I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Job 38-39 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

God Speaks Now to Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

² “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? ³ “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, ⁵ Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? ⁶ “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷ When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; ⁹ When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, ¹⁰ And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,
¹¹ And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?

¹² “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, ¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? ¹⁴ “It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment. ¹⁵ “From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷ “Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? ¹⁸ “Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, ²⁰ That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home? ²¹ “You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great! ²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³ Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle? ²⁴ “Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

²⁵ “Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, ²⁶ To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it,
²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout? ²⁸ “Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹ “From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? ³⁰ “Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? ³² “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? ³³ “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you? ³⁵ “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶ “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind? ³⁷ “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens, ³⁸ When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰ When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair? ⁴¹ “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?

39 “Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? ² “Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth? ³ “They kneel down, they bring forth their young, They get rid of their labor pains. ⁴ “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; They leave and do not return to them.

⁵ “Who sent out the wild donkey free? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, ⁶ To whom I gave the wilderness for a home And the salt land for his dwelling place? ⁷ “He scorns the tumult of the city, The shoutings of the  river he does not hear. ⁸ “He explores the mountains for his pasture And searches after every green thing. ⁹ “Will the wild ox consent to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your manger? ¹⁰ “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes, Or will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹ “Will you trust him because his strength is great And leave your labor to him? ¹² “Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor?

¹³ “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously With the pinion and plumage of love,
¹⁴ For she abandons her eggs to the earth And warms them in the dust, ¹⁵ And she forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may trample them. ¹⁶ “She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned; ¹⁷ Because God has made her forget wisdom, And has not given her a share of understanding. ¹⁸ “When she lifts herself on high, She laughs at the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ “Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible.
²¹ “He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He goes out to meet the weapons. ²² “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; And he does not turn back from the sword. ²³ “The quiver rattles against him, The flashing spear and javelin. ²⁴ “With shaking and rage he races over the ground, And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet. ²⁵ “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’ And he scents the battle from afar, And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, Stretching his wings toward the south? ²⁷ “Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up And makes his nest on high? ²⁸ “On the cliff he dwells and lodges, Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place. ²⁹ “From there he spies out food; His eyes see it from afar. ³⁰ “His young ones also suck up blood; And where the slain are, there is he.”

Some will read the account of God speaking to Job and scoff at the apparent lack of scientific knowledge. They will discredit the Bible because most people have a better understanding of many of the things God spoke to Job. Yet for all of man’s wisdom and all of our accumulated knowledge over the centuries since Job, how much do most of us really know and understand? Could even the most brilliant scientific minds of our day answer God if He questioned them regarding the magnitude and the intricacies of creation?  

When God says:  “Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home?  “You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!  “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,  Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?  “Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?  “Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt,  To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it,  To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?  “Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?  “From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?  Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.”  It might sound as foolishness because of our understanding. Yet with all of man’s knowledge; with all of our computer models, storms still arise quickly; others change their path and some dissipate. In truth, often the forecast for a winter storm may as well be zero to thirty inches of snow. Sometimes it seems as if they would be better served to look out their windows than at their computers. While some will mock and laugh at those who trust in the Bible, what I find ironic regarding the science of weather and climate, is that the same people who have a difficult time understanding and predicting what will happen tomorrow, want us to believe that they know what will happen in ten, twenty and one hundred years.

God says:  “Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?  “Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth?  “They kneel down, they bring forth their young, They get rid of their labor pains.  “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; They leave and do not return to them.  “Who sent out the wild donkey free? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,  To whom I gave the wilderness for a home And the salt land for his dwelling place?  “He scorns the tumult of the city, The shoutings of the  river he does not hear.  “He explores the mountains for his pasture And searches after every green thing.  “Will the wild ox consent to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your manger?  “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes, Or will he harrow the valleys after you?  “Will you trust him because his strength is great And leave your labor to him?  “Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor?”   While we may have greater knowledge and understanding than Job, could any of us as individuals stand before God and answer yes to these questions? I have no doubt that the God who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, could question even the most brilliant scientific minds of our day. Every time science discovers or uncovers a mystery regarding the intricacies or the magnitude of the universe and creation, they uncover new questions and new mysteries.

Science will continue to study and attempt to understand what the omniscient God of creation already knows. The main difference between those who rely on science and the wisdom and knowledge of man, and those who rely on the truth of the Bible is that when science has no answer, no ability to understand or comprehend, it theorizes and speculates; it makes up an answer that fits what it hopes to prove true. Those who trust in God, believe by faith that God has the answers and He will reveal all we need to know.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. I don’t need to know and to understand all of creation because I know the one who created it. I trust in You. When I stand before You, I know the most important thing, that Jesus died for my sins so that I could be restored to all that You intend for me. Holy Spirit be my guide that You would reveal all that I need to know for this and every day.   Amen.