suffering or the fairness of divine justice. Instead, He overwhelms Job with an unassailable display of His own unparalleled power, infinite wisdom, and perfect moral governance over all creation. In the immediate preceding verses, specifically Job 40:6-13, God issues a series of rhetorical, impossible commands to Job: to array himself with divine glory, to unleash his wrath, to humble the proud, and to crush the wicked. This sequence is a direct, confrontational challenge, meticulously crafted to expose Job's utter inability to manage the complexities of the universe, let alone his own personal suffering, without absolute divine intervention. The verse in question, "Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee," functions as the ultimate rhetorical punchline, implying that only if Job could fulfill these divine responsibilities would he possess the self-sufficiency to deliver himself from his plight.
Historical & Cultural Context: In the ancient Near East, and consistently throughout biblical literature, the "right hand" (Hebrew: yamin) was a potent and pervasive symbol of strength, authority, power, and the decisive execution of justice or salvation. Kings and deities were frequently depicted with their right hand raised in a posture of power, wielding instruments of judgment, or extending blessing. The very notion of "saving oneself" through one's own inherent strength or wisdom was fundamentally antithetical to the understanding of divine sovereignty deeply embedded in Israelite theology, where Yahweh alone was revered as the ultimate deliverer, the sole source of all power and salvation. God's challenge to Job to "save himself" by his "own right hand" would have immediately conveyed the absolute impossibility of the task to an ancient audience, given the cultural understanding of the immense, exclusive power attributed to the divine right hand. This challenge also resonates profoundly with the broader wisdom tradition found in the Old Testament, which consistently emphasizes human finitude, the incomprehensibility of God's ways, and the necessity of trusting in divine wisdom, as powerfully articulated in passages like Proverbs 3:5-6.
Key Themes: This verse profoundly contributes to several major theological and narrative themes woven throughout the book of Job. Firstly, it powerfully underscores God's Unrivaled Sovereignty and Omnipotence. The rhetorical challenge unequivocally highlights that only God possesses the absolute might to govern, to judge, and to bring about true salvation, thereby dismantling any human presumption of self-sufficiency or the capacity to fully comprehend divine ways. Secondly, it emphasizes Human Inability and the Necessity of Humility. Job, despite his exemplary righteousness and profound suffering, is revealed as utterly incapable of wielding divine power or orchestrating his own deliverance. This leads to the crucial theme of human humility before the Almighty, a lesson Job ultimately learns and expresses with profound contrition in Job 42:6. Finally, the verse implicitly yet powerfully reveals The True Source of Salvation. The overarching message is unequivocally clear: true salvation, whether from physical distress, spiritual bondage, or the consequences of sin, comes not from human strength, self-effort, or inherent merit, but solely from God's sovereign power, wisdom, and grace. This truth profoundly foreshadows later biblical teachings on salvation as a divine gift received by grace through faith, rather than by human works, as profoundly articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 40:14 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound theological message. The primary device is Rhetorical Question, though it is artfully presented as a conditional statement ("Then will I also confess..."). God's preceding challenge to Job to array himself with divine glory and power and to humble the proud (Job 40:9-13) is not an earnest request but an unanswerable demand meticulously designed to expose Job's inherent limitations and finitude. The "confession" God offers is therefore deeply Ironic; it highlights the absurdity of Job's previous attempts at self-justification by starkly contrasting them with the undeniable reality of his utter dependence on God. The phrase "thine own right hand" functions as Metonymy, where the "right hand" stands in for one's entire power, authority, and ability to act decisively, particularly in judgment or salvation. Furthermore, the entire divine speech, culminating in this verse, is a form of Divine Confrontation, intended not to condemn Job, but to humble him profoundly and reorient his perspective from questioning God's justice to acknowledging His absolute sovereignty, wisdom, and unchallengeable power.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 40:14 stands as a powerful, unyielding declaration of God's unique and unchallengeable sovereignty, simultaneously revealing the profound limitations of humanity and unequivocally pointing to the ultimate source of all true deliverance. It asserts with divine authority that no human being, no matter how righteous, intelligent, or afflicted, possesses the inherent power to administer cosmic justice, humble the proud on a global scale, or ultimately save themselves from their deepest predicaments. This foundational truth humbles humanity to its core, stripping away any illusion of self-sufficiency and redirecting all hope for salvation, vindication, and ultimate restoration back to the Almighty. The verse implicitly teaches a crucial theological principle: divine intervention, not human effort or strength, is the sole pathway to true rescue and lasting restoration.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 40:14 serves as a timeless and profoundly humbling reminder of our true place before a sovereign God. In a contemporary world that often champions radical self-reliance, celebrates individual strength, and relentlessly pursues self-actualization, this verse powerfully reorients our perspective. It calls us to recognize with clarity that true deliverance—whether from personal struggles, the crushing weight of sin, the pervasive injustices of life, or the existential anxieties of our being—does not originate from our "own right hand" or our finite human capabilities. Instead, it compels us to surrender our illusion of control and to embrace a posture of profound humility, absolute dependence, and unwavering trust in God. Our struggles, much like Job's, frequently serve as divine instruments to reveal the vast and unbridgeable chasm between our limited power and God's infinite might, prompting us to trust implicitly in His wisdom, His perfect justice, and His unfailing saving power alone. This verse invites us to release the crushing burden of self-salvation and to find profound rest in the liberating truth that only God can truly save.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God's statement in Job 40:14 imply that He is being sarcastic towards Job?
Answer: While the tone of God's statement is undeniably challenging and confrontational, "sarcasm" might not be the most precise or theologically appropriate term to describe it. God's statement is better understood as a powerful rhetorical challenge meticulously designed to expose Job's inherent limitations and to humble him profoundly. God is not genuinely offering to concede His divine power or authority to Job; rather, He is setting an impossibly high standard to highlight the vast, unbridgeable, and infinite chasm between finite human capability and divine omnipotence. The statement "Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee" functions as a conditional proposition where the condition (Job wielding divine power to govern the cosmos) is utterly unattainable by any human. Its ultimate purpose is to lead Job to a profound realization of his own finitude and God's infinite, unchallengeable sovereignty, ultimately culminating in Job's repentance, humility, and renewed, deeper trust in God, as beautifully expressed in Job 42:1-6.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 40:14, with its profound declaration of human inability to save oneself and the exclusive power of God to deliver, finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While Job could never wield his "own right hand" to establish perfect justice, humble the proud, or bring about cosmic salvation, the New Testament reveals Jesus as the one whose "right hand" truly possesses all power, authority, and the capacity to save. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the one who, through His perfect life of obedience, His atoning death on the cross, and His triumphant resurrection, accomplished what no human could ever achieve. Unlike Job, who was humbled by his inherent inability and finitude, Jesus, though existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this unparalleled humility and perfect obedience, God has highly exalted Him to His own "right hand" in heaven, granting Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Thus, the salvation that Job could never achieve for himself, and that God alone could provide, is now freely offered to all humanity through the saving power of Christ's right hand, which delivers us not only from earthly suffering but from the ultimate enemies: sin, death, and the power of the grave. He is the true and ultimate deliverer, the one whose power truly saves to the uttermost.