Ep. 131. Job Part 4 | God Speaks

EPISODE 131

GOD SPEAKS: JOB PART 4

Chapters 38-41 of Job have to be some of my absolute favorites in the Bible. The rebuke Job received here is one I've felt, on some level, more than once in my life. After Job had whined and the four friends had spoken, it was time for God to break his silence.

"Job, you have so much understanding; you must have been there when I laid the foundation of the earth. You must know its measurements. Was it you who shut in the ocean and made a boundary for its waves? Or did you lead forth all the stars? Certainly, you command the dawn. You know the deep places of the sea, right? Do you know where the gates of death are? Speak up since you are so wise. Where is the dwelling place of light and dark? You were born then, and the number of your days is SO GREAT (insert sarcasm here). Do you water the earth? Have you fed the wild beasts? Do the ravens cry out to you for food? Can you take the Leviathan by his nose? Can you destroy the wicked and bring them to nothing? Can you clothe yourself with majesty, glory, and splendor? Answer me."

The questions go on and on. I imagine Job, in the face of such overwhelming power and wisdom, getting a little smaller and a little lower to the ground with each one. Can you fathom this? No, seriously, take a moment. Pretend you are Job, bitter towards God, discouraged by your friends, and then a whirlwind whips about you grabbing at your clothing and throwing dirt and rocks into the air. From the whirlwind comes a voice, it is the very voice of God. He fires question after question at you. 

"Will you condemn me, Job, so that you can justify yourself?"

Though you have not been able to comprehend the myriad trials that have come upon you in the preceding days, you now realize you are also not capable of understanding the mysteries of God. You realize you spoke out of frustration and anger. You realize your words were too hasty. But there is blessing in the realization, and you find new words, "I have uttered things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I had heard about you with my ear, but now my eyes behold you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." 

From the depths of suffering and brokenness, from the whirlwind of the Lord, a profound change emerged. Job was forever altered. The God he had only heard about, he had now beheld. May we, like Job, remember the magnitude of God and rejoice that Christ has bridged the gap between us and God, bringing us near through faith.