He is God And I am Not
March 11, 2019
Commentary
God states that He has all the forces of nature at His command and that He can unleash or restrain them at will. No one can completely understand such common occurrences as rain or snow, and no one can control them; only God who created them has that power (vv. 25-27). By asking about the father of the rain and the womb of the ice and frost, God was inquiring about man’s role in the creation of things (vv. 28-29). He even made a statement about the marvels of ice (v. 30). Next God asks Job about his ability to influence what is seen in the appearances of the celestial bodies (v. 31). In addition, Job was asked whether he could lead forth the signs of the Zodiac, as an animal trainer did his animals (v. 32), or whether he could give them directions that would result in an effect upon the earth (v. 33).
Could Job raise his voice like God and the heavens give forth their waters (v. 34)? God goes on to ask Job whether he caused lightening to appear, or whether he gave wisdom to the dark clouds (vv. 35-36)? Then in conclusion to his questions about the clouds, God asked Job if he could number them and determine the proper amount of rain it would take to soften the hardened clouds (vv. 37-38). He then questions the source of the power given the lion (vv. 39-40). Also he asks, “Who supplies the food for the starving young ravens when they cry out for food; do you” (v. 41)?
Job failed the examination, and so would you and I. God’s point was that if Job could not explain such common events in nature, how could he possibly explain or question God? And if nature is beyond our grasp, God’s moral purposes may not be what we imagine either. God is making it very clear to Job that the creation reveals His greatness. One can know about God through His creation, but creation will not bring a man to a saving knowledge of God.
Application
I must never question God and His right and ability to do things. He is God and I am not. The smaller I am in my own eyes, the greater God will make me in His sight.
Job 38:25– 41 (NET)
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains, and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, a wilderness where there are no human beings,
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?
28 Does the rain have a father, or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge, and the frost from the sky, who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades, or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens, or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds, and who can tip over the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass, and the clumps of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens, when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
Illustration: Standard Oil Float Runs Out of Gas in a Parade (Job 38:25)
One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. Often Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are “clothed with power“, find themselves out of gas. (Steve Blankenship, Source unknown)