8/8/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
In Job 38:4-18, God is interrogating Job. It seems that Job has asked to plead his case before God. He wants to prove his righteousness. What kind of evidence does Job have? Is there something he knows that God doesn’t know?
The Lord asks Job where he was when God laid out the earth, when he gave birth to the seas, when he ordered everything to work as it does now. Where was Job? He was certainly not there.
Sometimes we read this passage in a slightly petulant, demanding manner. God has called to Job and he is angry. But what if we look at it as a very gentle questioning? Then we see that God is asking Job questions like the following. “I brought forth the seas and held them like a baby. That was fun. Did you get to do it?” “Remember when I took a walk among the stars and enjoyed where I put them?” “Did you enjoy it when you arranged the colors in the sky at dawn? I did.”
God, the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all, is inviting Job, along with us, to grasp his love for his creation and his care for it. As Job hears this account, he can rightly trust that the Lord knows him and will care for him. No matter what terrible things have come into Job’s life, the Lord’s mercy and love are there as well. Job might not see them, but God does. He is able to care for his creation from beginning to end. This is the grace of God.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
In Job 38:4-18, God is interrogating Job. It seems that Job has asked to plead his case before God. He wants to prove his righteousness. What kind of evidence does Job have? Is there something he knows that God doesn’t know?
The Lord asks Job where he was when God laid out the earth, when he gave birth to the seas, when he ordered everything to work as it does now. Where was Job? He was certainly not there.
Sometimes we read this passage in a slightly petulant, demanding manner. God has called to Job and he is angry. But what if we look at it as a very gentle questioning? Then we see that God is asking Job questions like the following. “I brought forth the seas and held them like a baby. That was fun. Did you get to do it?” “Remember when I took a walk among the stars and enjoyed where I put them?” “Did you enjoy it when you arranged the colors in the sky at dawn? I did.”
God, the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all, is inviting Job, along with us, to grasp his love for his creation and his care for it. As Job hears this account, he can rightly trust that the Lord knows him and will care for him. No matter what terrible things have come into Job’s life, the Lord’s mercy and love are there as well. Job might not see them, but God does. He is able to care for his creation from beginning to end. This is the grace of God.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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