Thy Strong Word - Job 40: The Lord Challenges Job - Pt 1

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon, LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain.

With guest Rev. John Lukomski from Trinity Lutheran Church in Darmstadt & St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Athens, Illinois.

Job 40

40 And the Lord said to Job:

²“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

³Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

⁶Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

⁷“Dress for action^[a] like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
⁹Have you an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
    clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
¹²Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
    and tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³Hide them all in the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.^[b]
¹⁴Then will I also acknowledge to you
    that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵“Behold, Behemoth,^[c]
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹“He is the first of the works^[d] of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
²⁰For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
²¹Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴Can one take him by his eyes,^[e]
    or pierce his nose with a snare?

Footnotes:

Job 40:7 Hebrew Gird up your loins
Job 40:13 Hebrew in the hidden place
Job 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown
Job 40:19 Hebrew ways
Job 40:24 Or in his sight

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.