“I will question you, and you shall answer Me” (Job 38:3).
Elihu’s eloquent discourse might have silenced Job, but it did not convince him of his transgression against God. Because only God can convince man of his sin, the LORD Himself, Yahweh as He is designated in this passage, answers Job. He speaks with power and authority out of the whirlwind, asking the penetrating and conscience-biting question, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” Job spoke without knowledge and, in his complaints, exalted himself as one who was worthy to accuse God of unjust providences. If man is to judge God, he must be superior to Him, more knowledgeable, more powerful. Of course, man is no such thing, as God so directly points out in the passage.
God, not Job, not the counselors, set the foundations of the earth in place, “shut in the sea with doors,” and “caused the dawn to know its place.” Did Job know, do any of us know, the “way to the dwelling of light”? Science can reveal many things. We have disentangled many of the mysteries of light and energy. In our technological arrogance we assume that we have found the keys to infinite knowledge, but, as ever is the case with science, the discovery of one thing opens a multitude of unanswered questions. We think we know so much when actually we know so very little. It would do our society well to dwell on the words of Job 38 as a reminder of our humble condition and of the almighty power and infinite knowledge of God.
Yet, man in his fallen condition seeks knowledge and tries to unravel the mysteries of science because he imagines that if he could gather the fullness of knowledge to himself, he would be accountable to no one. But this is mere folly. Even if we could know everything, which, of course, is not possible, we are still creatures. We have no power. As God reminded Job, we were not present when the world was created. We do not care for those parts of the earth where no human being exists. Only God sees the needs of every creature and meets them according to His inestimable wisdom.
Such high thoughts of God should humble us and silence our wagging tongues as we complain about God’s providences and as we blame Him for our lives not being the way we want them to be.
Look through a science magazine or the science/technology section of a news magazine or newspaper. Identify the various ways that man tries to exalt himself above God. Also look for ways that man arrogantly assumes he knows everything about a particular subject. How would you respond to such presumptions of science?
