God rules the natural order with sovereign creative power.
“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?” (v.28) appears in the midst of the LORD’s whirlwind speech to Job, where He poses a series of rhetorical questions highlighting His unsearchable power and wisdom. Earlier, God had asked Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, or whether Job could command the morning to appear (Job 38:4, 12). These questions place Job, a man living around the time of the Patriarchs (c. 2000 BC), in proper perspective before the Creator. The inquiry about the rain and dew calls to mind God’s absolute sovereignty over nature—only He can direct such wonders, and only He truly comprehends their origin.
When God asks, “Has the rain a father?” He reveals that no human being causes the life-giving resources upon which creation depends. Likewise, “Or who has begotten the drops of dew?” underscores that even this gentle moisture, so vital to crops in lands with scarce precipitation, comes from God alone. Like other cosmic elements mentioned in this chapter, rain and dew serve to demonstrate humanity’s limited capacity in the face of the LORD’s infinite understanding. Rather than explaining the details of why suffering happens, God is “exploding” with questions that display His grandeur and lordship, reminding Job that he lacks the comprehensive knowledge necessary to judge God’s ways.
In Job’s time (and our own), farmers and herdsmen relied on dew and rain for survival, yet they could neither predict nor produce them. This passage reminds readers that if the seemingly mundane droplets of water are evidence of God’s creative design, how much more must human lives yield to the wisdom of the Almighty. By referencing such unmistakable manifestations in nature, the LORD shows that He alone holds authority over the earth and its forces—qualities no mortal man can claim.
Set to dark mode
Job 38:28 meaning
“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?” (v.28) appears in the midst of the LORD’s whirlwind speech to Job, where He poses a series of rhetorical questions highlighting His unsearchable power and wisdom. Earlier, God had asked Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, or whether Job could command the morning to appear (Job 38:4, 12). These questions place Job, a man living around the time of the Patriarchs (c. 2000 BC), in proper perspective before the Creator. The inquiry about the rain and dew calls to mind God’s absolute sovereignty over nature—only He can direct such wonders, and only He truly comprehends their origin.
When God asks, “Has the rain a father?” He reveals that no human being causes the life-giving resources upon which creation depends. Likewise, “Or who has begotten the drops of dew?” underscores that even this gentle moisture, so vital to crops in lands with scarce precipitation, comes from God alone. Like other cosmic elements mentioned in this chapter, rain and dew serve to demonstrate humanity’s limited capacity in the face of the LORD’s infinite understanding. Rather than explaining the details of why suffering happens, God is “exploding” with questions that display His grandeur and lordship, reminding Job that he lacks the comprehensive knowledge necessary to judge God’s ways.
In Job’s time (and our own), farmers and herdsmen relied on dew and rain for survival, yet they could neither predict nor produce them. This passage reminds readers that if the seemingly mundane droplets of water are evidence of God’s creative design, how much more must human lives yield to the wisdom of the Almighty. By referencing such unmistakable manifestations in nature, the LORD shows that He alone holds authority over the earth and its forces—qualities no mortal man can claim.