Job 40

“The Lord answered Job out of the storm. Stand up like a man and brace yourself. I will ask questions; and you will give the answers! Are you falsely attacking my justice?  Putting Me in the wrong will prove yourself right? Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His? Come on, deck yourself with majesty and dignity, robe yourself in glory and splendor. Let loose your furious anger, look at all who are proud, and humble them. Look at all who are proud and bring them down; tread down the wicked where they stand. Bury them in the ground together, bind their faces in the hidden world. If you do this, then I will confess to you that your own power can save you.” Job 40:6-14 (CJB)

In today’s passage, in essence, God is telling Job, “Everybody wants My job, but nobody can do it!” Whenever we are in the midst of hardship, why is there always some part of us that wants to indict God’s character? We want to claim that God is not being fair or that He is too busy or blind to see us. Perhaps He has the will, but sometimes we wonder if He actually has the power to affect change.

Because we know that God can alleviate suffering, we spend much of our time on earth frustrated that we are not where we feel we should be. Sometimes, the world doesn’t make sense, and God allows wicked people to prosper. Basically, we have seen the system manipulated so many times in the world that we wonder why the rules can’t be bent for us. In short, that kind of attitude communicates one thing: we want to be our own god! But honestly, we only want to determine our destinies until things get over our heads. And things can get over our heads pretty quickly! Not only can you not be God, but it is also impossible for you to be your own savior.

“If you do this, then I will confess to you that your own power can save you.” Job 40:14 (CJB)

For a moment, ponder the gravity of that statement. Only God can save a man. Man cannot save himself. Now consider that if only God can save a man, who must the Savior of all mankind be? Some believe Jesus was a good man, perhaps the best man who ever lived. They even claim that Jesus is the Messiah (the salvation of both Jew & Gentile), but in their ignorance of Scripture, they deny His deity.  

“Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity.” Micah 5:2  (see also: John 1:1-14; 10:17-18a)

Because Jesus is God, made flesh, He has both the power & authority to save not only Himself but all mankind as well!

“This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.” John 10:17-18 (HCSB)