"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind ('storm')." (Job 38:1, NIV)
I wonder if it occurred to the "theologians" of the Book of Job to wait for this moment. Nevertheless, our text records that Jesus finally called a halt to the war of words among Job, his three friends, and Elihu. Now, "The Word of God," says to Job, "I will question you...." This is one of the most sobering passages of "Holy Writ." God has heard everything. Now He is about to answer all of Job questions? No, because Job could not understand the "answers" even if there are any.
Consider some of what Jesus said to Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?...Where were you when...the sea...burst forth..., when I said, 'This far you may come, but no farther'...? Have you commanded the morning since your days began...? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,..where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man?" Yes, there are many "places" in the earth and the Universe where, "....there is no man". Yet, there is the Blessed Trinity. He is where you and I are. He is where you and I are not. Life goes on in Alexanderplatz, even when I am not there.
Jesus lives in you and me now, but the Living Triune God, revealed in Jesus is, "from Everlasting to Everlasting...God." I think I can say that He is the Great "Bookends of Eternity," nothing before Him, nothing after Him, "Before Abraham was, I AM." No one, no preacher, teacher, etc., can speak of God the way God speaks of God. That is a reason it is absolutely imperative that you and I give ourselves daily to, "the Words of God."
For me, the Book of Job is not so much about "trouble," or "trials," or suffering. The Book of Job is about mankind's total lack of understanding about, "the deep things of God." Yes, the Holy Spirit does reveal, "deep things (or, 'depths') of God," to those in whom Jesus Christ lives and the Holy Spirit rules. But the Book of Job also teaches us that there is, and probably always will be, for "saved" and "unsaved" alike, "Where were you when..?"
If you are struggling today with questions, with suffering, with loneliness, disillusionment, I suggest a "journey" expressed in the old song, "I Stood At Calvary." And, "When I survey the wondrous Cross on which the Prince of Glory died," I hear again those words, "Where were you when...?"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I confess that there is a very real sense in which I not only don't know where I was, but where I am. I rest that not-knowing in You. Amen.
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I wonder if it occurred to the "theologians" of the Book of Job to wait for this moment. Nevertheless, our text records that Jesus finally called a halt to the war of words among Job, his three friends, and Elihu. Now, "The Word of God," says to Job, "I will question you...." This is one of the most sobering passages of "Holy Writ." God has heard everything. Now He is about to answer all of Job questions? No, because Job could not understand the "answers" even if there are any.
Consider some of what Jesus said to Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?...Where were you when...the sea...burst forth..., when I said, 'This far you may come, but no farther'...? Have you commanded the morning since your days began...? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,..where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man?" Yes, there are many "places" in the earth and the Universe where, "....there is no man". Yet, there is the Blessed Trinity. He is where you and I are. He is where you and I are not. Life goes on in Alexanderplatz, even when I am not there.
Jesus lives in you and me now, but the Living Triune God, revealed in Jesus is, "from Everlasting to Everlasting...God." I think I can say that He is the Great "Bookends of Eternity," nothing before Him, nothing after Him, "Before Abraham was, I AM." No one, no preacher, teacher, etc., can speak of God the way God speaks of God. That is a reason it is absolutely imperative that you and I give ourselves daily to, "the Words of God."
For me, the Book of Job is not so much about "trouble," or "trials," or suffering. The Book of Job is about mankind's total lack of understanding about, "the deep things of God." Yes, the Holy Spirit does reveal, "deep things (or, 'depths') of God," to those in whom Jesus Christ lives and the Holy Spirit rules. But the Book of Job also teaches us that there is, and probably always will be, for "saved" and "unsaved" alike, "Where were you when..?"
If you are struggling today with questions, with suffering, with loneliness, disillusionment, I suggest a "journey" expressed in the old song, "I Stood At Calvary." And, "When I survey the wondrous Cross on which the Prince of Glory died," I hear again those words, "Where were you when...?"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I confess that there is a very real sense in which I not only don't know where I was, but where I am. I rest that not-knowing in You. Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
