A congregational study of the Book of Job. By Pastor Jose Luis
Session Seventeen. Read Job Chapters 38-41
Chapter 38; 1-4 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
God now invites Job to engage in a dialogue and takes Job with his questions and sufferings to contemplate his place in the whole universe. Job was not present when the world was created, he is a human being limited in time and space, limited by his lifetime. A human being cannot understand the origins of the universe, because our knowledge of the cosmos is limited, and we are not only ignorant of the origins but also we are ignorant of the meaning of the universe.
Then God in Chapter 39 describes a second limitation of Job and humanity. Job is unable to understand the life of the creatures that inhabit the world: 39, 1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?
Job doesn’t understand the way God´s providence keeps the whole creatures of the world protected. If God protects the animals, why should Job feel abandoned by God? He needs to understand the real meaning of the divine providence.
Job then confesses his ignorance, 40, 3-4: Job answered the Lord: “See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
God continues in chapter 40: Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? God is declaring to Job that if Job cannot understand the universe and the divine providence, he can neither understand how the divine justice is manifested.
The most amazing creatures, the behemot (hippopotamus) and leviathan (crocodile)
are the religious cultural symbols of the chaotic powers that we cannot control, but they are just creations of God. Job was never alone in his tribulations. God always was there because of being creator and preserver of all the creatures of the universe.
How do you feel when you put your existence as part of the magnitude of the universe under the divine providence? How do you relate with Job contemplating God that speaks out of the storm?
Tell me your impressions. pastor@lcostampa.org