“I am nothing. How could I ever find the answers?”
Life is full of seemingly unanswerable questions. But God is the Author of life; He alone has the answers. They are revealed only to those who, like Job, have reached this same conclusion.
None of them (Job 39)
The wild donkey, the proud stallion, the soaring eagle, even the dim-witted ostrich give the Lord pleasure. These creatures all do what they were created to do.
But none of them was made in God’s image. None of them was given a soul. None of them was created to worship. None of them have to deal with unanswered questions. None of them can give the Lord pleasure through their faith and obedience.
The only appropriate response (Job 38)
How awesome it must have been to hear the Lord speak out of the whirlwind – in an audible voice.
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Silence is the only appropriate response.
On this very rare occasion the Lord speaks out of the whirlwind. For the most part, he speaks in the whirlwind, and in the rainstorm, and in the sunset. There is much to be learned about the Designer by studying the design. And yet it is only the beginning…
All of these (Job 37)
Powerful.
Personal.
Pure.
Passionate.
Patient.
Perfect.
The God of heaven and earth, life and death, now and forever is all of these.
The Almighty must choose for us (Job 36)
“But by means of their suffering he rescues those who suffer, for he gets their attention through adversity.”
God rescues those who suffer. How? Does he heal their diseases? Does he deliver them from those who oppress them? He may certainly do that. God is sovereign after all.
But, as this verse suggests, He may choose instead to rescue those who suffer through their suffering, rather than from it. And if this is true, then adversity is not simply a sword in the hand of a Judge; it may rather be a textbook in the hand of a Teacher.
There is no salvation in suffering alone, but neither is there any salvation without it. The Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head, but his heel will be badly bruised in the process.
How much there is to learn through adversity, yet even so, no one would willingly choose it. The Almighty must choose for us.
Hearing and listening (Job 35)
“But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen, to say the Almighty isn’t concerned.”
Hearing and listening are two different things. Sure, He hears. God is God.
But it is wrong to say that he doesn’t listen, because that implies he is not really interested, doesn’t care.
And if the Sovereign God of the universe doesn’t care…
Perhaps (Job 34)
Elihu continues, “[Job] chooses evil people as companions. He spends his time with wicked men.” How long has Elihu known Job? Has he been listening to what Job has been saying? If so, how can he say this? It just isn’t true.
“You have added rebellion to your sin. You show no respect. You have spoken many angry words against God.” Perhaps. But since God knows our thoughts; is it wrong to give them voice? Would God rather have us complain to him, or ignore him altogether? Cain murdered his own brother, yet God listened to him and modified his sentence in response to his complaint. What do we do with our pain, our disappointment, our anger when we feel God has been unfair to us? Job cried out to God, at times nobly, at times in bitterness of soul. If we can’t pour our heart out to God, then to whom can we pour it out?
Man is but a creature (Job 33)
“God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy.”
What is man, that the Almighty should pick a quarrel with him? Man is but a creature. God is the Creator, the Watcher, the Judge and the Redeemer of mankind.
Who is this guy? (Job 32)
Elihu the Buzite, a young man, has waited his turn to speak. Who is this guy? Friend or foe? He is angry at Job for maintaining his innocence, and angry at Job’s “friends” for their inept arguments.
To his credit, Elihu has waited a long time before speaking.
Job rests his case (Job 31)
Job rests his case with these thoughts: God is sovereign in the affairs of men. If He is not for me, he must be against me. If he is not blessing me, I must be under his curse. But here I must complain! I have done nothing wrong! I do not deserve this! “Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.” Let me list for you the good things I have done, and the bad things I have not done. And let the Almighty answer me.
Is the sovereign God on trial? Is He the enemy? Is the One who sees and knows everything aloof? “What [then] is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?”
