Job 26:1  But Job answered and said,
2  How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
3  How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
4  To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
5  Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6  Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7  He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8  He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
9  He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10  He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
11  The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
12  He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14  Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

It is good to take inventory of our motives and the effects of our actions. We know that God’s Word is always right. We know that many people are affected negatively by God’s Word. The reason for that is that people reject God’s Word and they take offence to the truth.
In our text, Job asked Bildad who was helped with what he had said. He did not help his friends. He did not help Job. It was not that Job was resisting the truth. Job was seeking the truth. He wanted to hear from God.
Bildad and his friends assumed they were appointed by God to answer Job. They assumed that, but they were not called by God. They did not know God and He did not call upon them to send a message to Job. They were employed by the devil. Thus Job asked Bildad who was helped by his words. How did his words help a person that was already down. A man that is down needs to be lifted up, not with flattery, but with truth.
In verse 3 Job asked how a person lacking in wisdom would be helped by Bildad. Again, since Bildad was not speaking the truth, there would be no help there. It is interesting to note how many people waste their time listening to individuals who have proven to be false teachers. What is the point. It is interesting that people still support the New Evangelical crowd even though they have nothing to offer. When you look at the immorality and the shallowness of the preaching and the atmosphere in those churches, what is the point of attending? There is no point and yet people flock to those places. They get to laugh and to meet others of like mind. It is a social club, and a bad one at that.
Beginning in verse 5, Job reminded Bildad and the others of the greatness of God. He began by reminding these men that dead things are from under the waters. It is difficult to understand this portion but it seems, by the context, to be speaking of the judgment of the lost. It seems to speak of the location of hell, which is under the water. God’s judgment and His authority is over all.
Job stated that Hell is not hidden from God. Those who go there have no refuge. They have no protection from the wrath of God. This verse and many others reminds us that at death, the wicked go immediately to hell. There is no delay. There is no soul sleep. God talks of people like Lazarus, who Jesus said was asleep. The Bible speaks in a much kinder manner about saints that have died, than of the ungodly that die. Saints move immediately from this life into heaven. The soul of the saved person is immediately at rest in Christ. This cannot be said of the lost.
Job did not believe in evolution. He did not even believe in “theistic evolution.” He rightly stated that God hung the earth on nothing. He also stated that God keeps the waters in their place. He keeps some of them in the clouds and yet the clouds do not get torn apart. We have heard of some major storms in recent days. There are times when there are downpours that cause flash flooding. God is in control of that. It is not “man-made climate change” that is causing these things. God is in charge of the climate and the weather. He uses it for His purposes. Rather than worshipping the creature, man needs to worship the Creator.
God is not like man. Often men who have power and wealth want to put that on display. They want others to see their power. God described the throne of king Solomon. His throne was more magnificent than any other king. Yet his throne is nothing compared to God’s throne. God does not allow man to see His throne at this time. Those who enter heaven will see His throne and be in awe of Him that sits upon the throne.
On earth, the waters are limited by God. We need to travel to a lake or a stream. We do not need to fear that the entire world will be flooded with water again. God did that in the days of Noah, but not again. The Red River and some others flood most years but even then, their flooding is limited. God set the limits and the waters stay within those limits. The foolishness of men like Al Gore, who “predicted” large portions of the seacoasts would be under water due to “global warming”, are blowing off hot air but it has no substance.
Job also described the thunder in the heavens. We can feel the earth shaking at times with the thunder. There is great power in that.
God divided the waters into seas. The waters can be rough but they do not spill over into other places. The waters remain within their God-given boundaries. God also is able to humble the proud. People can be quite arrogant, but God is able to put them in their place.
The stars give natural light and they also cause the wise to be in awe of the true God. In big cities the inhabitants cannot enjoy the night sky as those in the country can. The street lights and other lights interfere with the ability to look into the night sky and wonder at God’s creation.
Job also noted that God created the crooked serpent. Some have suggested this is in reference to a constellation in the sky. It may be that there was such a constellation at one time. I am not aware of such a one now. Others have suggested that this is a reference to the snake on earth. We know that the serpent was cursed at the fall. He was not originally created as we see them today.
In verse 14 Job concluded that all of this is just part of God’s ways. God is much greater than all these things. He is much greater than all of His creation. We can never know the fullness and the greatness of God on this earth.

Psalm 19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Job ended with the reminder again of the thunder of God. The power that is released in that thunder. There is so much we do not fully fathom of the greatness of God. It is foolish to distort who God is, like Bildad and his friends did. It is wise to acknowledge His greatness and that we are very limited in our understanding of His greatness.
Pastor Bartel