Job 38

The rain is falling outside. It’s hitting the metal porch roof on this old farmhouse. I have the window open so I can hear its music, lovely and comforting. God promises His people in Hosea and in Joel (see Hosea 6:1-3 and Joel 2:23) that He will come to them like the early, gentle rain and also like the latter, driving rain. Nourishing, cleansing, refreshing, sustaining rain.

But the Lord doesn’t come to Job with gentle rain. He speaks to Job out of a whirlwind. Here is the King of kings, arriving on a tornado-chariot with questions that would make Job’s heart melt and his bones dissolve. How does Job survive this encounter? Only by God’s grace.

God Himself answers Job. This is mercy – to have a multitude of questions, unbearable struggles, deep heartache, and to ask God about it; to ask, “Why, Lord?” and “How long?” And then, for God Himself to answer. His presence is the best answer, God speaking, knowing, seeing, hearing. When the storm is blowing, and the waves are rolling into the boat, the best plan is to curl up next to the Savior in the boat. There, we are safe.

God answers Job’s questions with questions. “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” And God confronts Job – stand up, man! “Dress for action like a man; I will question you…” Questions bring conviction in a willing heart.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Job 38:4-7

I love the visual of the stars singing together at the beginning as God created the world. So much joy! C. S. Lewis does an excellent job of describing a similar scene in his book The Magician’s Nephew, as Aslan sings Narnia into existence and the stars join in.

Job did not hear the stars sing at the beginning; no human did. The song was glorious on its own – no audience required, though the angels were present and shouted with great joy. Job also was not present when God set a boundary for the sea He made. “This far shall you come, and no farther…” And Job was not present when God created the morning, the sun that breaks on the horizon and rises in the east. “Have you commanded the morning…?”

Job had no deep sea diving experience. He had not walked along the bottom of the Challenger Deep at the south end of the Mariana Trench, 35,800 some feet below breathable air (described HERE). But God knows what is there. Every inch is known to Him, and nothing is hidden from Him, not the depths of the oceans or the depths of our own hearts (Psalm 139:7-12; Hebrews 4:12-13). Even if Job could have glimpsed the deepest parts of the ocean (v. 16), or the farthest reaches of the expanse of space (v. 19-20); even if he could have walked on the surface of the sun and seen how the planets move around it, how solar events cause the impressive northern auroras on earth, even if…he would still have been unable to comprehend it (v. 18), control it, direct it (v. 20), explain it, create it, maintain it. Only God.

And what of us? We see farther into space now than Job ever did. We have taken submarines to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, we have explored deep parts of the earth, the surface of the moon, of Mars, and seen pictures of cosmic bodies that would have paralyzed Job and his friends in wonder. Are we more in awe of God than Job? Has our advanced technology drawn us closer to the Creator? We think we know so much, but there are still many unseen wonders on our planet alone and countless more in the universe.

Consider the snow, the hail, the frost and ice. What do we know about the architectural design of each snowflake? The water wraps itself around a speck of dust and freezes in perfect symmetry, and we think we know about snow. Explain why rain falls in one area and not another. The earth needs rain to grow and thrive. Humans need the rain to water their crops and fill the wells and waterways. Yes, we know about the science; we know HOW it works, but why does it even exist?

And even more, are we able to make the constellations move in the night sky? They do move; they have. We have a new North Star every 26,000 years – in roughly 12,000 years, Vega will once again be our North Star, and Polaris will be demoted (You can read about it HERE). God is unsurprised by this – He planned for it, He has a name for every star in the heavens (Isaiah 40). Yet we think we understand the movements of the stars and planets.

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Job 38: 31-33

We wander about on our planet, examining the wonders of His hands like children on a field trip, trying to grasp the complexities of a pinecone with its perfect equation of scales and spirals. When Fibonacci discovered this golden sequence of numbers, did he also think he had power over it in creation? Did he imagine for one second that he could create something as pristine as a pinecone or a seashell? God has placed it there for our enjoyment, our amazement, and His glory. We should be left speechless, humbled, amazed.

But still we question His ways. Rightly could the King of the Universe ask us, could ask me, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”