Job 40:9

Now though Job did not expressly and directly condemn the Lord, and arraign his justice, yet when he talked of his own righteousness and integrity, he was not upon his guard as he should have been with respect to the justice of God in his afflictions; for though a man may justify his own character when abused, he should take care to speak well of God; and be it as it will between man and man, God is not to be brought into the question; and though some of his providences are not so easily reconciled to his promises, yet let God be true and every man a liar. Job 40:9 Ver. 9. Hast thou an arm like God?.... Such power as he has, which is infinite, almighty, and uncontrollable, and therefore there is no contending with him; as he has an arm on which good men may lean on and trust in, and by which they are supported, protected, and saved, so he has an arm to crush like a moth all that strive with him or against him; or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? thunder is his voice; see

40:6-14 Those who profit by what they have heard from God, shall hear more from him. And those who are truly convinced of sin, yet need to be more thoroughly convinced and more humbled. No doubt God, and he only, has power to humble and bring down proud men; he has wisdom to know when and how to do it, and it is not for us to teach him how to govern the world. Our own hands cannot save us by recommending us to God's grace, much less rescuing us from his justice; and therefore into his hand we must commit ourselves. The renewal of a believer proceeds in the same way of conviction, humbling, and watchfulness against remaining sin, as his first conversion. When convinced of many evils in our conduct, we still need convincing of many more.

Hast thou an arm like God?.... Such power as he has, which is infinite, almighty, and uncontrollable, and therefore there is no contending with him; as he has an arm on which good men may lean on and trust in, and by which they are supported, protected, and saved, so he has an arm to crush like a moth all that strive with him or against him; or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? thunder is his voice; see Job 37:4, &c. and is expressive of his power, Job 26:14; and his powerful voice may be observed in calling all things out of nothing into being in creation; in commanding and ordering all things in providence according to his pleasure; and in quickening sinners through his Gospel, by his Spirit and grace in conversion, and will be in calling men out of their graves and summoning them to judgment at the last day. God can both overpower and out voice men, and therefore it is in vain to oppose him and contend with him.

Job 40:9 . Hast thou an arm like God? — Hast thou, a poor, weak worm of the earth, an arm comparable to his, who upholdeth all things? The power of creatures, even of angels themselves, is derived from God, limited by him, dependant on him; but the power of God is original, independent, and unlimited: he can do every thing without us; we can do nothing without him; and therefore we have not an arm like God. The meaning is, Thou art infinitely short of God in power, and therefore in justice: for all his perfections are equal and infinite. Injustice is much more likely to be in thee, an impotent creature, than in the Almighty God; see on Job 40:2 . Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? — No: his voice will soon drown thine; and one of his mighty thunders will overpower and overrule thy weak speeches. Therefore do not presume to contend with him.

9–14 . As Job questions the manner of the Almighty’s rule of the world, God invites him to deck himself with the thunder and majesty of the supreme ruler, and himself undertake the government of the world; and in the execution of this government to bring low all that is proud (comp. Isaiah 2:12 seq .), to subdue and keep down the forces of evil, and hide the faces of the wicked in darkness. Under this ironical invitation to Job there lie two general thoughts, first , that omnipotence is necessary in the ruler of all; and second , that rule of the world consists in keeping in check the forces of evil. This is the idea under which rule of the world is conceived; in other words it is regarded as necessarily moral; and it is assumed that God’s rule is in fact a rule of this kind. In his present frame of mind Job probably would not now contest this. But if God’s rule be moral on the whole, it must be so in every particular; real exceptions are inconceivable, however like exceptions many things may appear.

Verse 9. - Hast thou an arm like God? The might of God's arm is often dwelt upon in Scripture. He brought Israel out of Egypt ,' with a mighty hand and stretched-out arm" ( Deuteronomy 5:15 ; Deuteronomy 7:19 , etc.). "Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand," says one of the psalmists ( Psalm 89:13 ). "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord!" says Isaiah ( Isaiah 51:9 ). No human strength, not the strength of all men put together, can compare with it. Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? (comp. Job 38:34, 35 ; and for the idea of thunder being the actual "voice of God," see Job 37:4, 5 ; Psalm 68:33 ; Psalm 77:18 , etc.). Job 40:9

Thou art infinitely short of God in power, and therefore in justice; for all his perfections are equal and infinite. Injustice is much more likely to be in thee, an impotent creature, than in the Almighty God; of which See Poole "Job 40:2" . Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? therefore do not presume to contend with him.

Hast thou an arm like God? - The arm is the symbol of strength. The question here is, whether Job would venture to compare his strength with the omnipotence of God? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? - Thunder is a symbol of the majesty of the Most High, and is often spoken of as the voice of God; see Psalm 29:1-11. The question here is, whether Job could presume to compare himself with the Almighty, whose voice was the thunder?

7 Gird up thy loins manfully: I will question thee, and do thou answer me! 8 Wilt thou altogether annul my right, Condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9 And hast thou then an arm like God, And canst thou with the voice thunder like Him? The question with האף stands to Job 40:2 in the relation of a climax: Job contended not alone with God, which is in itself wrong, let it be whatsoever it may; he went so far as to lose sight of the divine justice in the government of the world, and in order not to be obliged to give up his own righteousness, so far as to doubt the divine. ואם, Job 40:9, is also interrogative, as Job 8:3; Job 21:4; Job 34:17, comp. Job 39:13, not expressive of a wish, as Job 34:16. In the government of the world, God shows His arm, He raises His voice of thunder: canst thou perhaps - asks Jehovah - do the like, thou who seemest to imagine thou couldst govern the world more justly, if thou hadst to govern it? וּבקוּל כּמהוּ are to be combined: of like voice to Him; the translation follows the accents (ובקול with Rebia mugrasch).

[Bible] 3:24. Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing waters, so is my roaring: 3:25. For the fear which I feared, hath come upon me: and that which I was afraid of, hath befallen me. 3:26. Have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence? have I not been quiet? and indignation is come upon me. Job Chapter 4 4:1. Then Eliphaz, the Themanite, answered, and said: 4:2. If we begin to speak to thee, perhaps thou wilt take it ill; but who can withhold the words he hath conceived? 4:3. Behold thou hast taught many, and thou hast strengthened the weary hands: 4:4. Thy words have confirmed them that were staggering, and thou hast strengthened the trembling knees: 4:5. But now the scourge is come upon thee, and thou faintest: It hath touched thee, and thou art troubled. 4:6. Where is thy fear, thy fortitude, thy patience, and the perfection of thy ways? 4:7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? or when were the just destroyed? 4:8. On the contrary, I have seen those who work iniquity, and sow sorrows, and reap them, 4:9. Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath. 4:10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions, are broken: 4:11. The tiger hath perished for want of prey, and the young lions are scattered abroad. 4:12. Now there was a word spoken to me in private, and my ears by stealth, as it were, received the veins of its whisper. 4:13. In the horror of a vision by night, when deep sleep is wont to hold men, 4:14. Fear seized upon me, and trembling, and all my bones were affrighted: 4:15. And when a spirit passed before me, the hair of my flesh stood up. 4:16. There stood one whose countenance I knew not, an image before my eyes, and I heard the voice, as it were, of a gentle wind. 4:17. Shall man be justified in comparison of God, or shall a man be more pure than his maker?