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(39-34) Then the LORD answered Job:
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(39-35) “Would the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer!”
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(39-36) Then Job answered the LORD:
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(39-37) “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand on my mouth.
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(39-38) I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”
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(40-1) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
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(40-2) “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to Me.
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(40-3) Will you even put Me in the wrong? Will you condemn Me that you may be in the right?
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(40-4) Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His?
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(40-5) Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor!
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(40-6) Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him!
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(40-7) Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand!
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(40-8) Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.
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(40-9) Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.
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(40-10) “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.
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(40-11) Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly!
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(40-12) He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
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(40-13) His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.
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(40-14) He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!
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(40-15) For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.
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(40-16) Under the lotus plants he lies down, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
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(40-17) For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.
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(40-18) Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
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(40-19) Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?
🗣️🦖🕊️ Summary of Job 40 – “The LORD Challenges Job and Introduces Behemoth”
After speaking at length about the greatness of His creation, the LORD gives Job a chance to answer. But Job can only fall silent.
Yet the LORD is not finished. In Job 40, He challenges Job to acknowledge who is truly powerful and just.
Then the LORD introduces Behemoth, a giant creature that illustrates the great power of God’s creation that humans cannot control.
📌 1. Job Humbles Himself (verses 1–5)
➡️ The LORD asks:
“Does the accuser want to contend with the Almighty?”
➡️ Job answers humbly:
“I am insignificant. I will not answer. I put my hand over my mouth.”
🎯 Silence and submission are wise responses when a person realizes his limitations before God.
📌 2. The LORD Challenges Job Again (verses 6–14)
➡️ The LORD says:
“Gird up your loins like a man; I will ask, and you answer Me!”
➡️ The LORD rebukes:
“Will you blame Me so that you may be considered right?”
➡️ The LORD invites Job to try:
- Wielding absolute power
- Punishing the wicked
- Ruling the world like God
➡️ If he could, then the LORD would acknowledge that Job’s hand brings salvation.
🎯 No human is worthy to blame God or to think himself more righteous than He is.
📌 3. Behemoth – The Feared Giant Creature (verses 15–24)
➡️ The LORD introduces Behemoth:
- Created by God, just like man
- He eats grass like an ox, yet is very strong
- His bones are like tubes of bronze, his sinews like bars of iron
- He lives by the river, unafraid even when floodwaters come
- He cannot be captured or controlled easily
➡️ Behemoth is not just an ordinary animal, but a symbol of the great power in God’s creation that human beings cannot subdue.
🎯 If humans cannot face even one creature made by God, how can they contend with the Creator?
📖 Main Lesson
- Humbling ourselves is the beginning of true understanding
- God cannot be compared with or judged by His creation
- Behemoth represents extraordinary strength that only God can control
- God’s greatness far surpasses human reason and power
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?”
➡️ Like Job, people must know their place before the Lord.
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…”
➡️ Humility brings restoration — not resistance against God.
Jesus, though equal with God, humbled Himself
➡️ Job learns that the greatest strength is humility before God.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor…”
➡️ The Lord is worthy to be glorified not because of His answers, but because of who He is.
🕊️ “I am insignificant; what shall I answer You?” – Job 40:4
🕊️ “Will you blame Me so that you may be considered right?” – Job 40:8
🕊️ “Behold Behemoth, which I made as I made you.” – Job 40:15
🕊️ “He drinks up a river and is not afraid.” – Job 40:23
