God Confronts Job
Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?
38 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
2-11 “Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,
And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’12-15 “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’
So you could seize Earth like a blanket
and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?
As the sun brings everything to light,
brings out all the colors and shapes,
The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked—
they’re caught in the very act!16-18 “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,
explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?
Do you know the first thing about death?
Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?
And do you have any idea how large this earth is?
Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.19-21 “Do you know where Light comes from
and where Darkness lives
So you can take them by the hand
and lead them home when they get lost?
Why, of course you know that.
You’ve known them all your life,
grown up in the same neighborhood with them!22-30 “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
for the downpours of rain, and charts
the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
the mother of ice and frost?
You don’t for a minute imagine
these marvels of weather just happen, do you?Job 38
Who would have thought that we can find an encouraging message in Job.
But there is!
It comes in the very first time that God confronts Job after all his ramblings. God is not angry, but rather intrigued by Jobs attitude.
And His words do not reprimand or accuse Job of his bad, but very human, attitude. They rather remind Job of who He is!
Creator God, creator of the whole universe. Almighty, All Powerful, All knowing.
Job had endured the most horrendous suffering. He had lost his wealth, his family and finally his health. And he was a righteous man! He didn’t have any scandalous secrets hidden in a deep, dark closet. He believed that he lived blameless before God. In fact, he considered himself to be friends with God.
God knew Job through and through. He knew that Jobs character was upright and filled with integrity.
God knew that Job was going through the greatest suffering in his whole life.
And Job knew, without a doubt, that God knew what he was going through. He believed that God was Almighty, all powerful and all knowing. But instead of asking God if there is anything in his life that he needed to look at or change, rather his own righteous attitude caused him to want to challenge God about why He was being so unjustly treated.
Job was so certain of his innocence and of the injustice of his afflictions that he was actually unable to see anything beyond it. He was so busy defending himself to his friends that he didn’t see the areas in his life where he still needed to grow.
Jobs friends were doing this exact same thing too. Their conclusion was that Job had a problem and there had to be a reason.
It’s only human to want all the goings on in this world to make sense. But we will never have an explanation for everything and sometimes we miss the entire point of hardship because we are trying to explain it away.
Job was endlessly defensive towards his friends but all the while, he was still wondering “Why???”
The point is that many of the struggles that we endure here on earth cannot be neatly categorized. We will probably only ever know the reason why, when we stand before Jesus face to face, and at that time, the harsh injustice that we felt at that time, may completely fade into insignificance because we now understand the bigger picture.
The reality is that on earth, bad things do not only happen to bad people.
But this reality was no comfort to Job who saw himself as a man who held Gods favour. He was deeply frustrated because he could not make sense out of his trials.
And then, in the depths of confusion and despair he made one of the most profound statements of faith recorded in the Bible: He said; “ Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face.” Job 13:15 (NIV)
At the end of the day, God focuses on the bottom line. He wants us to become more like Him.
Job was an exemplary man but he had a flaw. The Bible says that Job’s problem was that “he was righteous in his own eyes and that “he justified himself rather than God” (32:1–2).
Yet in the end, Job emerged with a far deeper understanding of the Almighty as well as a far deeper understanding of himself and his own human nature.
So, the big secret to facing life’s trials, is to lift our eyes above the situation and fix them on God, knowing that he is omniscient – infinite in knowledge, omnipotent – unlimited in power and omnipresent – present everywhere. He knows what we are going through and He will endure with us to the end.
Even though God is so awesome and incredible and Almighty, He is also all loving, all compassionate and all forgiving.
He is intensely in love with us and He will always meet us where we are at.
There will also always come a time when we look back and understand the ‘Why?’ May it be from earths perspective or heavens Glory.
Indescribable by Chris Tomlin
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God