Job 38
Psalm 38 is classified as a psalm of David’s repentance. In this psalm, the psalmist confesses to God the physical and mental suffering caused by his sin and asks for God’s mercy and deliverance. Overall, the psalm is divided into four major parts. (1) The psalmist acknowledges that his suffering is God’s discipline and judgment. (2) He laments the pain of being ill and troubled, and also being lonely because of his sin. (3) After describing a situation of loneliness caused by even those around him turning away, (4) he concludes with a plea in which he honestly lays bare his despair before God and asks for salvation.
1verseThen the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2verse“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3verseBrace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4verse“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5verseWho determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6verseWhat were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7versewhen the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8verse“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
9versewhen I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10versemarked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11verseand said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
12verse“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place,
13versethat it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14verseIt is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment.
15verseFrom the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16verse“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17verseHave the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18verseHave you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
19verse“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20versethat you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21verseSurely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22verseHave you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23versewhich I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24verseBy what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25verseWho has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm,
26verseto cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27verseto satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow?
28verseDoes the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29verseWhose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
30verseThe waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31verse“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32verseCan you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33verseDo you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34verse“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
35verseCan you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36verseWho has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37verseWho can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38versewhen the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39verse“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40versewhen they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41verseWho provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
Core Message and Distinctive Features
The core message of this psalm is that through the hardships that come as a result of a person’s sin, one turns back to God and seeks mercy. The psalmist candidly reveals that he finds the cause of his suffering in his own sin, and as a result he experiences physical weakness and a severing of relationships (people turning their backs on him), and even threats from his enemies. However, even in despair, he lays everything before God and ultimately earnestly asks for God’s response and for closeness with Him, leaving behind a thread of hope.
Points for Reflection
- We can learn from the psalmist the courage to acknowledge our own weakness honestly and confess it to God .
- When suffering comes into my life, I can reflect on examining its cause and on the attitude of the psalmist who first comes before God.
- Thinking that even a severing from others and even discouragement within the heart, when confessed without hiding to God, is connected to true prayer.
Try Applying It to Me
- I check whether I, too, can take my time of hardship as an opportunity to restore my closeness with God .
- I ask myself whether it becomes a habit of life to honestly reveal my own weakness and struggle to God and to live a life that seeks mercy.
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