“I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears. I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again,” (Job 42:5)
Mali was preparing to serve dinner when one of our grandsons sat at the table and began eating before anybody else had been called to the table. His grandma asked “is this the way we begin our meal?” To which he replied, “but...I was hungry!”
We all want to defend ourselves...
The Pulpit Commentary remind us Job wanted to take issue with God, to argue out his case and God now offers to listen but, challenges him to “stand up like a man" and get ready for some hard questions. God says “I will demand of you, and answer me”; then Job will be entitled to put questions to God. Job, however, after hearing God’s questions, says, "I have said too much already" (40:5). The confident boldness which he felt when God seemed far off disappears in his presence, and is replaced by diffidence and distrust.
And...God begins, “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of. Unleash your outrage. Stop the wicked in their tracks—I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—you can surely save yourself with no help from me!” (The Message)
So God gives Job a lesson in reality...
- Have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
- Do you know the first thing about death?
- Do you know where Light comes from and where Darkness lives?
- Who do you think is the father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost?
- Do you know the first thing about how the constellations affect things on Earth?
- Can you control the lightning bolts and have them serve you?
- Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs?
- Will the wild buffalo voluntarily agree to serve you,
- Did your wisdom teach the hawk how to fly,
- volunteer to spend the night in your barn?
Oops...God called Job’s bluff and Job replies “I’m speechless. I should never have opened my mouth! I’ve talked way too much. I’m ready to shut up and listen.” (40:4)
I must have misunderstood...
God continues...Look at the giant hippopotamus, grazing on grass, docile as a cow. I created him as well as you—but you’d never want him for a pet, you’d never be able to housebreak him! Or can you land a great whale, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel? If you so much as lay a hand on him you won’t live to tell the story. If you can’t hold your own against him, how do you expect to stand up to me? “I’m in charge of all this—I run this universe!”
Job must have heard a rumor it’s OK to argue with God but...he got the message; He says “I’m convinced: You can do anything and no one can upset your plans. I admit I babbled on about things way over my head. I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again.”
The greatest problem, for faith, in 21st century America is we have actually figured out the answers to some of God’s questions so we’ve begun believing we’re as smart as God. In the process we’ve transmogrified God into our own image so we presume he acts like us. This is insidious, not intentional. It derives from our own fallen desire to be our own God. Once we buy the lie it’s only a short step to believing God is just like us. Why wouldn’t he be?
Job’s real struggles were the result of this idea that he would never treat anybody the way he’d been treated so...God had to be to wrong. They ideas were spawned by the false notion that God, in order to be righteous, had to conduct himself as we do. That’s just an ugly rumor. God’s response is simple...”who told you that?”
Do we worship God or do we worship “rumors of God?” When calamity strikes we can remember God is the potter and we are the clay or we can demand a hearing from God but...have we ever heard a lump of clay say “I don’t want to be a coffee mug?” If we choose to quarrel with God...are we sure we want to hear the answer? He has a compelling way of saying “you’re not the boss of me!”
Live boldly out there today...
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