Job 38:39–39:30

When someone is sick, we pray for healing. We pray boldly, knowing that the Great Physician can perform miraculous work. We also pray for God’s will to be done. We learn this from Jesus, who prayed while facing the cross, “…Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). So, where is the sweet spot? Where does confidently praying for healing intersect with surrender to God’s will? Does praying “your will be done” indicate a lack of genuine faith? Does unwavering faith suggest that I am in control, not God? These are the questions I discussed with a godly couple facing the harsh effects of cancer. I confessed that I didn’t know where the sweet spot was. So, we prayed together for God to reveal that to us.

Perhaps Job was trying to find the sweet spot as he cried out to God in pain. His devastating situation, combined with the harsh counsel from his friends, led him to demand an audience with God—to put God on the stand for questioning. Yet, God reversed Job’s request and placed his servant on the witness stand, asking over seventy questions. The first set of questions centered on God’s power displayed in creation (Job 38:1-38). The second wave of interrogation echoes this:

Job, can you control my creation? (Job 38:39-39:30)

In this section, God teaches Job a lesson in zoology. He asks Job if he knows how to feed young lions and ravens, and he wonders whether Job would know how to control the timing of mountain goats giving birth. One of the most challenging animals to tame is the wild ox, so God speculates,

Job 39:9-10
“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? ¹⁰ Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?”

The idea is, Job, if you can’t control the ox, why do you think you should be able to control all the events in your life? However, God will provide additional information to reinforce that point.

God raises thought-provoking questions about the horse, wild donkey, hawk, eagle, and ostrich. When it comes to the ostrich, we can summarize God’s point by asking, “Job, do you understand why God created such a peculiar bird?”

Job 39:13-18
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? ¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, ¹⁵ forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. ¹⁶ She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, ¹⁷ because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. ¹⁸ When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

God reminds Job that his ways are higher than our ways. Just as there are questions about God’s magnificent creation that we cannot answer, there are also questions in our lives that will remain unanswered. We cannot control the animal kingdom or govern our realm. Not only do we lack strength and power, but we also lack wisdom and knowledge.

Job 40:1-2
And the Lord said to Job: ² “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.

Arguing with God, playing tug-of-war with the Almighty, and wishing for total control over circumstances, people, and events that only God can direct are all losing propositions.

Some of you may wonder why God has covered the dimensions of the earth and zoology in his instructions to Job. That is a valid question. In his excellent book Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance, Charles Swindoll quotes author David Atkinson to provide perspective.

Why, we need to ask, does God spend all this time talking about the skies and stars and the animals? Surely there is a more appropriate topic of conversation for someone who for some weeks has been going through an appalling sense of isolation….

It is as though the Lord God is taking a walk through his creation—a walk through the Garden, perhaps, as the storm becomes still—and is inviting Job to accompany him: Do you see this? Do you recognize this?…

Let me amaze you, says God, by the complexity and intricacy of it all! From the foundation of the earth (38:4), when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God in the heavenly court shouted for joy (38:7)….

Come round with me, Job: see these things; wonder at them; enjoy them. You cannot control them, but they are under my control, says God….[1]

So, where is the sweet spot between praying with bold faith and surrendering to God’s will? I am not sure there is an answer to that, but we have confidence in this: God’s will shall be accomplished! He is in control. He is sovereign over all. And that’s the only place to rest and experience his peace.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 38:39-39:30. Consider God’s points specifying his absolute control over creation. He is, and always will be, sovereign over all.

Talking to God
Ask God to allow you to rest in his sovereign control.

Have Questions?
Be sure to send your questions to our team. We are happy to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Submit your question below, and we’ll reply soon. And if you don’t know where you stand with Jesus, we would love to have that conversation with you.

[1] Charles Swindoll, Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance (Thomas Nelson: 2004), 274.