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The second speech begins with a challenge to Job to take his turn at the running of the world (40:8-14). Does he have the power and resources to do so. Can he manage the proud and the wicked? Job must show an ability to cope with evil. Here we arrive at the heart of the book. God’s way of handling evil has been challenged. Can Job do better? Then let him do it, and God will acknowledge his power (v.14).
The rest of this speech is devoted to a treatment of the behemoth (40:15-24) and leviathan (41:1-34). These beasts are viewed by some as natural, by others as mythical. They appear in ancient myths and apocalyptic writings. Behemoth is pictured as the land monster of chaos, while leviathan is considered the sea monster of chaos.
After this speech Job concedes that he addressed matters he did not understand (42:3). Since Job had always recognized that God can do all things (v.3), he gained insight into the justice of God through his sufferings. His hope, expressed in 19:27, is now realized. He had previously only heard, but now he has seen (v.5). Hearing suggests the inherited, the second hand. While such a knowledge may be adequate in prosperous times, it is not sufficient for times of suffering. Having seen God, Job can now confront his sufferings.
Job’s acute awareness of God leads him to repentance (42:6). This repentance must pertain to the words of haste and ignorance he spoke after his suffering began. Since sin did not cause his suffering, his repentance cannot be in that area. Job now sits and worships. He is satisfied.