Job 40 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Job 40 Short Summary:

In Job 40, Job foregoes his opportunity to speak, and God continues questioning him. He told Job that if he had power equivalent to the Almighty’s that then-and-only-then would he be able to contend with God. God brought up one of his most marvelous animal creations, the behemoth, to remind Job that he was not God’s equal and could demand nothing from Him.

Job 40 Bible Study

SHORT OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF JOB

• Job 1-2 – Job is Persecuted by Satan

• Job 3-37 – Job and His Friends Discuss the Reason He is Experiencing Persecution

• Job 38-41 – God Speaks with Job and Reveals His Greatness to Him.

• Job 42 – God Restores What Job Lost

WHEN:

• The date of the writing of Job is unknown and still debated. Some believe it was written during the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) or even earlier, while others suspect it was written during the time of Judah’s Babylonian captivity (607-537 B.C.).

• I take the earlier date. The description of Job as the “greatest of all the people of the east” (1:3) and an absence of references to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple suggests to me that this book was written early.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Job – A blameless and upright man who Satan persecuted in an attempt to turn his heart away from God.

• God – God descends to respond to the debate between Job and his friends.

WHERE:

• Job lived in the land of Uz. Most scholars surmise the land of Uz was in northern Saudi Arabia, either immediately south of the Dead Sea, I the land that would become known as Edom, or immediately east of the Dead Sea, which is today the country of Jordan.

OUTLINE:

• JOB CHOOSES TO STAY SILENT (40:1-5):

  • God challenges Job again at the beginning of chapter 40, saying, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it” (40:2).

  • Though God was only halfway through His question, Job had already learned his lesson and resolved to keep silent. He said, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth” (40:4).

  • Job and his friends had taken turns speaking and responding during their debate, but when the Lord challenged him, Job wisely forfeited His rebuttal and let God continue.

• GOD CHALLENGES JOB WITH MORE QUESTIONS (40:6-14):

  • God told Job to “dress for action” and ready himself for more questions.

  • He asked, “Will you even put Me in the wrong? Will you condemn Me that you may be in the right?” (40:

  • It seems like Job may have fallen into the trap of thinking so much of his own righteousness that, in light of his lack of explanation for his circumstances, he was prepared to malign God’s character before his own. No doubt, it was his tough circumstances that pushed him to that point.

  • God continued questioning Job with questions resembling those of chapter 39.

  • Did Job have the strong arm of the Lord (His power) or His voice that cracks like thunder?

  • Was Job adorned in the majesty and dignity that belonged to God?

  • Could Job abase every proud and wicked man on the earth if he chose? Did he have that power? If he did, he might have been in a position to contend with God, but of course, he didn’t possess 1% of the power required to do that.

• BEHEMOTH (40:15-24):

  • In this section, God describes one of his most marvelous creations, an animal described as “the first of the works of God,” the Behemoth.

  • This was a formidable and untamable animal, although a herbivore.

  • God said that Behemoth’s strength was in his loins and stomach muscles.

  • His limbs were like iron bars and his tail stiff like a cedar tree.

  • Behemoth could stand in the middle of a rushing river and not be threatened.

  • Did Job have power to tame the Behemoth or to put a ring through his nose like an ox and lead him?

APPLICATION

• What was Behemoth? What kind of animal?

• If you read commentators on this subject, many suggest that behemoth was an elephant or a hippopotamus, the latter being the most popular opinion.

• There is one notable problem with these interpretations however, namely that hippos and elephants have rather pathetic tails.

• The behemoth is described as being able to stiffen his tail like a cedar (40:17). Cedar’s are some of the mightiest trees on earth, and it would be very odd for someone to liken the tail of a hippo to the majesty of a cedar.

• I think it is likely that behemoth was an animal that is now extinct. The fossil record has revealed several animals that fit every part of the description of behemoth much better than a hippo.

• Sauropods are a potential candidate.