As God continues to confront Job with His greatness, Job makes his first feeble answer: “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee” (verse 4)? God then asks Job if he has the abilities and powers of God. God closes this chapter with a description of behemoth as the chief of the ways of God.
Job has gone through great trials without turning against God and cursing Him. However, he does complain of being unjustly persecuted and expects God to give him reasons for his suffering. In this chapter, God actually appears to Job.
Most of this chapter gives a list of the ills experienced by Job. After considering the afflictions laid on him in the first two chapters of the book, this does not seem to be any exaggeration. The amazing part of this chapter is found in verses 25-27 where Job bursts out in an outstanding proclamation of faith in the middle of his list of trials and afflictions. He suffered. But he never lost faith. What an example to us!
Job may have been the first book of the Bible to have been written down. It is certainly one of the earliest. It deals with a universal theme: the problem of suffering. Is suffering always a punishment for sin? Can we know why we suffer? Will justice triumph in the end? How should we deal with suffering? Consider these questions and others that come to your mind as you study this passage.
Josiah continues to turn Israel back to the Lord. He establishes a covenant with God and cleanses the land from all spiritual defilement. However, judgment is still set to come and after the death of Josiah, the nation goes down quickly.
