Job 38:25-30

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 38:25-41

Hitherto God had put such questions to Job as were proper to convince him of his ignorance and short-sightedness. Now he comes, in the same manner, to show his impotency and weakness. As it is but little that he knows, and therefore he ought not to arraign the divine counsels, so it is but little that he can do, and therefore he ought not to oppose the proceedings of Providence. Let him consider what great things God does, and try whether he can do the like, or whether he thinks himself an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:25

Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters ,.... For a very large shower of rain, as the Vulgate Latin version: for this is not to be understood of an aqueduct, channel, or canal made on earth, either for the draining of waters off of land overflowed thereby, or for the conveyance of it to different parts to overflow it; such as were cut out of the Nile in Egypt, for the overflowing of the land, to make it fruitful; such may be and have been made by men: but of a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:26

To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is ; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man. Which is uninhabited by men, being so dry and barren; where there is no man to cultivate and water it, as gardens are; and where is no man to receive any advantage by the rain that comes upon it; and yet the Lord sends it for the use of animals that dwell there; which shows his care and providence with respect even to the wild beasts of the earth. This may be an emblem of the rain of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:27

To satisfy the desolate and waste ground ,.... Which is exceeding desolate, and therefore two such words are used to express it; which is so dry and thirsty that it is one of the four things that say not it is enough, Proverbs 30:16 ; and yet God can and does give it rain to its full satisfaction, Psalm 104:13 ; so the Lord satisfies souls, comparable to dry and thirsty ground, by his word and ordinances, with the goodness and fatness of his house; see Psalm 63:1 ; and to cause... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:28

Hath the rain a father ?.... None but God; hence the Heathens themselves call God γετιος F25 Aristot. de Mundo, c. 7. , and ομβριος F26 Pausan. Attica, sive, l. 1. p. 60. ; see Jeremiah 14:22 ; he that is our Father in heaven is the Father of rain, and him only; whatever secondary causes there be, God only is the efficient cause, parent, and producer of it: so the Gospel is not of men but of God, is a gift of his, comes down from heaven, tarries not for men, and is a great... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice ?.... The parent of the rain and dew is the parent of the ice also, and he only; it is therefore called "his ice", his child, his offspring, Psalm 147:17 . Here the Lord is represented as a mother, and so he is by Orpheus F2 Apud Clement. Stromat. l. 5. p. 608. called "metropator", or "mother-father"; and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ? this is of God, and by his breath; see Job 37:10 . read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:30

The waters are hid as with a stone ,.... The surface of the waters by frost become as hard as a stone, and will bear great burdens, and admit of carriages to pass over them F3 "Nunc hospita plaustris", &c.; Virg. Georgic. l. 3. v. 362. where ships went before; so that the waters under them are hid and quite out of sight: an emblem of the hard heart of man, which can only be thawed by the power and grace of God, by the south wind of the Spirit blowing, and the "sun of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:25

Divided a water-course - The original תעלה tealah , from עלה alah , to ascend, may signify rather a cloud, or clouds in general, where the waters are stored up. I cannot see how the overflowings or torrents of water can be said to ascend any other way than by evaporation; and it is by this Divine contrivance that the earth is not only irrigated, but even dried; and by this means too much moisture is not permitted to lie upon the ground, which would not only be injurious to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:26

To cause it to rain on the earth - It is well known that rain falls copiously in thunder-storms. The flash is first seen, the clap is next heard, and last the rain descends. The lightning travels all lengths in no perceivable succession of time. Sound is propagated at the rate of 1142 feet in a second. Rain travels still more slowly, and will be seen sooner or later according to the weight of the drops, and the distance of the cloud from the place of the spectator. Now the flash, the clap,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:27

To satisfy the desolate and waste - The thunder cloud not only explodes over inhabited countries, that the air may be purified and the rain sent down to fertilize the earth, but it is conducted over deserts where there is no human inhabitant; and this to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth: for there are beasts, fowls, and insects, that inhabit the desert and the wilderness, and must be nourished by the productions of the ground. Every tribe of animals was made by the hand of... read more

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