  {"id":4352,"date":"2013-06-24T17:02:36","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T22:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbu.edu\/seminary\/?p=4352"},"modified":"2022-12-06T01:54:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T07:54:21","slug":"when-leviathan-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbu.edu\/seminary\/when-leviathan-strikes\/","title":{"rendered":"When Leviathan Strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Answering Tough Questions When We Do Not Know the Answers<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Pamela, a 27 year old college graduate, is facing a hopeful future as a budding graphic artist. The firm for whom she works quickly recognized her talent and has consistently entrusted her with more important accounts. Her creativity and precision in design, her eye for color and composition, and her astute insights into the clients\u2019 needs have made her a favorite for many. Likewise, her personal accomplishments match her professional skills. Her friend\u00adliness and joyful spirit endear her to the church\u2019s senior citizens, while her playfulness and child-like enthusiasm capture the affections of boys and girls alike in children\u2019s church. Along with her early successes, she has a new expectation in her life\u2014she is engaged to be married to an equally impressive young man who shares many of the same passions and goals, including a heart for serving. The expectation is \u201cthey will live happily ever after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Just 56 days (and 15 hours) before her wedding, however, tragedy struck. Pamela\u2019s fairy tale dreams turned to a nightmare when a drunk driver \u201cT-boned\u201d her car from the driver\u2019s side. Pamela\u2019s initial life-threatening injuries eventually gave way to paralysis. The grim realities began to register with her and her fianc\u00e9 as the aftermath of the accident began to fade\u2014Pamela is a quadriplegic! What once were bright hopes, confident expecta\u00adtions, and cheerful challenges, are now painful reminders of unfulfilled dreams. Confusion, chaos, crisis, pain, doubts, and fears are just a few of the renegade intruders that lay siege to her spirit. The physical, emotional, and spiritual pain often floods her soul with deep darkness and maddening hopelessness. Pamela finds herself plagued by these questions: \u201cWhy me? Why now? Why this? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Introduction and Context<\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Virtually every crisis has at least one common denominator with all others\u2014the suddenness and ferocity of the crisis can leave the sufferer feeling shocked and overwhelmed. It is the shock of the situation that often creates persistently grievous doubts. For example, when the trauma of the World Trade Center collapse occurred, a witness was left with that nagging question: \u201cIs this really happening?\u201d Once the person recognizes reality, that initial question, however, usually merges into a second question: \u201c<em>Why<\/em> is this awful event happening?\u201d The former question passes more quickly but is characterized by an almost incessant \u201cshaking of the head\u201d in disbelief. Such a denial in most cases is more a problem of perception than reality. In other words, the person usually knows the truth but is having difficulty <em>absorbing the truth <\/em>in one short segment of time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The latter question, however, is the one that persists long-term, from the moment the crisis activates to an indefinite time in which the person has some understanding of God\u2019s providence in the crisis. Unfortunately, there are some crises for which no answers exist concerning <em>the <\/em>purpose. It is this scenario that a counselee longing for some answers often presents to the counselor. In Pamela\u2019s case, why would the Lord allow such a terrible tragedy in her life? What does a counselor tell her about God\u2019s providential workings? How can she find comfort in all of these questions? The frustration, fury, and futility a person feels in such uncertainty can rapidly poison the individual\u2019s belief system in such circumstances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In these circumstances, the sufferer often has questions about God\u2019s justice,power, or love. The book of Job provides a vivid case study that allows readers to personally enter into the suffering and frustration of another. In spite of Job\u2019s efforts to coerce both an explanation and vindication from God, he never responded with specific answers for Job\u2019s questions concerning the purpose of his suffering. God does, however, provide general assessments concerning man\u2019s suffering that will satisfy any who walk with him. A sufferer, therefore, does have answers from God, perhaps just not the one for which he is looking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Tension in the book begins with the prologue (chaps. 1\u20132), builds during the debates between Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Job (3:1\u201331:40),and culminates in both Elihu\u2019s responses (chaps. 32\u201337) and God\u2019s final corrective interviews (chaps. 38\u201341).The abrupt ending to the three cycles of debate, evident in Bildad\u2019s shorter third speech and the absence of Zophar\u2019s final speech, demonstrates the failure of counsel that endeavors to find human explanations where none exist. The book begins to provide genuine solutions for Job through Elihu\u2019s speech, counsel that ultimately points toward God\u2019s admonitions.The tension unwinds as the reader witnesses Job\u2019s repentance from his presumptuous demands to God (42:1\u20136) and God\u2019s resulting restoration of Job (42:7\u201317).<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">With Elihu\u2019s counsel (chaps. 32\u201337), God begins to correct the inaccurate views Job held, namely that Job was just all the while he was having doubts about God\u2019s justice (32:3). Elihu dispels the notion that suffering occurs only as a result of sin. He upholds both God\u2019s justice (34:10\u201312) and love while pointing Job to an accurate explanation for his suffering. Elihu argues that God, in his sovereignty and grace, uses suffering to draw men to himself (33:19\u201330).Suffering, therefore, becomes a catalyst for drawing men into greater intimacy with God. Sufferers must find God sufficient in their suffering, even when he offers no explanations for their suffering.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">From all indications Job was not wrong to question God about his suffering, but he certainly was wrong to <em>demand<\/em> answers from the Sovereign. Starting with 38:1, God presents his message to Job in a series of questions, many of which elicit the conclusion from Job that there are events occurring in his life for which he does not have answers. God presents himself in this section as the sovereign creator. Like Job, who knew nothing of the battle between God and the accuser, modern-day people of faith usually are not privy to God\u2019s plans and often fall prey to the heresy of retribution theology\u2014the belief that all suffering is the result of a particular sin. God\u2019s message to Job in his first interrogation, however, was \u201cIf you cannot understand the complexities of creation, how can you question the intricacies of God\u2019s plan for His creation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">God advances his instruction to Job with a number of examples from the animal kingdom. In this section God presents himself as the all-wise manager of creation\u2014he alone is Lord. God asks Job to explain the peculiarities of each animal, highlighting Job\u2019s inability to either understand or manage these wild creatures.God ends this section with a question and a challenge (40:1\u20132). The counsel God offers here indicates to Job and successive believers man\u2019s own weakness in explaining or managing his own life, especially crisis circumstances. Zuck states, \u201cSince Job could not conquer the symbols of chaos, mere animals, he could not possibly assume God\u2019s role and bring order into the moral realm.\u201dJob\u2019s response provides the corrective for the counselee who believes his own will should prevail over God\u2019s. If humans are so \u201csmall\u201d that they can neither explain nor control the functions of creation, how can those same humans presume to understand or control a crisis without God?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Furthermore, God singles out two animals for additional discussion concerning the ferocity of a crisis\u2014behemoth and leviathan. While scholars have presented satisfactory arguments concerning the identification of both of these animals,the truth portrayed in these animals is more significant than their exact identification.In the ancient world, these animals were emblematic of that which is chaotic, inexplicable, uncontrollable, and threatening.<em>Therefore, God\u2019s purpose in recording his conversation with Job is to redirect the sufferer away from trusting his own man-centered explanations and solutions to walking in faith with the sovereign God who understands and controls even the most terrifying of circumstances<\/em>. His illustration about leviathan provides the point of discussion for this essay, since this creature is the climax to God\u2019s corrective arguments with Job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7.0pt 'Times New Roman';\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Like leviathan, crisis circumstances represent <em>unalterable<\/em> ferocity (41:1\u201311). Therefore, a person cannot change them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">\u00b7<span style=\"font: 7.0pt 'Times New Roman';\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Like leviathan, crisis circumstances represent <em>overwhelming<\/em> ferocity (41:12\u201334). Therefore, a person cannot stand before them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Leviathan, therefore, stands as an example of the futility of man\u2019s attempts to either control or understand his crisis experience, for the only one who can is the sovereign God.<\/p>\n<h2>Like Leviathan, Crisis Circumstances represent<br \/>\nUnalterable Ferocity (41:1\u201311)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In this first section, God interrogates Job rhetorically concerning his inability to subdue leviathan (vv. 1\u20137). In a series of questions, many containing strong statements of irony, God teaches that leviathan resists capture or control (1\u20132), resists domestication (3\u20135), provides no useful com\u00admodity (6), and repels human attempts to destroy him (7). Each of these descriptions advances either the argument that man is limited in his understanding or that man can neither vanquish nor alter his circumstances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"BlockQuotation\">The overall message is that these are God\u2019s creations. They are under his control. He is the sovereign. The complementary lesson for Job was that he had no authority in these spheres. He too was a creature made by God to be submissive to his dominion. Job had more in common with leviathan, an angry creature stirring up his world, than he did with God, who effortlessly created and continues to control both Job\u2019s world and the entire cosmos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">People in crisis often presume that a chaotic crisis has no purpose for them. On the contrary, even if a particular purpose remains enigmatic, God can and will use even the worst of crises to demonstrate his own power and glory (cf. John 9:1ff). The counselor should remind the counselee that any crisis he experiences is an opportunity to display God\u2019s abundant glory and power, just as chaotic leviathan does. A problem often emerges with counselees, however, when they attempt to alter their circumstances through their own efforts. After demonstrating the inability of man in destroying leviathan, God summarizes the dangers in a somewhat humorous explanation in verse 8. The person who reaches out his hand to touch leviathan will never do it again and will never forget the experience. The end result of such a personal confrontation is the realization that any contrived hope the person has is false, particularly when he becomes detached from God\u2019s sovereign presence (v. 9).<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Furthermore, the absence of understanding concerning the purpose for a crisis does not mean there is no purpose. There are many aspects of God\u2019s creation that man in general does not understand\u2014asking this author about nuclear physics, for example, will result in a rather inane stare. The problem is that a crisis becomes such a personalized experience for the counselee; the person reasons that \u201csince this suffering is happening to me, I should know why I am suffering.\u201d Such a response makes two false assumptions. First, the person has an unbiblical view of his own life. He assesses his own authority, existence, and understanding to be supreme. He has elevated his own personal rights above the prerogatives of the sovereign God. Such a distorted assessment leads to the second flaw: the individual has an unbiblical view of God. Where Job was mistaken was in thinking that since there was no <em>revealed <\/em>purpose in his suffering, God must be capricious and arbitrary in his dealings with mankind. God had an unseen purpose, however, a purpose that he revealed only to the readers of the book. God\u2019s people today benefit from this revelation when they realize that, like Job, the ultimate purpose in their suffering may remain hidden from them indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Since God is independent of his creation, he is neither obligated to nor dependent upon mankind, except when he chooses to be. God has never obligated himself to man in providing specific revelation concerning every point of suffering. On the contrary, God has only obligated himself to his children in providing h<em>imself<\/em> in the midst of suffering. In other words, God does promise that he will never leave nor forsake, but he has not promised an explanation. He has promised that his grace will be suffi\u00adcient in suffering (2 Cor 12:9) and that his wisdom and revelation will guide the individual through the trouble (Jas 1:5). Man should recognize that a relationship with the Divine is certainly more comforting than any ultimate explanation. God emphasizes these points in his concluding verses (41:10\u201311) when he asks Job \u201cwho can stand before him\u201d and \u201cto whom does God owe anything?\u201d The point here is that if a person cannot stand against a created animal like leviathan, how can that person stand against God the creator in a challenge of wit and power? Furthermore, because God does not owe anything to man, he does not owe the sufferer an explanation either. The sufferer is left to conclude that he merely needs to trust the Almighty, for in doing so he will find real meaning for his suffering in God.<\/p>\n<h2>Like Leviathan, Crisis Circumstances represent Overwhelming Ferocity (41:12\u201334)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt;\">God has now demonstrated to Job that no sufferer can change or destroy leviathan. Leviathan represents unchangeable ferocity. His argument does not end there, however, but persists in demonstrating how fierce leviathan really is. His ferocity is overwhelming, causing any to cower in fear. To prove his point, God describes the physical features of leviathan (vv. 12\u201324), describing an animal that is so powerfully fierce that he instills nothing but fear in even the mightiest of men (v. 25).There is no quality to leviathan that elicits praise for his aesthetic or practical value. Because of leviathan\u2019s ferocity, there is no weapon that affects him (vv. 26\u201329). His powerful features and actions make him both fearless before man and fearsome to man (vv. 30\u201334). The implication here is that rather than standing in awe (fear) of leviathan, man should stand in awe of the God who made and sustains him. God\u2019s argument to Job looks like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\">T<\/span>here are created systems that are too fierce for man to control.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>I created them, understand them, and control them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Since I am sovereign over these systems, you can trust me to walk with you when suffering under these systems (42:2).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">God\u2019s arguments lead to an important conclusion. Since Job is not able to stand against leviathan, he is likewise not able to stand against a sovereign God. Therefore, since Job cannot contend with God, he must instead trust him. Only an omnipotent and loving God can shelter the person in crisis from both the real danger and his extreme fears, whether externally or internally generated. Alden explains: \u201cAs a mortal who could be killed by a crocodile, Job\u2019s only choice was to trust and obey Yahweh.\u201dRather than fighting God, therefore, the person in crisis must submit to God in humble trust and worship, even if he never understands God\u2019s purposes in the trial. Andersen comments,<\/p>\n<p class=\"BlockQuotation\">Job has never challenged God to a trial of sheer strength, as a man would who hunted a crocodile. The argument to the superior strength of God is made, not to discourage men from trying to have dealings with God, but to enhance God\u2019s capability of managing the affairs of the universe so that men will trust Him.<\/p>\n<h2>Crisis Answers for Comforting Pamela<\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">With all the theology of this text, how does the biblical counselor answer Pamela in a truthful and compassionate way? The biblical mandate for the counselor is not simply to teach her truth, although truth is essential, but to do so in a way that leads her towards biblical growth. Job\u2019s counselors were missing both precise theology and the compassionate care that Job needed. In contrast, however, God serves as the prototypical caregiver, providing both authoritative counsel and compassionate restorative care. When God is finished instructing Job, he possesses a proper understanding of both God and his suffering (42:1\u20136). The goal, therefore, is to lead the counselee into a more intimate relationship with God in the midst of suffering.In light of God\u2019s instruction, the counselor is able to present key principles from this text.<\/p>\n<h3>Know Him<\/h3>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">First, there are some events in life that are just too complicated for humans to comprehend. Even with today\u2019s technological advancements, there are some problems that evade human understanding. Invisible, but real, battles are occurring at any given time (Eph 6:10\u201317). Instead of wasting valuable resources on comprehending the incom\u00adprehensible, Pamela should focus her attention upon knowing the self-revealing God. Pamela can experience an intimate knowledge of God only as she walks with him in daily fellowship.<\/p>\n<h3>Trust Him<\/h3>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Second, God is the only one who knows the reason this tragedy has happened to Pamela at this time. If <em>the<\/em> purpose is not readily apparent, then Pamela\u2019s task is to simply trust that God\u2019s purposes are just and loving. God\u2019s providential plan may become evident in time, but even if it does not, God still knows the plan, is working the plan, and will fulfill his purposes in that plan. Although the \u201csecret\u201d purpose (cf. Deut 29:29) may remain elusive, Pamela needs to hear that God is accomplishing purposes through her life that are evident: God is making her holy, he is equipping her for ministry towards others, he is displaying his glory through her infirmities, he can use her testimony to touch the hearts of the lost, and he is drawing her to himself for a more intimate relationship. This trust is an active dependence upon God that acknowledges God\u2019s inherent trustworthiness. Such knowledge is based on the character of God rather than repetitious clich\u00e9s and hollow platitudes. The counselor, therefore, must lovingly and deliberately identify <em>specific ways<\/em> that Pamela should trust God rather than simply telling her to trust\u2014a truth that she probably already knows.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The personal crisis Job faced tested his faith in profoundly painful ways. Today\u2019s believers often face personal tests that are equally painful and challenging, although perhaps different in nature. In the midst of painful, chaotic, and confusing circumstances, sufferers often have questions that mere humans cannot answer with their finite knowledge. Sadly, like Job and his friends, wrong theology and \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d answers often add to the uncertainty and pain. Even in such situations, there is one solution that answers all uncertainty\u2014God. Whenever the person in crisis redirects his attention away from his own man-centered explanations and solutions, turning rather to God in faith, he will find God sufficient in providing comfort, meaning, and solutions in his suffering. Although a crisis may be both unchangeable and overwhelming, the sufferer, like Job, can walk with God and experience God himself. Likewise, sufferers today, like Pamela, need only to walk with him to find genuine meaning, purpose, and even joy in suffering.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" \/>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">For instance, the disciples had trouble understanding and accepting the Lord\u2019s impending death, even though Jesus plainly prepared them for the loss (Mark 8:31\u201333; Luke 18:31\u201334; 24:25).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">By \u201c<em>the <\/em>purpose,\u201d this author means the way in which God will use this specific trial to providentially accomplish his plan in the life of the individual. Although <em>the<\/em> purpose may not be clear (and perhaps never will be), the scriptures provide a multiplicity of sufficient purposes God has for allowing suffering, any one of which may be part of <em>the <\/em>purpose. A sampling of these purposes include: to display God\u2019s glory (John 9:1ff), to fulfill the curse on sin (Rom 8:18\u201320), to produce holiness in his children (Rom 8:28\u201330), and to provide compassion in ministry toward others (2 Cor 1:3\u20137). Admittedly, all suffering ultimately is traceable to the fall and resulting curse, but individual points of suffering are not necessarily the result of specific sin as evidenced in John 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Counselors often offer texts like Rom 8:28 hastily. Such an abrupt response with this text usually creates more pain than relief when offered too early in the crisis experience. Initially, the counselee needs reminders of God\u2019s <em>presence<\/em>. One indicator that a counselee is ready for teaching on God\u2019s <em>providence<\/em> is the acceptance of God\u2019s plan without knowing the end of the plan. For more on this topic, see Michael Bobick, \u201cThe Difference Christ Makes in a Crisis,\u201d <em>The Journal of Biblical Counseling <\/em>15 (Winter 2001): 14\u201319.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">One of the most difficult theological questions a counselor encounters in such situations relates to the justice of God in suffering and injustice (theodicy). In other words, is it God\u2019s will that a person sins (drunkenness) if he allows that person to strike another driver, either maiming or killing the other? Scriptures do provide answers in at least two examples. Although it is never God\u2019s will for people to sin, he may permit their sin to accomplish his ultimate will. For instance, it was God\u2019s will for his people to go into captivity, and yet he held Assyria and Babylon responsible for attacking Israel and Judah. It was God\u2019s will for Jesus to die as a substitute, but he held Israel responsible for crucifying the Lord (Acts 2:23; 4:25\u201327). These two examples demonstrate the balance between God\u2019s sovereignty and man\u2019s free will. These two axioms must remain in tension with one another. Kidner explains well: \u201cWhere we might wish to argue that omnipotence ought to have stamped out evil at its first appearance, God\u2019s chosen way was not to crush it out of hand but to wrestle with it; and to do so in weakness rather than in strength, through men more often than through miracles, and through costly permissions rather than through flat refusals. Putting the matter in our own terms we might say that he is resolved to overcome it in fair combat, <em>not by veto but by hard-won victory<\/em>.\u201d Derek Kidner, <em>The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job &amp; Ecclesiastes <\/em>(Downers Grove: IVP, 1985), 59. (Emphasis added)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">While much of the three friends\u2019 theology was correct, their application to Job was faulty in insisting his plight was due to specific sin when all the evidence was contrary to such a notion. See Kidner, 61, for further discussion. Additionally, Kidner connects the contemporary error of Prosperity Theology with this same faulty application (62).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">For literary analysis of Job, see Greg Parsons, \u201cJob, Theology of,\u201d in <em>The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, <\/em>Walter Elwell, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 415\u201319 or Lindsay Wilson, \u201cJob, Book of,\u201d in <em>Dictionary of Theological Interpretation of the Bible, <\/em>Kevin Vanhoozer, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 384\u201389.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">\u00a0Liberal scholars often debate the effectiveness or accuracy of Elihu\u2019s counsel. To the contrary, God does not correct Elihu\u2019s instruction as he does the other friends (42:7). As useful and accurate as Elihu\u2019s instruction was, his counsel fell short in restoring Job\u2014only an encounter with God would restore him. Job desired such an encounter but also lamented that God seemed so distant (23:3\u20134, 8).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">John E. Hartley, <em>The Book of Job, <\/em>The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 430.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Hartley, 491, states, \u201c[Job\u2019s] perception has been darkest when he has accused God of acting arbitrarily without regard for justice and when he has assumed that he himself could dispute with God as an equal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">To these questions Job wisely refrains from offering explanations before God (40:3\u20135). It appears that God\u2019s intent is to help Job comprehend that understanding is not found within his own wisdom, but in relationship to God Himself. In other words, God desires to prevent Job from sinning in arrogant responses to his suffering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">The author of Job consistently refers to Satan as <em>hasatan <\/em>(the article attached to the proper name)<em>, <\/em>a literary device that likely points out the character of Satan (\u201cThe Accuser\u201d) rather than just his identity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">God frames his questions around \u201cWhere were you . . . ?\u201d \u201cHave you . . . ?\u201d \u201cDo you know . . . ?\u201d and \u201cAre you able . . . ?\u201d These questions direct the readers to God\u2019s omnipotence, omni\u00adscience, omnipresence, eternality, and sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">God discusses these animals: lion, 38:39; raven, 38:41; mountain goat and doe, 39:1; wild donkey, 39:5; wild ox, 39:9; ostrich, 39:13; horse, 39:19; hawk and eagle, 39:26.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Roy B. Zuck, \u201cA Theology of the Wisdom Books and the Song of Songs,\u201d in <em>A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, <\/em>Roy Zuck, ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1991), 225.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">See Hartley, 521\u201322 and 530 for a scholarly discussion on identification of these animals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Many of these animals\u2019 characteristics argue for the hippopotamus and the crocodile respectively. Those charac\u00adteristics that do not fit such identifications may be attributed to either the poetic nature of the literature and hyperbole or may be indicative of animals that are now extinct. Since the identification of the animals is of lesser importance for the arguments of the book, this author will refrain from debate concerning them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Elmer B. Smick, <em>Job<\/em>, Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary [CD-ROM], Zondervan Reference Software 2.6, 1989\u201398.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">With each successive cycle of argumentation (nature, animals, behemoth, and leviathan), God crescendos to his climax in leviathan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Robert Alden, <em>Job, <\/em>New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993), 407.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Here scholars translate the Hebrew, <em>elohim, <\/em>either as [mythical] \u201cgods\u201d or as \u201cmighty\u201d [men]. Most choose the latter since a description of mythical gods does not fit God\u2019s intent to describe the natural world. Furthermore, the ancients often referred to \u201cmighty men\u201d as <em>elohim <\/em>(cf. Gen 6:2). The author accepts the latter explanation as both contextually and exegetically superior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Alden, 400.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">Francis Andersen, <em>Job, <\/em>Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: IVP, 1976), 290.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3.0pt;\">See John Piper and David Powlison, \u201cDon\u2019t Waste Your Cancer,\u201d <em>The Journal of Biblical Counseling <\/em>(Spring 2006): 2\u20138. Also available in John Piper and Justin Taylor, eds., <em>Suffering and the Sovereignty of God <\/em>(Wheaton: Crossway, 2006), 207\u201317.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Answering Tough Questions When We Do Not Know the Answers &nbsp; Pamela, a 27 year old college graduate, is facing a hopeful future as a budding graphic artist. 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