Let’s talk about Job, the righteous man who trusted God and when he lost his ten children, all his livestock, and his many servants, he remained true to God. And when his body became covered with painful sores from head to toe, he remained faithful to God. And when his friends came to harass him, still Job did not turn away from God.

In the book of Job, the language is eloquent and the issues difficult, raising many questions. What we’ll explore today is the challenge God directs toward Job after everyone else has had their say. You’ll find it in Job 38:1-42:6. It’s long but well worth the read, especially if you click on the speaker icon and listen to the passage.

The interchange between God and Job is filled with powerful and poetic images. God riddles Job with questions about his knowledge of creation and his personal role in it. The more God says, the clearer it becomes that Job has much to learn about God and his ways. And although Job had remained righteous throughout the entire book, he now humbles himself before God saying, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know… My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (42:3-6).

I’m sharing this story because it is just full of nature and because it’s awash with the creative genius of God. The other reason I  chose it is that it challenges us to look clearly at ourselves next to God, as Job did. When we see God as untamable, as One we cannot fit into a box of our own design, as the God who stands alone and is worthy of all our praise—that’s when we realize that there is no place in our lives for self-righteousness. All we have and all we are is a result of Jesus’ righteousness. We are small, but we are God’s. Our response should be to praise God and walk humbly with him.

Here’s another takeaway, a 21st-century cliché stated without the eloquence of  the book of Job, but true nonetheless: God is God and you are not. (Isn’t that a relief!)

Here are a couple of things that God said that really caught my attention:

God’s question in 38:12, “Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?”

I love that in the ostrich we see both weakness and strength. “God  did not endow her with wisdom or give her  a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider” (39:13, 17-18).

So what jumped out at you as you read? You can share in the comments section or on the Salt & Pepper Blog Facebook page. I’d love to hear your answers!

Ginger