“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said…Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:1, 4 AV)
Chapter 38 begins God’s answers to Job’s musing. Our God spends the vast majority of time proving He has the right to do as He wishes because He has created all things, by Him all things consist, and mankind cannot comprehend the scope of God’s actions. For several chapters, the LORD commands Job to consider certain beasts, how they consist, and how they live. He points out the celestial bodies placed by design to perform a designed purpose. God points out the obvious in that mankind cannot fully understand how God did and does all of it, and even if mankind could affect God’s creation, it would be very minimal. What has struck me more than once is God’s use of creation as the bases for His sovereignty. I guess what makes it odd is His use of common things like birds, clouds, and creatures of the land as His proof. He doesn’t argue from a metaphysical point of view or use deep theological truths. All he asks Job is to consider what his senses observe and then give an explanation as to how it all came to be, then reproduce it, and govern it to the perfect which God did and does. In short, God uses the manifestation of His creative and governing hand as proof that He is God and can do as He has determined to do. He owes no one or nothing an explanation. When mankind can duplicate the work of God to the perfection God has, then perhaps God must give an answer.
Mankind had been trying to become God for a very long time. This is nothing new. From the time of Egypt thousands of years before Christ’s incarnation, to our present-day scientists, somehow mankind thinks they can become gods. It took thousands of years and a computer to match the mathematical prowess of the ancients. The ancient Romans built structures thousands of years ago that still stand today. Through earthquakes and volcano eruptions, these structures stand strong than modern buildings. The pyramids, built four thousand years ago, are the oldest standing man-made structures on the planet. The Chaldeans had an understanding of the stars that went unmatched until the modern era. About the only area of science which modern mankind has exceeded the ancients is in the area of molecular science. It took the invention of magnification beyond the human eye that created a field of science that had been untouched. With each new discovery, mankind thinks he is getting closer to declaring there is no such thing as God. Thus becoming gods themselves. We have tried to reverse all curses placed on mankind since the Garden of Eden. We have come close. The last one is death. We think that if we can master and duplicate creation, there is no longer a need for God. If there is no longer a need for God, then we are no longer accountable to Him. How silly!
God was trying to teach Job a lesson in intellectual humility. Job wanted to understand why misfortune came his way. Why did he have to bury all his children? Why did he lose everything he had to robbers? Why was he sitting in ashes trying to recover from boils that covered his body? He did everything right. When he failed God, he quickly offered sacrifices. He even offered them for his young adult children who were living a bit loose. Job was a man who feared God and ran from wickedness. They why all this? God’s answer was simple. God did not owe Job an explanation. God is God and Job is not. This final, and greatest lesson Job would ever learn, is the last lesson needed for the old man. We talk of total surrender. We are not surrendered unless we welcome all that God causes or allows without doubting or questioning God. If we are willing to live with tragedy and not inquire of God as to the ‘why’, we are totally surrendered. God uses creation and His governing of it to prove He is qualified and entitled to be God. Man has no right to expect an answer from his creator. Period. This is life. This is what the Creator has determined. He will give us answers if it pleases Him to do so. Period!
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