JOB 38, 39

 TEXT TO REFLECT: JOB 38:1-4

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3 Dress for action like a man;

    I will question you, and you make it known to me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

    Tell me, if you have understanding.

REFLECT

Between Job and his three friends, they had probably exhausted every single bit of wisdom and knowledge of God of their time. They had debated God and His ways, as well as man and his ways. They had looked at who suffers and why, and at the consequences of sin and righteousness. Much of what was understood of God in their time had been looked deeply at and debated.

But now as God spoke to Job (and his friends), God chided him for obscuring wise counsel through the things he said out of ignorance (v2). What God was implying was that there was so much that Job (and all of the world's wise men) did not know, and that by ignorantly speaking as if he knew, Job had made knowing and understanding God more confusing. There is so much we do not know or understand about God and His ways, and our ignorance prevents us from really understanding the situation we are in. 

To prove to Job that he was really ignorant, God challenged Job to a quiz. This confrontation though fierce, was an act of mercy on God's part. As Job realised how little he knew, he was able to acknowledge that God is just and good and did care for him.

RELATE

We tend to assume many things about God and others that we do not actually know. When our boss passes us over for promotion, we may assume that the boss is biased, or ignorant and does not know the ground, or that the one who was promoted was currying favour with the boss in unscrupulous ways. Or we may even assume that God was punishing us for our sin. None of these assumptions might even be true. In fact, our not getting promoted in this instance might not even be a bad thing! It may have been God's way of protecting us from making a mess of our lives! But we make assumptions nevertheless, and reach conclusions that are far from reality. In doing so, we make decisions that may be harmful to ourselves. In this sense, we darken counsel by words spoken (and assumptions made) without knowledge.

It is a very dangerous thing to have good counsel darkened by our ignorance. It leads to despair as well as bitterness and cynicism. It poisons our minds against God and others.

It is true too that often we stick to our assumptions out of our pride. We may insist, "I know that is what he is! He is always selfish." or "I know God! He will punish severely". But such an insistence can only lead to hopelessness, because it prevents us from seeing that ultimately, God does want the best for us.

One habit that I find very helpful is to recall the times when things looked bleak, only to see God making the situation beautiful. I learn to look for treasure and beauty in situations that look dark and bleak. And I remind myself that there is too much that I do not understand and cannot make sense of. But I have over the years experienced that God looks after me.

REST

Many Things About Tomorrow,

I Don’t Seem To Understand;

But I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,

And I Know Who Holds My Hand.

CHIU MING LI