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Acting as a wisdom teacher, the Lord employs the didactic method of interrogation. His questions are concerned with nature, a common medium in Wisdom Literature (1Ki 4:33). The questions put to Job are ironic in nature since the situation is not simply instructional but also polemical (Bergant, 180).
The Lord does not directly address Job’s situation. No reference is made to his suffering or his alleged sinfulness. None of Job’s questions is answered directly, yet when the Lord is finished, Job is satisfied. Something about the speeches satisfies and rehabilitates Job. But what? Several suggestions have been offered. Among them are the following.
Since the Lord’s speeches are difficult and seemingly unrelated to Job’s sufferings, the answer is not to be found in their words but rather in the appearance of the Lord himself. It is not so much what the Lord says as the fact that he showed up. The theophany itself rehabilitates Job.
God’s concentration in his speeches on nature is for the purpose of causing Job to realize the complexity and immensity of this world. Throughout the book he has been engrossed with his own affairs. Now he sees himself and his suffering in terms of God’s management of the world. Perspective makes the difference.
The issue addressed by the Lord is not the “why” of suffering, for which there is no answer, but rather with the “how” of suffering. Proper conduct is not arrogant or challenging, but humble and silent. Job is rebuked for being confrontational. This is the reason for his repentance.
A final suggestion is that these speeches demonstrate that the Lord is not subject to the patterns of earthly courts when it comes to the administration of justice. He determines what is right and gives to each creature what is appropriate. Since each contains some compelling truths, perhaps elements from each are needed to represent the purpose for the speeches.
In the first speech the initial group of questions addresses the creation of the land (38:4-7) and of the sea (vv.8-11). The next set turns from creation to management—the management of the inanimate world (vv.12-38) and the animals (38:39-39:30).
The Lord concludes his first speech with a challenge to Job to answer him and to correct him (40:2). Job chooses not to do this, opting for silence (vv.4-5). Job does not suggest that he has nothing to say but that he will not verbalize his thoughts. Job may be subdued, but he is not vanquished. Thus the Lord begins again.