LIVE DISCUSSION: "The Lord Answers Job" (Job 38), Part 4/5

Weather records keep breaking, and it’s easy to slip into the belief that the world is either spinning out of control or resting in human hands. We open Job 38 and let God answer that illusion with questions that cut straight through our ego: Who sends rain? Who commands lightning? Why does water fall on wilderness where no one lives? That one detail alone challenges an anthropocentric faith and replaces it with a God-centered view of creation, purpose, and providence.

From there we look up. God points Job to Orion, Pleiades, and Arcturus and asks if any human can bind, loose, guide, or set the laws of the heavens. We connect that to something practical and surprising: navigating by the stars. The fixed order sailors rely on is a daily reminder that the universe is not self-made, and that God’s design is dependable even when our lives feel anything but stable.

Then the questions turn inward: who put wisdom in the inward parts, and who gave understanding to the heart? That launches a clear conversation about Christian theology, God’s sovereignty, and why modern arguments about free will often protect our pride more than they protect biblical truth. We close with God’s care for lions and ravens, a grounded picture of divine provision that reaches far beyond humans and still somehow includes us.

If you want a deeper, sturdier faith rooted in the Book of Job, listen, share this with a friend who wrestles with control, and subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. What part of Job 38 challenges you the most?

Transcript

Record Storms And God’s Hand

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Understand something, he can flip the script in a second. Turn things around. We've never had a Hurricane 5 storm or whatever the highest one is. I don't know if it's one or five. I keep I get the direction mixed up. But either way, you know, we're always, you know, think about it. How long is the world going to go on continuing to break records in heat or rain or flood waters? Every time you turn around, there's a new record being broken. And yet God is behind, He's behind it all. He's behind it all. Any comments? At this point? Anybody? All right. So um verse 25. Who has divided a water course for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning to thunder? To cause it to rain on earth where no man is, on the wilderness wherein there is no man, to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth. Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? Who has begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice and the hoary frost of the heaven, who has gendered it? The waters are hid as with the stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. So what is God doing here? He's showing that he provides rain even in the places where no man lives. Think about this for a second. I'm sure that many of you have heard that little quip that people like to throw out there. Um, if uh a tree, uh what is the statement when it talks about if a tree falls down in the woods, does it make a sound? Has anybody heard that before? That's right, yeah. And and and so, you know, the idea is that, well, it you know, possibly these things are not happening or or whatever. I don't know what the logic of it is, but what I will say is this. When what he's described, what God is describing here now is that he is it he that he there's a purpose in the elements that God uses in nature, even in areas where no one is. In other words, just because there is no one inhabiting a given area doesn't mean that there is not a purpose that God has in putting rain there or snow or there being a thunderstorm. There's there is a reason for it. And we don't always know. But he's saying, he says, just because rain is happening in a place where nobody goes, it doesn't mean that it is random. It's not. It's a purpose in all of these things. You know, and so, and this also demonstrates that the way God can the way God governs, the way he governs his creation of the world, is not only centered on man. See, we think that we are everything, it's about everything, but God is showing that it's it's not it's not just about that. He's talking about rain being being poured out in areas where there is no inhabitants. You gotta think about it. There are people who die of thirst. And yet, at the same time, there are places where God reigns, let's down rain, where no one lives. Who can understand God? Who can understand his ways? Somehow, everything that is going on in the world is it affects us, but we don't always know, we don't always know why. It would be easy to ask a question, God, if He if He showed us things, why pour rain in the middle of that desert where nobody lives? Or something to that effect. We don't know. But what it what God does clearly make certain is that he provides rain even in places where no man lives. He cares for his whole creation. He manages it, he takes care of all of his creation, and none of it, as he is pointing out, whether it be rain, dew, ice, frost, hail, snow, whatever it may be, God is making it clear that all of it comes from God by his divine orchestration, and man has nothing to do with it. Man's man's and the human power of man has no involvement whatsoever. None. And this is what he's pointing out. And we were talking this the other day. I can't remember who was saying it, but we've all been saying it at one point or another, pointing out that God, that this book, this book of Job, it really is a book about God's sovereignty. This is a big, this is a big piece of what this book is about. Especially when we get to this point now where we're reading that that God is showing Job how his whole creation is governed by him intimately. No, God is behind the scenes working at all times on managing his providence over this earth. Sister Candy, go ahead.

SPEAKER_07 5:48

Just makes me think of even from the beginning when we had desolate places where there was no rain because there was no one to till the fields and attend to the growth until he puts the dew on it and waters it, and then the herbs begin to grow. So then you go, like you said, about the desolate places. You think about us before we become alive and grow in Christ. Man is desolate. So all the things that we speak of, and anybody want to check out Psalms 148, man, that is a good read for what we're talking about right now.

SPEAKER_06 6:27

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 6:29

Um, but yeah, it just makes me think of us when when we're unalive out of Christ, you know what I'm saying? Right. How desolate we are, and and the things that that he that his word like reveals in the terminology that that we're using, you know what I'm saying? And all these the the water, the the empty places and the the snow, the ice, all these things that I yeah.

Creation Is Not Centered On Us

SPEAKER_06 6:59

Yep, yeah. Verse 31. He says, uh, God says in verse 31, he says to Job, can you bind? I love this. Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion? Can you bring forth Matzeroth in his in his season? Or can you guide Arcturus with his sons? Noah, do you know the ordinances of heaven? Can you set the dominion thereof in the earth? So now God is pointing to the stars and the constellations. And and and he's pointing out that the that all of the movement that takes place in the heavens are beyond human control. Only God is managing these things. Man can't guide the stars nor set laws in the heavens. He can't, he never has. You know, man has been trying to go to the moon forever here. Now, you know, people dispute whether or not we actually got there or not, but the point is whatever is up there is not new to the Lord. And the the reality is if if if the if this if this world, which it doesn't, but if this world really did believe in the Creator, as we as we all should, there will be no need to be looking at what's going on up there on the moon, especially where there's so much sin to be dealt with down here on earth. And especially since all of us who who are believers, we know we're going to be with the Lord and we're going to know far above what we know now when it comes to how God's universe runs. We're going to know all these things. But I'll just tell you this. I was in the Navy. My job was navigation. I was a navigator in the Navy on ships. And one of the things that we had to learn, which was critical to our uh um our education in navigation, is how to navigate a ship by the stars. And I gotta tell you, when you learn this, it's amazing because you see how ornate God's wisdom is in everything. You can know at any given point where you are. And the way and the way it works is assumed to be reliable, that the stars, like Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades and whatnot, that they are fixed, just like the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. They're fixed. And so the way it works, once you know something is fixed in this place and can't move, then when you're seeing it, it means that there's a way for you to be able to have a determination where you are in relation to those stars or those constellations at the given time that you're taking the the the measurement, so to speak. But without getting in too much depth, what ends up happening, because when the star, when when the star, when the sun is right over your head, that's noon. The highest point of your day is what is noon. So when you navigate by the stars, you're able to know where you were 24 hours ago. And then you replot your courses from there based on where you are at that time. So what I'm saying is that when you navigate using the stars, the sun is what gives you the exact time that you were there, or the exact location where you were at noon yesterday. And I know it sounds a little confusing, but I'm certain that even as confusing as I might be presenting it, you get the idea of the magnificence of God's creation. That we can actually drive around the world on the ocean and know where we are based on taking lines to the stars, taking fixes to the stars in the sky because they don't move. God is reliable. He's reliable. I know I was winding on that one, pardon me for that one, but I had to throw that out there. Because I always think that that's so amazing to have been able to learn how to do that. And I don't know if I can still do it today, but it is nonetheless amazing. Um, where was I? Um verse 34. Almost done. Verse 34. The Lord says to Job, Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that that abundance of waters may cover you? Can you send lightnings that they may go and say unto thee, Here are we? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds in wisdom, or who can stay the bottles of heaven? When the dust grows into hardness and the clods leave fast together. What is God pointing out? He's saying, Listen, God that man has no ability to command or or to command rain or to call down lightning. Only God controls these things. Only God controls these things. And even wisdom, even human wisdom and understanding, all of that, and this is what he points out, all of that is also controlled by God. He says, Who, this is what he says here. Christians, everybody listen to this. He says, Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or who has given understanding to the heart? What is he talking about? Anybody. Anybody know what he's what he's talking about here? Anybody.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Our hearts are made from him, by him, and for him.

SPEAKER_06 13:35

Exactly. And what would that tell you? What would what if you're in Job's shoes, what would this be telling you? What would you what would you hope to be understanding out of this?

SPEAKER_02 13:47

That I know that he is all sovereignty, no matter what, and that I'm just appreciative of him being with me. That's that's how I look at it.

SPEAKER_06 14:02

That's right. That's right. Anybody else?

Constellations And The Limits Of Man

SPEAKER_04 14:04

I think that like um if God wanted him to know why he was going through the affliction he was going through, then he would have given it. Um, he would have given that understanding to his heart and his and his spirit, as he said, was not troubled by man, but troubled by God, will have that um that wisdom of why these things were occurring.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

Amen. Anybody else? Meg, would your does your virgin say something different? Read something different. All right, she's probably asleep. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Um Sister Sean was about to say something.

SPEAKER_06 14:44

Oh, Sister Sean, go ahead. Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Oh, that's okay. I was I was just thinking that he was telling Joe that you had the human intelligence and wisdom is because of me. And um the only reason wisdom isn't learned is actually something that's placed within you.

SPEAKER_06 15:02

And that and that that is that that's a big point because what he because you're right, both of you guys are right, because God is telling Job simply what it says here. That because as I said earlier, his questions are the are actually the answers. Who has put wisdom in the inward parts and who has given understanding to the heart? So so God is making it clear that it should be obvious to Job and us who read this, it should be obvious that God is the one who puts wisdom in the inward parts, speaking about men, and he is the one who has given understanding to the heart. So here's my question. If you are not possessed with wisdom after the inward parts, and if you have been not giving understanding in the heart, what does that suggest about God? Does it suggest anything negative or bad about God?

SPEAKER_04 16:08

No, he just hasn't given it to you.

SPEAKER_06 16:11

He just hasn't given it. He doesn't give it to you. No, he doesn't. He doesn't. And how do we know he doesn't?

SPEAKER_04 16:19

It reminds me of the ones that are um um that he has left to their own devices, the reprobated people. Um they don't have the understanding, not because they can't find it or they haven't achieved some level of intelligence, but because God has simply not given it to their inward man or in uh given their hearts the understanding that they need to have.

SPEAKER_06 16:47

Amen. Uh brother Zach brought up a verse in Job 9, verse 9, where he talks about um um, because it's Job talking, and it looks like he's talking about what God is, what God, about what God makes. And he says he makes Arpurus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. So, and it's that's that's great, Zach, because I didn't I didn't make that connection. So that's a good one that God is addressing Job in um in chapter 9, verse 9. So that's excellent, excellent observation there. Um, but yeah, I I think that here in Job in 34 through 38, you know, um God makes it clear that that obviously that he controls the rain, the lightning, and man doesn't. But I think the most the most profound aspect of this for me that hit me kind of hard, whereas when he says, who has put inward, who has put wisdom in the inward parts and has given understanding to the heart, God does that too. So so those of us who believe and who trust in him, and he's talking to Job, and he's reminding Job the same things that we should be reminding ourselves of in this matter. If we have the wisdom of God that saves, if we have the understanding in the heart that saves, that comes from God. Because what else would he be talking about? Is he talking about calculus? Is he talking about advanced algebra? Is he talking about, you know, geology and anthropology? No, he's not talking about all these sciences where many people don't know or become expert at. But so the wisdom he's talking about and the and the understanding that is in the heart that he's talking about has to do with relation to him. To him. And part of that is knowing that none of these things that God is asking Job is at the fingertips of men to be able to manipulate or to or to coerce in any kind of way. God is sovereign over all things, and God alone is sovereign over all things. And his sovereignty over all things is not shared or codependent with men. Not in the least, not in the least bit shared. And everything that is is with God is complete in and by him. And so there are many men, many men and women on this earth who reject this wisdom that God is is is sharing with Job, they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna reject it to their shame, to their eternal shame. Because they refuse to believe these things. And God is giving a lesson, a first-rate lesson to Job on his sovereignty. And yet you have men and women that are always barking like rabid dogs about how God is not sovereign in the way that we that that we see him as being sovereign, the way the Bible speaks about him being sovereign, because they think that somehow that questions, that brings into question his fairness and his equity with human, with creation, with his with men and women. If God is sovereign over all things, men are upset because they believe that we are talking about God is interrupting their freedom of will. I talk about this a lot because the will of man is such a grand idol in man's eyes. Sister Lisa, go ahead.

SPEAKER_08 20:49

Well, I was just thinking, you know, as you're talking about wisdom, and I I just put it in the chat. It's wisdom comes from God. And I always think of you know Solomon and how God was so impressed with him asking that. It's almost as though he had the wisdom to ask for that, to have more wisdom. Because knowledge, you know, you can read all the books, you can read scripture and have knowledge about what the word of God says. But if God hasn't given you his wisdom and the spirit of God to interpret what the meaning, then it's it's not accurate.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

That's right.

SPEAKER_08 21:28

And you can have you know knowledge of all these things in the world by learning. You know what I mean? You can read them in the book, but uh so my words. I wish I had better words. I wish I could speak, I wish I could articulate my thoughts better.

SPEAKER_06 21:46

You're doing fine, sister. You're doing fine, you're doing fine. Don't worry about it at all.

SPEAKER_08 21:50

But yeah, so God gives us the wisdom and He gives us the wisdom.

Navigation By Stars And God’s Reliability

Wisdom Given By God Not Earned

SPEAKER_06 21:55

He if if He doesn't give it, we don't get it. That's it, just that's the fact. And the thing. Is he doesn't give it to everyone, as somebody already said. He doesn't give it to everyone. He doesn't give everyone wisdom. He doesn't give everyone the understanding of these things in their hearts. He just doesn't. I think it was Vanessa that said that. So, and it's true. And so we we need to understand that because when we do is first of all, it's humbling. It really puts man in check. And today's 21st century Christian doesn't like it. They don't like hearing about this sovereign God. They think the sovereignty of God makes makes us robots. It takes away our freedom of will. His sovereignty is giving us our freedom of will back and letting us do what we need to do. All these things, they're all wrong. And the person who doesn't believe this has to ask themselves whether or not they know the Lord at all. And if we hear people talking against these things, we should not be treating them as if they are believers. Because it means that we're going to be reluctant to address these very serious matters. What can be more serious than denigrating the glory of God by saying he is not sovereign? Or even worse, he is sovereign, but he chose to not exercise his sovereignty when it comes to me. That's worse. Embracing that he is sovereign and then not using it in a lawful way to him. Or I should say, in a lawful way according to man. People will say, well, if God were this way, if he did this, then that wouldn't be God. I heard this idiot saying yesterday that God would be cruel, he'd be a cruel God to send people to hell. This clown is all over TikTok making these statements. If God sends men to hell, that's got that would make God a cruel guy. Like we read last night in Romans 9, nay, but who are you, O man, to reply against God? Shall the theme formed say to him that formed it, why have you made me this way? You better go to your grave, every one of you, extolling the glories of our magnificent, majestic God, because he is sovereign over everything. There is nothing that he is not sovereign in. There is nothing he left to have an uncertain income or outcome. Nothing. Everything that happens, he's ordered to happen and is putting all of his arsenal in place to ensure that it happens. Because that's what God does. That is essential to his very nature to govern all things, everything. If he knows the number of hairs on your head, and mine will take about two seconds to count, but if he knows the very numbers of your head, he is suggesting to you that there is nothing that he doesn't know. And what he knows, he knows because he ordered it. I know what's gonna happen. Of course he knows. Why? Because he said, This is what is going to happen. He ordered it. Verse 39. He asked Job, Will you hunt the prey for the lion or fill the appetite of the young lions when they couch in their dens and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provides for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wonder, they wander for lack of meat. Listen to this. He's asking Job, the lions gotta eat. Lions gotta eat to survive. And he asks Job, are you gonna hunt the prey for the lion? Are you gonna go on the hunt and bring the food back to the lion? The answer is no. But notice what God is saying. He is saying that not only can man not provide the prey for the lion, he is also pointing out that the lion doesn't provide the prey for the lion. Who is providing the prey for the lion? God is. They eat everything. They are ravens. There's a reason why we say that when somebody has is a very has a very uh hungry appetite, is if they talk about their appetite being ravenous. Ravenous, like a raven. Ravens eat everything. So now go back and consider when the ravens came and fed Elijah, and now you understand the the metaphor. Ravens are like ravens a raven is like if you had a child, an 18-year-old son, and you send him to the grocery store to go bring back, to go buy such and such food items, only to come back and find half the food eaten before they get they bring it in the house. That's how ravens are. That's how ravens are. So the idea that ravens would bring food to feed Elijah, that's what the miracle is. That they would bring food that they didn't eat themselves. You know, so when you look at that miracle of Elijah being fed, that's that's what he's talking about, that's what you need to understand. You have to understand ravens. They are they have voracious appetites. The likelihood of them bringing food to a man that they that they would need that they didn't that they didn't eat on the way is not likely. Well, it's impossible. That's why it's such a miracle. But anyway, I just thought I'd make that case out there for those who are interested in these matters. Brother Pat, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 30:04

You know, it it sounds a lot like God is saying that the function and order are all of all things are in accordance with his choice. Right. You know, you don't see God saying, well, here's the thing. You know those lions out there? The most important thing is free will. So I want them to be a lion, but if they want to be an elephant, they can be an elephant. You know, if they want to be a zebra, they can be a zebra. So what I do is I send my Holy Spirit to woo them. And I say, please, lion, come here. Woo, come eat some meat. You know, that's not what's going on here. That is not what's going on here. The function and order of all things are in accordance with God's election.

SPEAKER_06 30:51

Right. Everything, brother. Everything. Absolutely. You know, and so I, you know, I love this whole thing. I love it when he says, are you gonna go hunt the lion, the pray for the lion? Are you gonna go capture their their prey so they can eat? I mean, it it's just it's just it's just crazy. But, you know, God speaks in such simple terms that that that when we read these things, it just even reading it is just really humbling, right? It's really humbling to read it. Brother Rodney, go ahead. I know I skipped over you for a second, brother. Sorry about that.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

No, no, you're fine. Um I just had a I just want to first off thank you all, because you all are really, really helping me with this journey, man. Um, I have come to the decision that one day I'll be a script reader as good as you guys are. But right now, with the feelings that I have, and I know his glory and his sovereignty. So I want to bring it down to my favorite movie, The Lion King, really quick. Um, I don't want to give Disney too much credit because they're a little wicked, but shout out to the screenwriter who understands God a little bit to me, right? So, really quick, um, if I can, and parting my childish rotation here, but you know, it just reminded me of his sovereignty as Rafiki led Simba after his father passed, right? And all that, and even the sovereignty driven and and and described there in the screenwrite, right? You know, Scarred doing everything he did, and just understanding what that scene projected, that it was the setup for Simba to become the king, you know, and he didn't understand, you know, he was so broken as we all are. And my point I'm making, even Rafiki running him through the woods and the the trees and stuff, smacking him in the face. As I said, maybe tonight is the day I understand language because I'm looking at this scene differently than I did when I was 10. I'm like, oh dang, why are you smacking him in the face with the branches? But no, now that was the affliction. That was everything of the world, as if you think. And even when he got to the pool, he said, Look at your father. And he looked and he saw himself, as we do. We get caught up in our own laurels, right? And he hit him over the head with the stick, which to me is God's slipper. That whole thing, you know, he hits you over the head really quick. The chosen, you know, we're all his creation, but not all his children. Once he did that and he looked again, then he saw his dad. And I think at that moment he realized that this is the time. So the sovereignty, that was my relation there. So um Akuna Matada, as John said in the chat. So yeah. I don't know where that came from again, but thank you, God, for that. And thank you all. I appreciate it. Amen.

SPEAKER_06 33:26

So, you know, so we see here that God, in these verses, in this chapter, he shows that he he has his providence over all things and not just humans. You know, we have a way about us being humans and thinking that everything regarding this earth is purely anthropocentric, meaning centers around man. It's all about us. And in a sense, it is when it comes to um redemption. But generally speaking, God has a concern and a care over all his creation that is meant for us in seeing it to understand that he is in charge of, he is governing all things, including the wisdom after the inward parts and the understanding inside the heart of a heart of men. So, uh, Brother Pat, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 34:28

Question. This point that God is making about his sovereignty and and the functional order of all things being in accordance with his will, and he's really pointing out the absurdity of any man questioning God's reason, his order, and motivation for anything that goes on in this world. So here's my question to you, Jonathan. When man comes up with religion, things like free will would be an example of this, that is in complete contrast to what God is saying here. It's childish, isn't it? Is it isn't God's whole point that this is absurd and childish? God is in fact mocking it, isn't he? Right. And so when when you hear pastors preach this stuff, they don't know what they're talking about, do they? No. They're like children who are speaking out of ignorance.

God Feeds Lions And Ravens

SPEAKER_06 35:27

Yeah, and it it really is. Because this is this is really, I mean, you you you know, Job, like a book, like like I i i I I think like a lot of us, I I I'm sure, I'm sure I am sharing in what many of you are gathering from this book, that it is unmistakable to see God's sovereignty in what we're reading, especially right now. Especially right now. Um But you know, but most of us, I'm sure most of us, when we started with this book, all we thought about is what has been