The Devotional - 49

The Devotional

Comment:

I do suppose that if it were not for God’s love and grace; all of mankind would have ceased long, long ago. If a man were God; that is someone like you or me, human life would be null and void. If you or I were God we would destroy man and simply watch Creation. All of the men in Job’s life at the time of His suffering talk of the power and majesty of creation. The only comments of condemnation are directed at Job and people like Job who has in their thinking been a deceiver, a thug and a wretch of a man his whole life. Even his wife must have concluded that she married someone whom she really didn’t know as she says, taunting Job. “Curse God and die”! We can understand her pain, can we not? Like Job she has lost everything, it is not as if she is a bystander in Job’s suffering, maybe she would like to be dead herself with all this recent loss. In the minds of all of the people involved here is, “Job is suffering for wrong doing, thus being wicked, death is the reward”. But is this true? The answer of course is NO this is not true – 1 Peter 5:5-11 or 2 Peter 3:9.    

Challenge: Job 38

Out of Creation, God responds to Job. Job has requested, even demanded an audience with God. Surely you and I have done the same in times past and surely there are those around us who have echoed Job’s friends. Like Elihu, we hear them say things like, “Bear with me a little longer friend that there is more to be said on God’s behalf. I get my knowledge from afar.” Thinking to myself every time I read that passage “Really Elihu; how’s that working out for you”? “Wait a minute please don’t tell me”!

While there are truths expressed by Elihu, his discourse is mixed with a “blizzard” of pride. It seems that with his discourse God has had enough of man’s arrogant pride and out of a “whirlwind” the LORD breaks into Elihu’s conversation and all talked by everyone except God ceases. God says; speaking only to Job, “Who is this that darkens counsel with words without knowledge”! In control (God is always in control) He says to Job, “Brace yourself like a man (integrity Job) I will question you and you will answer me.

I sense an immediate “Fear of the LORD” came over Job, we could say that this fear was already there, but I believe that God sort of shored up some of the frail edges of uncertainty. God provides His Majesty to Job with a series of Questions that really no one can answer. Now Job if you remember has a list of questions himself, but he never gets an opportunity to ask God, he must be quiet and listen. A parallel passage is Proverbs 8:1-36.

Also this reminds me of the number of times I have said, “God has answered my prayer, but not in the way I asked Him too”! Thank God since His way are always from the platform of His Character and not from the frail mind of one who is, such a one as Job or you or I. I do not want to sound like Job’s friends so I must be careful. God continues to question Job with questions he cannot answer. Job 38:32 – have you Job been inside the storehouses of snow or seen where I keep the hail stones. Have you determined how all of this produces one twig of grass? Job does rain have a father?

From whose womb does ice come? Can you understand the planets courses, can you control the seasons of time with the universe? Does creation report to you? Can you count the clouds, Job? Job, all of creation cries out and is satisfied. Do you have a part in satisfying the lioness, her cubs or even the ravens whose young cry out to Me for lack of food? We will stop here this morning, but these thoughts are more that worthy to think about all day long. God is in control, not man. His ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts, our thoughts. Isaiah has something to say about this in Isaiah 55:1-13 as in the end we will have peace with God at last, that is if we are His child.