The following links to a couple
of brief YouTube videos show the amazing power of dogs to transform perspectives
(and lives). In the first one, a veteran
suffering from PTSD named Blade found a reason to live after meeting DD (Pets for Vets). In the second one, Tonka, a 150 lb
Mastiff/Great Dane mix brought smiles to some very young patients at Cardon
Children’s Medical Center
Maybe this is why God took Job on
this field trip in chapters 38-41. I
realize God had several goals in mind during this ecological and cosmological
field trip (conveying the majesty of God being one of them), but perhaps part
of it was just to help Job get his mind off from his circumstances and misery.
And maybe, just maybe, God wanted
to help him smile and laugh.
In the last edition of
“Conversations from the Ash Heap” (I’m thinking of changing the title of this
to something more uplifting…like “A Moment with Maggots and Misery!”) I mentioned
the very unexpected way that God manifested Himself to the little congregation
gathered at the local landfill and also the very unexpected way that God introduced
Himself to Job (“Put your pants on! And
stand up!”). (We should note that Job is
rebuked but is never derided or ridiculed by God.)
The final chapters of this
wonderful book lead us on a field trip through some of earth’s botanical
gardens, the zoo and the planetarium (with a short stopover at the Weather
Channel). It is as if the National
Geographic Channel has come to Uz!
Like a torrent, God peppers Job
again and again with question after question about His wonderful creation. Lets take a 30,000 foot view of chapters 38-39,
and while we are doing that, ask ourselves, “Why this line of questioning? And
why no explanation for Job’s unwarranted suffering?” This devotional is little different than the
others – most of the verses are tacked on at the very end.
Moffat translates 38:2 this way, “Who
darkens my design with a cloud of thoughtless words?” I like that
translation. God continues in verse 4, “Where
were you when I laid the foundations of the earth.” And He ends this chapter
with a very simple, yet biting question, “Who feeds the ravens? You???”
After briefly asking about the
footings of the earth, Jehovah then asks Job about the origins of the oceans
(38:8-11) and likens their creation to that of child birth. The Message puts verse 9 this way, “That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.”
Verses 12-15 recount the marvels
of the dawn. In his commentary Poole
puts verse 12 this way, “Have you ever in your life told Dawn to get to his
post?” Hartley writes, “Every morning, just as a maid vigorously
shakes the crumbs from a huge table cloth, the rays of dawn reach out and grasp
the mountains, the corners of the earth's tablecloth, and shake the wicked off
the earth's surface…Job had been concerned that the wicked prospered seemingly
unchecked -- but God counters by saying that, just as the ocean rushes up
against the shore/bank, so the ‘light’ gives boundaries to the onslaught of the
wicked.”
In verse 16-18 it’s a quiz about
the springs of the sea; in verses 19-21 its questions about the home of light
and darkness. Poole
writes, “The challenge is sarcastically put to Job to direct light and darkness
to their respective homes.” Job had
often spoken of wanting to go to the abode of “death.” But God asks him in verse 17, “Do you know where the gates of death are
located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?” (NLT)
In verses 22-24 we are introduced
to the storehouses of snow and hail. FI
Andersen writes, “The Lord thinks about snow the way a man thinks about gold.”
Hartley gives us this outline for the rest
of chapters 38-39:
·
God
asks Job about his ability to direct the inanimate world (38:25-38)
·
And to
care for the animate world (38:39-39:30)
In verses 25-30 note the amazing
array of the structure of the simple compound of water. Water astonishes us in
the many forms it can take. Several
years ago, the wind had piled up huge blocks of ice on the western tip of Lake
Superior . The vivid array
of various shades of blue spoke loudly of the incredible beauty of God’s
creation.
Verse 26 reads this way in the NIV, “To water a land where no man lives, a desert with no-one in it…” Why is the Creator concerned about watering a land where not a single solitary soul lives? Maybe it is simply that God enjoys seeing such beauty and enjoys clothing the ground with flowers – irrespective of whether or not we are around to behold it!
We next move from the forms of water to the
forms of the heavenly bodies. Verses 31-33
read, “Can you direct the movement of the stars— binding the cluster of the
Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the
seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the
laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” Do you see the word “binding” in the first
part of those verses? It’s the same word
that is used in 39:10 of “binding an ox.”
Leading the star cluster Pleiades around the Universe is easier for God
than a farmer trying to tame the wild ox and hitch it to a plow!
After a brief five-verse stop
over at the Weather Channel (in which God asks Job, “Does the lightning report
to you in the same fashion as a private presents himself to a general?), we move from the structure of the world to the
creatures living in that world.
In verses 38:39-41 we transition
swiftly from the majestic lion to the lowly raven. In chapter 39 Job is bombarded with question
after question about a vast array of animals:
In
verses 1-4 it’s the mountain goat and the deer
In
verses 5-8 it’s the wild donkey
In
verses 9-12 it’s the wild ox
In
verses 13-18 it’s the ostrich
So Jehovah, in the midst of this
blistering examination, interjects a little humor by pointing to this odd
looking creature that doesn’t seem to have any purpose other than this: maybe
it was just created for God’s entertainment!
Maybe the Creator, after watching yet another war erupt on planet earth,
at times sighs and says simply, “Hey Gabriel, lets go watch the ostriches for a
while and unwind.”
And perhaps He just wanted to get
Job to smile.
Over against the “Ostrich Comic
Relief Show” we are introduced to the beauty and majesty of the horse. There could scarcely be a greater contrast
written between two of God’s amazing creatures. In verses 19-25 the writer of
Job pens one of the most magnificent portraits of the horse found in all of
literature.
Unlike the ostrich, the horse is
universally honored. The KJV introduces
this segment, “Hast thou given the
horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?” “…neck with thunder…” What a wonderful word picture!
We read these other phrases from
this wonderful passage
Verse
20 refers to “sneezes of terror”
Verse
21 states that the horse is so anxious to charge into battle that he paws or scoops
out the ground
Verse
22 he despises what other creatures fear
Verse
24 he swallows up the ground with his swiftness
Verse
25 whereas the ostrich is shy and timid, the horse rushes into battle, eager to
meet the enemy!
The chapter ends in verses 26-30
with a brief description of the splendor of the falcon and the eagle. Seeing an eagle in the wild is an awe-inspiring
sight. This picture was taken by Iron
River WI
Conclusion: The period of
dereliction is over. El-Shaddai has
condescended to an ailing man’s ash-heap.
But in so doing none of Job’s cries and questions have been answered,
not even the intense “Why?!?!” And yet
this trip to the zoo and planetarium seem to satisfy Job. As FI Andersen states eloquently, "To
withhold the full story from Job, even after the test was over, keeps him
walking by faith, not by sight…Job does not say in the end, ‘Now I see it all.’ He never sees it all…But he sees God! Perhaps it is better if God never tells any
of us the whole of our life story.”
We may not need to see or know
the reasons why, we may just need to be in the presence of God.
CHAPTER 38 (New American Standard
Version)
1 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 I 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 "And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the
uplifted arm is broken.
16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have
you 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 may 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 has
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?
CHAPTER 39
1 "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 driver he does not hear.
8 "He
explores the mountains for his pasture, and he 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 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."
(NAS)
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