Today I want to start differently. I watched a video clip today where comedian Trevor Noah blasphemed the God of the Bible. I refused to send it on. His mother is a devout believer. He is a pagan. Having said that, please read Job 38:
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the
thunderstorm,26 to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
This morning, I landed up at Job 38 when I intended to read another passage. Some would call this an “accident”, but I’d prefer to call it “divine sovereignty”, as this passage is extremely helpful to the people of God.
So often, we as Christian are challenged about the Truth of the Bible and the God of the Bible. Once we get through chapters 1 & 2 of the book of Job, we find an interaction between Job and his friends. He explains his condition and they give him counsel. This goes from chapter 3 to chapter 37.
As chapter 38 starts, we have God speaking to Job, questioning the unbiblical counseling of Job’s friends and maybe the unwise responses of Job. In fact, verses 1-3 sets the tone of the chapter: “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'”
That is God’s response to human wisdom trying to outdo God, whether this human wisdom is from Job or his friends. When we drift in wisdom away from God’s wisdom, we are on sinking sand! The passage goes on to explain God’s function in creation. If He knows everything He says, surely He must be the Creator! Actually, the information here is dazzling. It reminds us of the hugeness, awesomeness, greatness, majesty, glorious character and acts of God. It causes godly people to humble themselves at the greatness and beauty of God and the smallness and insignificance of man.
Come, let’s get to know the truth about God through the Bible by reading it over and over, cover to cover, and then enjoy Biblical wisdom when interacting with people, be they Christian or non-Christian. Then we will be able to defend our faith and our God more easily, especially with people like Trevor Noah.
Lord, graciously help us to know You and Your Word so well that we might live and act according to your Word, standing up for You when people speak against You and Your Word. Amen.