Job 9:5–10

Although he speaks quietly, there is an intense bitterness in what Job says here. Job seems to agree with Bildad that God is just. He says, "Of course He is just, for there is no appeal from whatever He does. He has both wisdom and power, and can overwhelm any useless attempt to reason with Him." This is terrible. This is not a humble man daring to ask God for a reason, as Jeremiah does in a similar situation (Jer. 12:1-4). It is the hardness of despair — might is right, and God has might on His side.

He removes mountains, and they know not that He has overturned them in His wrath; He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars of it rock themselves; He commands the sun, and it rises not, and He sets a seal about the stars.

In this part Job enlarges upon the power and greatness of God. The language is noble, the description true, but underneath lies the awful doubt of this great and powerful Being's goodness. God overturns the unconscious mountains in His wrath; He makes the earth to tremble... These are marvelous sweeps of language, taking in the whole heavens. But sadly it is not, "The heavens declare the glory of God." It is a declaration of absolute, unstoppable Power.

God could remove mountains by an earthquake, shaking the earth and causing its most stable influences to tremble. Also, high above the earth, He could command the sun not to rise, that is, as far as we can see... He "alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea." Whether the earth or sky or sea, He is in perfect control. The New Testament gives a precious confirmation of His control of the sea. Jesus "came to them, walking on the sea" (Matt. 14:25). That is clear proof that Jesus is God.

There were no volcanoes in the land of Israel or in the neighbouring countries. Yet the Spirit dictated these records: "who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke" (Ps. 104:32); "He who removes mountains, and they know it not, when He overturns them in His anger" (Job 9:5)... The textbooks of science change twice in every generation. Scripture stands firm. It watches human explanations of the universe get built, and then replaced by ones that seem more likely.

Supposing man adopts a defiant attitude and contends with God; what then? Disaster, and no justification! Sin has made mankind into rebels, so defying God is their first instinct. But Job saw how ruinous such an attitude would be. God is so infinitely great that no rebel can prosper.

Job did not doubt that God would see him through all his difficulties. But he could not work out on what ground of righteousness God would do it. If man was a poor sinful man, and God still showed him saving mercy, how was man to be just? You cannot put justice and sins together until you have Christ. He died for the sins and rose again for the believer's justification. There the sins are completely blotted out.

God could remove mountains by an earthquake. It shakes the earth and makes even its steadiest parts tremble. Also, high above the earth, He could command the sun not to rise — that is, as far as we can see. Of course He does this by placing clouds in the sky, and the clouds hide the stars too... Whether the earth or sky or sea, He is in perfect control.

He began by admitting that God's disciplinary ways are right. But he raised the all-important question: how could a man be right with God? In our day the short sentence, "Get right with God," has been used to awaken interest in the gospel message. It might well provoke the reply, "Yes, but how is it to be achieved?"

Sin has made mankind into rebels, so defying God is their first instinct. But Job saw how ruinous such an attitude would be. God is so infinitely great that no rebel can prosper... The earth and the heavens with their constellations proclaim the Creator's greatness and glory.

In this part Job enlarges upon the power and greatness of God. The language is noble and the description is true. But underneath lies the awful doubt about this great and powerful Being's goodness. God overturns the unconscious mountains in His wrath; He makes the earth to tremble... These are marvellous sweeps of language, taking in the whole heavens. But sadly it is not, "The heavens declare the glory of God." It is a declaration of absolute, unstoppable Power.

This is terrible. It is not someone humbly asking God for a reason, as Jeremiah does in similar circumstances (Jeremiah 12:1-4). It is the hardness of despair — might is right, and God has the might on His side.

That is exactly where Job was. He was quite sure that it was of God, and that is the very thing that made the difficulty. Because his conscience was pure toward God, and he knew the goodness of God — and yet how was this? He could not understand it... He was not a proud man; but as all men are, until they learn in the way I have described, he had a very good opinion of himself. That must all come down.

Job did not doubt that God would see him through all his difficulties. But he could not imagine on what ground of righteousness that could be done. If man was a poor sinful man, and yet God showed him saving mercy, how was man to be just? You cannot put justice and sins together until you have Christ. He died for the sins and rose again for the believer's justification. There the sins are completely blotted out. How could Job know anything about that? Nobody knew it; no man on earth.

Job's striking words in Job 9 begin by acknowledging that God's ways of discipline are right. But they raise the all-important question: how could a man be right with God? In our day the short sentence, "Get right with God," has stirred interest in the gospel message. It might well bring the reply, "Yes, but how is it to be done?" That is exactly the question Job asked in verse 2. The rest of the chapter shows how earnest and sincere he was in asking it.

Also, high above the earth, He could command the sun not to rise — that is, as far as we can see. Of course He does this by placing clouds in the sky, which hide the stars too. He alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Whether earth or sky or sea, He is in perfect control.

Here Job dwells on the power and greatness of God. The language is noble and the description true. But underneath lies a dreadful doubt about the goodness of this great and powerful Being. God overturns the mountains in His wrath, and they know nothing of it; He makes the earth tremble. Moving from earth to heaven, He makes the sun and stars stop shining… These are marvelous sweeps of language, taking in the whole heavens. But sadly they are not, "The heavens declare the glory of God." They declare absolute, unstoppable Power.

Although he speaks quietly, there is an intense bitterness in what Job says here. On the surface he agrees with Bildad that God is just. Job says, "Of course He is just, for there is no appeal from whatever He does. He has both wisdom and power, and can crush any useless effort to reason with Him." This is terrible. This is not a man humbly daring to ask God for a reason, as Jeremiah does in similar circumstances (Jeremiah 12:1-4). It is the hardness of despair — might is right, and God has might on His side.

He knew man was weak and faulty. Still, Job did not doubt that God would bring him through all his troubles. What he could not work out was the ground of righteousness for it. If man was a poor sinful man, and God still showed him saving mercy, how was man to be just? You cannot put justice and sins together until you have Christ, who died for the sins and rose again for the believer's justification. There God blots the sins out completely. How could Job know anything about that?

Job describes in a very grand way what God is in His ways — His uncontrollable power and authority. He knew man was weak and faulty. Even so, Job did not doubt that God would see him through all his difficulties. But he could not imagine on what ground of righteousness. If man was a poor sinful man, and God still showed him saving mercy, how was man to be just? You cannot put justice and sins together until you have Christ. He died for the sins and rose again for the believer's justification. There the sins are completely blotted out. How could Job know anything about that? Nobody knew it; no man on earth.

God could remove mountains by an earthquake, shaking the earth and causing its most stable features to tremble. Also, high above the earth, He could command the sun not to rise — that is, as far as our vision is concerned. Of course He does this by placing clouds in the sky, so that the stars too are sealed off from view. He "alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea." Whether the earth or sky or sea, He is in perfect control.

God overturns the unconscious mountains in His wrath; He makes the earth tremble. Passing from earth to heaven, He causes the sun and stars to stop shining. Returning to earth, He walks upon the raging waves of the sea.

The language is noble and the description true. But underneath it lies the awful doubt about this great and powerful Being's goodness… These are marvellous sweeps of language, taking in the whole heavens. Sadly, though, this is not "The heavens declare the glory of God." It is a declaration of absolute, unstoppable Power.

Although he speaks quietly, there is an intense bitterness in what Job says here. Apparently agreeing with Bildad that God is just, Job says, "Of course He is just, for there is no appeal from whatever He does. He has both wisdom and power, and can overwhelm any pointless attempt to reason with Him." This is terrible. This is not someone humbly asking God for a reason, as Jeremiah does in a similar situation (Jer. 12:1-4). It is the hardness of despair — might is right, and God has might on His side.

There is a precious New Testament confirmation of His control of the sea, when "He came to them, walking on the sea" (Matt. 14:25), a clear proof that Jesus is God.

We see Him as a Man, yet the great "I Am," in a scene that shows in picture all the power of evil under His feet. He walks upon the sea as His by double right: in Godhead He created it, and in Manhood it forms part of His vast domain.

The word ash or aish has always been a difficult one to translate, and the versions differ a great deal. But most now agree that this is not the star known as Arcturus, but the constellation known as the Great Bear. "His sons" are thought to be the stars in the tail of the bear. In the northern hemisphere this constellation shows all year round. It seems to circle the north star without ever stopping, and none but the mighty God can guide it.

Kimah. The Hebrew means "a heap or collection." The verse names it with Arcturus and Orion, so it doubtless refers to the group of stars that still bears the name Pleiades. In Amos 5:8 the same Hebrew word becomes "seven stars." There are many stars in the group, but seven are visible to the naked eye.

In this part Job enlarges on the power and greatness of God. The language is noble, the description true, but underneath it lies the terrible doubt about this great and powerful Being's goodness. He is the Creator of those distant glorious constellations. Arcturus is in the north. Orion is "sloping downward toward the west." Pleiades is in the east. And there are the unknown "chambers of the south," toward the horizon and beyond sight. This language sweeps across the whole heavens. But sadly it is not "The heavens declare the glory of God." It is a declaration of absolute, unstoppable power.

These are all in the northern sphere. But the people of those days had explored far enough to cross the equator, and they knew there was a southern world. They did not know much about it; they knew very little.

All the constellations of the stars are His workmanship. Notice that people already knew these astronomical facts at this early date. Job could speak with real knowledge about the greatness of God just as well as Bildad, if not much better.

Job did not doubt that God would see him through all his difficulties. But he could not see on what ground of righteousness. If man was a poor sinful man, and God still showed him saving mercy, how was man to be just? You cannot put justice and sins together until you have Christ. He died for the sins and rose again for the believer's justification. There God blots the sins out completely. How could Job know anything about that? Nobody knew it; no man on earth.

Pointing next to the heavenly host, the Lord almost takes up the words of Job (Job 9:9)... Some think the Pleiades stand for a cluster of brilliant jewels: "Can you fasten the shining brooch on the bosom of the night?" Others say the Pleiades is the constellation of Spring, as Orion is the constellation of Winter. To loose the bands of Orion would break up the Winter. To bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades would delay the Spring. Can you hold back the coming of Spring, or bring Winter to an end?

Such passages come before the full revelation of God in the Son that we have today. They show the thoughts and feelings of the creature towards his Creator. It could not be otherwise while Jehovah remained behind the veil. He asserted His majesty in many ways: in His rightful claims in the testing of man, and in view of the coming down of the Son. In the Son He has now shone out in the full glory of His Being and Nature as God.

"He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades and the chambers of the south" (v.9). All the constellations of the stars are His workmanship. Notice that people knew these astronomical facts at this early date. Job could speak of the greatness of God with as much knowledge as Bildad, if not far more. As he says, God "does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number." In fact, God moves in such a way that Job could not see Him at work. Yet God can do what no one can stop.

In this part Job enlarges upon the power and greatness of God. The language is noble and the description true. But underneath lies an awful doubt about the goodness of this great and powerful Being. God overturns the unconscious mountains in His wrath; He makes the earth to tremble. Passing from earth to heaven, He causes the sun and stars to stop shining… These are marvellous sweeps of language, taking in the whole heavens. But sadly, it is not, "The heavens declare the glory of God." It is a declaration of absolute, unstoppable Power.

Unbelief rests on nature as its way of rising from the visible to a knowledge of the Invisible. But nature fails to tell who and what God is. Nature was never intended to tell us. But men reasoned away even what creation should have shown — His eternal power and divinity. The heavens declare His glory, and the sky shows His handiwork. But even that glorious display of wisdom and power could only tell us that there must be a God. It could not tell us that God in His nature is light and love.

To justify a man is to reckon him righteous… To justify someone who has done no wrong is simple. Every court in the world can do it. But to justify a sinner is another matter altogether; this presents a problem that only God can solve. Long ago both Job and his friend Bildad raised the question, "How can man be just with God?" (Job 9; 25). Both had in mind that man is fallen and guilty. Their question found no clear answer in Old Testament times. For this answer, as for many another riddle, men had to wait until God sent His beloved Son. "But now," says the Apostle, "the righteousness of God has been manifested" (Rom. 3:21).

A man never knows God until he gets to that point — "How shall a man be just with God?" Men are willing to argue with Him. But what good is that? says God. God does love righteousness; but what does that do for me? How many sins today, yesterday, and so on, have I committed? It is no good pleading with God on that ground.