Text:  Job 38:1–42:17 CSB - The LORD Speaks - Then the LORD - Bible Gateway
Audio:  BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.: Audio

The LORD speaks, and everyone else is silenced.  Job's mouth is shut by the LORD's questions that he cannot answer.  Though Job was wise, his wisdom was nothing in comparison to the LORD who is Wisdom.  The LORD is not just wise, but sovereign and omnipotent.  Only someone who is the LORD's equal in all these ways could question His justice.  Everything operates by the LORD's command and with His permission.

The LORD asks Job if he is able to save himself from the strongest of wild beasts.  Is not the issue of his pride and sin even greater?  How then will Job be saved from the LORD in the day of judgment if the LORD chooses to punish Job for his sin (specifically his pride).  The LORD will save those who belong to Him and will punish all those who rebel against Him.  The LORD fears nothing, for He is greater than both Behemoth and Leviathan.

Job repents and then the LORD's attention turns towards Job's friends.  They were told to bring offerings to Job that he might offer them to the LORD (as a priest) and make intercession for them--the LORD was letting them know He would not hear their prayers, but He would hear the prayers of Job, and Job would have to pray for them if they wanted to be forgiven.  They did so, and the LORD heard Job's prayers and forgave them.  Then the LORD doubled all of Job's material possessions that he had lost and gave to him new sons and daughters for those that were taken from him (the same number as he had before because his original family still lived in their eternal state).  All his family and friends who had abandoned him in his time of need came to him and blessed him and each gave him a silver coin and a gold earring.

The LORD blessed Job with 140 more years of life so that he was able to see his great-great grandchildren (four generations from him).  Job was able to provide an inheritance for not only his sons, but also his daughters.  The text also gives us exact number of the sheep, donkeys camels and oxen that were restored to him--it was not just a broad generalization but something that was verifiable.  We can learn much from this book, but more than anything else, let's remember that Job saw the need for a Mediator who was equal with God who could stand between him and plead his case and he saw the need for a Redeemer who lives and who would plead for him.  Jesus fulfills all these promises.

Text:  Job 22:1–37:24 CSB - Third Series of Speeches Eliphaz Speaks - Bible Gateway
Audio Bible:  ​BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.: Audio

Job's friends accuse him of taking advantage of the poor, widows, and orphans and being extremely wicked.  If their suppositions has been correct, then their advice to repent would be reasonable, but, they can not fathom that Job is actually blameless and walks before the LORD in righteousness.

Job wonders why so much pain and suffering exists, but he refuses to curse the LORD, though doubt is starting to set in.  Job starts to sound like Solomon in Ecclesiastes--life "under the sun" is vain, without meaning, and full of trouble.  Yet, no man can fully know the hidden things of the LORD and the depths of His wisdom.  Only the LORD can give wisdom to man.  To fear the LORD and obey Him is true wisdom, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.  This is where Job steadfastly rests.

Job has had to learn to be content with much and with little.  He used what the LORD gave to him to bless others and to promote both justice and mercy.  Yet, where are these people that he helped now that he is the one who needs help?  They mock and scorn him because he can no longer help them.  If they do anything, they seek to make his pain and suffering worse.  All this, Job could handle if it did not feel like the LORD was against him.

Job gives what he believes is his final statements, but there is one more friend who wants to be heard.  Elihu's arguments are better than those of Job's other three friends, though he still starts off with the assumption that Job cannot be treated like this by the LORD and be innocent.  However, he correctly states that no one can take the LORD to court and demand a hearing or accuse the LORD of being unjust.  As I mentioned before, the LORD does not condemn Elihu's words like he does for Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar.

Job will not get the chance to respond to Elihu because the LORD is going to step in next time and put an end to this debate and deliver His verdict.  Job will be declared "not guilty" and "righteous" in the eyes of the court of heaven and Job's three friends will be weighed and found wanting.

Text:  Job 15:1-21:34 CSB - Second Series of Speeches Eliphaz - Bible Gateway
Audio Bible:  ​BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.: Audio

The debate continues with the oldest going first and Job responding, then the next oldest, and Job responding, then the youngest of Job's three friends speaking, and Job responding, often speaking two or three times as much as his friends so he can both reply and rebut.

Job calls them "worthless comforters," which is a great description.  His "friends" are no different than his enemies now, and he is ready to count the LORD as one who is counted as an enemy.  They proclaim themselves to be wise, but in doing so, they show themselves to be fools.  They assume that what has happened to Job is evidence that he is under the judgment of God for being wicked.

Job knows that this is temporary and that because his Redeemer lives, he will see God face-to-face and will be with the LORD in what they would have called Paradise.  Job no longer has any hope for this life, but knows that God will not break His covenant and will deliver Job unto all the good things that have been promised to him, even if those good things don't come in this life.  Job's friends think that this is crazy talk and that the trials that Job is going through are signs of an even greater judgment to come upon Job after he dies.  Their logic is that God does not treat His children this way, therefore, Job cannot be one of God's children.  It's not good logic, and God will call them out for it later.

It is ironic that these men think they are something and think they are saved, but it certainly sounds in the end like the LORD says that they are not his people and they need to listen to Job and go to Job so that Job can make atonement for them and pray for them that they might be saved.  Perhaps they were saved and they will be in the presence of the LORD also and they will receive true wisdom from Him.

This book is a great argument against the prosperity gospel or the idea of "karma" where good things come to good people and evil things to evil people.  Everyone faces the same end--they die and are forgotten.  Yet, the righteous man is saved from the ultimate disaster of hell by the LORD.  There is nothing that Job's friends can look to in this life that is really going to cheer him up, because everything this world has to offer is temporary and fleeting.  He would rather live for rewards and treasures that he is storing up in heaven.  He just wishes that he could understand why the LORD had seemed to turn on him because he does not understand the first scene that we saw in this book where Satan came to God and God brought up Job to Satan and Satan asked permission to test Job (and God) to see if Job was really as faithful as God said he was.

Today's Text:  Job 3:1-14:22 CSB - Job’s Opening Speech - After this, - Bible Gateway
Audio Bible for Today's Text:  BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages.: Audio

Since we have a very long passage today, I have provided a link to the text instead of posting the entire text.  I've also posted a link to an audio version of the text.  Because I wanted an audio bible, I posted the CSB instead of the WEB today.

Job finally opens his mouth and tells his friends how he feels, but instead of simply listening, one of his friends (probably the oldest) judges his words.  In the eyes of his friends, Job must have done something terrible to deserve this kind of treatment.  They advise him to turn from his wickedness to the LORD's blessings will return.  The more Job defends his innocence and cries out for justice, the more the friends dig in and accuse Job with the words of Satan (the accuser of the brethren).  This is why I said that the tests did not end, as Satan is trying to speak his words through Job's friends.  They speak with worldly wisdom.  Where the LORD sees a test and an opportunity for Job's blamelessness to be proven, they can only see judgment, punishment and condemnation.

In all this, Job comes to the conclusion that it would have been better to never have been born.  Job's friends project themselves onto him saying that he needs to repent of his pride and let God speak (the LORD will speak later and tell them that He did not put His words in their mouth, but He put His words in the mouth of Job, and they were the ones that should be silent and learn from him, they should repent of their pride, and they should bring sacrifices to Job so that Job can mediate and intercede for them).

Job calls for a conversation directly with God (if that were possible).  He wishes for a mediator between God and Man--this points to Christ.  Job keeps calling for a courtroom debate, but when the LORD shows up at the end of the book, Job covers his mouth and stays silent.  Job thinks he will stand before God and argue his case, but he can say nothing.  Let the man who thinks he will stand before God and argue his own righteousness learn from this.  We will not stand before God and debate Him.  The LORD will speak, and we will listen, and then His justice will be executed.

We'll come back next time to talk about Round 2 of the debate.  There are 3 full rounds, then something that I'll call a Bonus Round where someone who has been sitting silently (probably the one writing everything down) asks for turn to speak, and then the LORD speaks.  Job will speak in response, then the LORD speaks again and Job no longer has anything to say.  We see that God is the one that asks the questions and we will answer, not the other way around--God does not need to answer to anyone.  Before we get to those passages, we still have much to read (or listen to) that points us to the gospel.  Even Job's friends understood the need for atonement, but where they looked and thought they saw a need for Job to confess and be forgiven, they did not see such a need in themselves.  Let us first examine ourselves before trying to fix someone else, and do not speak presumptuously for the LORD--even be careful about quoting the Bible out of context, because we see that Satan knows how to do that.  Job's friends sound like they have wisdom, but God will let us what He thinks of them later.

 This Week's Study Plan

• Day 1: Job 1:1–2:13
• Day 2: Job 3:1–14:22
• Day 3: Job 15:1–21:34
• Day 4: Job 22:1–37:24
• Day 5: Job 38:1–42:17
• Day 6: Psalm 5
• Day 7:  GOD’S TEST OF JOB

Job 1-2
World English Bible

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. 4 His sons went and held a feast in the house of each one on his birthday; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.

6 Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them. 7 Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
​
Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

8 Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.”

9 Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.”

12 Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.”

So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh. 13 It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 that a messenger came to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God has fallen from the sky, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans made three bands, and swept down on the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

18 While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you.”

20 Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped. 21 He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.” 22 In all this, Job didn’t sin, nor charge God with wrongdoing.

2 Again, on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh. 2 Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

3 Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause.”
4 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.”

6 Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”

7 So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. 8 He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”

In all this Job didn’t sin with his lips. 11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky. 13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

Hang onto your hats as we're going to do a whirlwind (pun intended) tour of Job to study all of it in a single week.  The beginning and end are what we normally focus on, but there are some nuggets of truth and wisdom worth looking into in the middle.  I already studied this book on a slower pace before, so if you'd like to look at those passages, just click on the "Job" tag and look for my older blog posts (the more recent ones will be for this iteration of The Gospel Project which is trying to cover all the entire Bible in 3 years).  Onto today's text.

Job lived in the land of Uz.  While we're not exactly sure where the land of Uz, the book of Lamentations seems to associate Uz with Edom.  (See Lamentation 4:21).  We see raids by the Sabeans and Chaldeans, so that also is a secondary piece of information to let us know we're in the right vicinity.

Job was a very wealthy man (wealth at that time was measured in things like the number of servants, donkeys, camels, sheep and oxen.  We see that Job knows and fears the LORD, though we have no idea how he heard about the LORD.  He serves as a priest for his family, making intercession for them and making sacrifices on their behalf.  I think it's fair to say that we'll also see Job as a prophet (God reveals some things to him about who He is and His plan for humanity to share with those around him).  He is favored by God, and we see Satan accuse God of putting a hedge of protection around him, which means that Satan probably has tried to get to him in the past and has been unable because the LORD has prevented it.  

Satan comes to the LORD and requests permission to test Job, saying that if God removes his blessing and protection and Job suffers, he will curse God and not be faithful to him (Satan thinks he knows the heart of Job better than the LORD does).  The LORD allows the test but puts limits on it--Satan may attack Job's possessions and family, but he may not touch Job himself.  In a single day, Satan is allowed to cause all of Job's wealth to disappear.  His children, servants, and livestock are all gone by way of natural disaster, thieves or attack by raiders.  Only one person survives each incident to run back and bring the message that he alone has survived the disaster.

Job does not curse God.  In fact, he says "The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away.  Blessed be the name of the LORD."  Satan than says the problem was that the LORD did not allow him to touch Job's body.  He says, "skin for skin" and says that if Job feels physical pain and suffering, he will surely curse the LORD.  The LORD allows this but says that Satan may not take Job's life.  Satan is thrilled and attacks Job with boils from head to foot.  He has no comfortable position to sit in or lay in, and to add insult to injury, his wife tells him to "Cures God and die."  He refuses and says that he will not accept only the good from the LORD and not also accept the bad.  He understands that the LORD is sovereign and He has a plan, even if Job does not understand it.  In all this, Job did not sin.

The tests then continue as Job's three "friends" show up to "comfort" him.  You'll see why I include these quote marks as we go through the book.  They have heard of his demise and I think they genuinely want to help out, but Job is going to tell them later in the book that they were doing great when they were just sitting with him and saying nothing, but all that changed the moment they opened their mouths.  They will presume to speak for God when God has not given them a message (we see a true prophet of God attacked by the false prophets of the time in this book).

This is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and I wish we were going to spend more time in it, but I understand the need to move through it quickly because we want to focus on the overarching narrative of redemption.

The Lord Rebukes Job's Friends
7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

The Lord Restores Job's Fortunes

10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.

​12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

Now that everyone is listening and God has established His position as Judge and Jury and Plaintiff, not Defendant, He is about to execute judgment that is both righteous and full of grace and mercy.  God has dealt with Job and he has repented, so that issue is taken care of and is off the table.  Job's sin is now under the blood of Christ and is as far as the east is from the west and God chooses to remember it no more and continues to see Job as holy and blameless in His sight, because when He sees Job, He sees the finished work of Christ.

Not so for Job's friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.  They never repented, and therefore there is judgment brought against them for the slander that they spoke against Job without evidence or cause.  God speaks to Eliphaz as the oldest of the group and holds him accountable for his actions and the actions of the other friends.  God said that He burns with anger against all three of them because they had spoken incorrectly about God, unlike His servant Job.  So, what did they say that was wrong?  It wasn't that Job needed to repent or that he was proud and needed to be humbled, because that's exactly what Elihu and even God said.  No, it is the message of redemption that Job proclaimed and forgiveness that Job preached that his friends made a mockery of an they chose to believe instead in a God that was vindictive and full of wrath--not one that was full of grace and mercy and was quick to forgive the one who repents.  They preached a gospel of good works and told Job to stop doing bad things and start doing good things and maybe God would start loving him again.  This is the kind of god that most of the world serves--one where they can frame what is "good" and what is "bad" and declare themselves to be righteous in their own eyes and claim they have earned the blessings of their god including their eternal security.  That is not the gospel message of the Bible.

The friends were ordered to offer burnt offerings of seven bulls and seven rams (a huge sacrifice as one bull and one goat were usually killed once a year for the entire sin of the nation of Israel).  This should bring us back to the image of Job making sacrifices that seemed excessive for the possible sins of his children--even though he hadn't seen them, he knew they had been committed (and it's one of the most obvious cases we see of someone paying the price for someone else in the Old Testament--usually we see each man have to pay the penalty for his or her own sin, but Job paid for the sins of his children and took the cost upon himself, much like God would later).

They were told that Job would pray for them and God would hear the pray of Job and would forgive them on his behalf.  Again, see the intercessory work of Job here acting like a priest, this time not for his family, but for his "friends" who really turned out to be his enemies.  Let's pause for a minute to think about what God is doing here.  First, he doesn't tell the unsaved men--Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar--to pray to Him and He never promises to hear their prayers, as they are still unrepentant.  He instead tests Job to see if Job will forgive them in the same way that he himself has been forgiven.  Will he act in a way that is consistent with the Spirit of God or with his flesh?  We see Jesus teach His disciples about what happens to the man that claims to belong to God, but is unwilling to forgive his brother--but this is a different kind of love and forgiveness, for these men had shown themselves to be enemies of both God and Job, but God chooses to deal with them graciously for the sake of His servant.  That's amazing that sometimes God honors our requests for our unsaved "friends."  Do you have anyone in your life that you know that needs you to intercede on their behalf that God might hear you and grant them grace to not experience the full punishment they deserve? (See Psalm 103:10 and Proverbs 20:22)  Do you need to extend forgiveness to someone who has betrayed you and shown their true colors to you?  Show them what you are made of by showing them the new creation that God has made you to be.  "Do not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good." (I Peter 3:9)

Now for the part we've been waiting for.  What will God do with Job?  Will he leave him in his sorry estate, or will God raise him up to his previous status, or will he maybe even exalt him even more because of the trial he had endured?  Let's see.

Notice the blessing comes to Job after he offers the intercessory prayer for his friends and forgives them.  God would not bless him if he continued to live according the flesh and continued to be bitter, hold a grudge and be unforgiving in the face of the forgiveness that God had just shown.   The first thing that God restores to Job is his relationship with all of his friends and family who had deserted him.  Once again they come to him and have fellowship with him--something that I'm sure that Job missed greatly as family and community is everything in the Near East.  Finally people came near to him to comfort him and show him sympathy, and each of them brought a piece of gold and a gold ring as a gift for him--probably as their own offerings and the price they would pay for restoration to their relationship.

Next, God restores Job's physical blessings, but in nearly ever case, He gives Job twice as much as he had before.  It may look strange to us that Job ends up with the same number of children and not double, but Job never really "lost" those children if they too were saved--either way though, they are unlike the animals.  The souls of his children live on, and so, God did double the number of children that Job had.  God blessed Job's daughters with   This too is a great blessing from the Lord.

Last, but not least, God gave Job many more years of life.  Job was already older from the sound of things, but it sounds like God gave him another 140 years of life after this so that he could see his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and that four generations (from Job to his great-grandchildren) could be together.  This again is a great blessing from the Lord and one of the key measures that the culture looked at to see if God was pleased with you--they assumed if you displeased God, He would kill you, but if you pleased Him, He'd give you long life.  The final words seem to indicate that Job died happy having lived a full life.

While no one would want to go through this experience if they had a choice, God knew that this was what it would take to purify His servant Job and teach him even more about who He is, and it was not purely done for Job's benefit, but for the friends of Job that they might learn who God really is and have a chance to see repentance and for all who lived at that time to see and hear Job's testimony, as well as for everyone who has come after and read Job's story.

Just like last time, we will look at God's soliloquy and Job's response to it as a single unit as we don't want to lose Job's response to what God is saying and doing--that's pretty much the whole idea of the book.  How is Job's response this time different than last time?

After issuing His challenge, God opens by asking Job if he can control the largest of the beasts of the earth (Behemoth)?  The animal is so large that it appears to fear nothing except God Himself for God made Behemoth so that no weapon would pierce its thick skin and it would fear no snare or trap.  Some fancy this creature to be some kind of dinosaur while others imagine it to be some kind of elephant or mammoth.  It doesn't really matter exactly what kind of creature it is, God and Job both know what creature is being talked about and that it is a force of nature beyond Job's control that every wise man would treat with respect--so why not have even more respect for a God that is bigger and more powerful than Behemoth because He made it?  Do you see the flaw in in Job's actions?  He shows more honor and respect for the creature than the Creator.

God again points to another massive creature, this time the largest creature in the sea, named Leviathan.  We know little of this creature outside of what God says here, but it too seems to have been designed so that it did not need to fear being hunted.  God created the sea and all that is in them and the land and all of its vegetation and the animals that dwell on the earth simply by speaking.  Even with all the power and glory and majesty that these creatures have, they can't hold a candle to the power, glory and majesty of the Lord.  So, again, why would man, specifically Job, show more reverence to an animal of the land or sea than to the God who spoke it all into existence?

Job seems to see finally see the error of his ways and takes his focus off of himself and puts it on God when he says, "I know you can do all things and no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."  That's a good start--so now the question is to try and inquire about what the purpose of God might be.  If we know that nothing can interfere with God's purposes then the right question probably should be "What exactly is it that God is trying to accomplish here?"

Job seems to understand, finally, that some of the things that his friends were saying were actually right and that Job was proud and needed to be humbled.  However, God will speak to them next because they were wrong in how they spoke of God as well.  "The fear of the Lord" does not mean you have to be afraid of God if you belong to Him, but you do need to respect Him and His power and authority.  This is a poor illustration because no one can "tame" God, but since God used the imagery of these massive wild beasts, what if one of them could be "tamed"?  Even if that were so, it could trample and destroy things and people and would not be "safe."  I like the line form The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe about this when one of the children ask Mr. Beaver if Aslan, the Lion that represents Jesus in the allegorical story,  is safe.

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

We should have much the same view of God.  He's not safe, but He's good.  We do not tame and control Him, but He is in control of all things and can change the very heart of man and do all the things we've been reading about and more.  As amazing as they all are, I think the power of the gospel to change the very nature of a man and make that which was dead to be alive is as powerful as anything else God has mentioned here.

With all this in mind, Job finally puts himself in a posture of listening to God and the instruction that God wants to give instead of wanting to talk and make God listen to him.  He closes his mouth and opens his ears.  He sees God for who He truly is and no longer requires any other answer.

Then we get to the main point of it all--don't miss it.  Job responds with not just words of repentance, but actions in accordance with repentance.  He returns so the ash heap, but this time not to have a pity party for himself, but because he truly realizes the sorry state that he's in and he takes a proper position and attitude before God.  Only in repentance will our mourning be turned into joy because God was, is and will continue to be all that we ever really needed and He will completely satisfy us.  It is God who is our hope and our eternal reward and nothing can take Him away from us if we belong to Him.