Job 38:3 | DiscipleDeck

Bible Commentary

Job 38:3

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public Domain

Gird up now thy loins like a man. Job had desired to contend with God, to plead with him, and argue out his case (Job 9:32-35; Job 13:3, Job 13:18-22; Job 23:4-7; Job 31:35). God now offers to grant his request, and bids him stand forth "as a man'" and "gird himself" for the contest, which he has challenged.

For I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. He will begin with interrogatories which Job must answer; then Job will be entitled to put questions to him. Job, however, on the opportunity being given him, shrinks back, and says, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?

I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken: but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further" (Job 40:4, Job 40:5). The confident boldness which he felt when God seemed far off disappears in his presence, and is replaced by diffidence and distrust.

The Daily Devotional

One devotional. Every morning.

The full reading, the passage behind it, and where to go deeper — in your inbox before the day starts. No ads, ever.

We'll send one email to confirm it's really you. Unsubscribe in one tap, any time.

Continue tomorrow

Turn Bible study into a daily habit

Read today's devotional, save your progress, and receive a gentle daily reminder.

Read today's devotional Save my progress

More for Job 38:3

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

Job 38 — OverviewJob 38 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleIn most disputes the strife is who shall have the last word. Job's friends had, in this controversy, tamely yielded it to Job, and then he to Elihu. But, after all the wranglings of the counsel at bar, the…Job 38 — OverviewJob 38 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeJob 38:1, God challenges Job to answer; Job 38:4, God, by his mighty works, convinces Job of ignorance, Job 38:31, and of imbecility.Job 38 — OverviewJob 38 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleIn this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it Job 38:1-3Job 38:1-3 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleLet us observe here, 1. Who speaks--The Lord, Jehovah, not a created angel, but the eternal Word himself, the second person in the blessed Trinity, for it is he by whom the worlds were made, and that was no…Job 38:1-3Job 38:1-3 · The Pulpit CommentaryJehovah to Job: the first answer-the theophany. I. THE LORD'S APPEARANCE TO JOB. 1. The time of this appearance. At the close of Elihu's address. Not too soon, when neither had Elihu finished his expositions nor had…Job 38:1-41Job 38:1-41 · The Pulpit CommentaryCLOSE OF THE CONTROVERSY BY THE INTERFERENCE OF THE ALMIGHTY. EXPOSITION The discourse, by which the Almighty answers Job and rebukes his "friends," occupies four chapters (ch. 38-41.). It is broken into two parts by…

commentaryRecommended resourceExplore this resource connected to the verse you are reading.commentaryRecommended resourceExplore this resource connected to the verse you are reading.commentaryRecommended resourceExplore this resource connected to the verse you are reading.commentaryRecommended resourceExplore this resource connected to the verse you are reading.sermonBeholding and InquiringIn this verse, so full of riches, we have the spiritual ambition of the psalmist, and the notable thing is how his single purpose resolves itself into two...George H. Morrison