September 1
Job 40:1-42:17 | PS 45:1-17 | Prov 22:14 | 2 Cor 5:11-21
Though Job questioned God in the midst of his deep valley of loss and pain there is humility seen in this man. When we don’t understand there is nothing wrong with questioning as long as we don’t question the character of God. We have gone so far in the wrong direction. God asks Job 77 questions which he is unable to answer. Job doesn’t pretend, make things up, etc. He is simply awestruck at the magnitude of his God. If this encounter were to happen today, I could envision the individual being questioned by God with his cell phone in his hand, turned to his favorite search engine actually having the audacity to challenge God based on the nonsense written by so called “experts” on a whole host of topics. Sorry, we are not that smart, and being able to parrot out the latest statistic which we read doesn’t make us any smarter. What it does do is make us less humble, as our pride lifts us up in our own eyes. This is why often we can’t see God. We are blinded by our own loftiness.
I imagine Job with his mouth hanging open in utter awe and amazement as the questions by God come his way. We see his response as God takes a brief reprieve from His interrogation in Job 40:3-5, “Then Job answered the Lord and said: “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” In light of who he was and who God is, he saw himself vile and speechless. After God finishes His questioning we read Job’s words in Job 42:1-6, “Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You . You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
The prophet Isaiah responds similarly after his encounter with God in Isaiah 6:5, ““Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”” There are so many problems with mankind, but among the biggest is our failure to see the immense disparity between who God is and who we are. We fail to see God due to pride, even when we are not aware of our pride. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” Our starting point must be seeing ourselves as undeserving recipients of His grace. It’s funny, growing up, the educational system kept pumping me up as somehow “gifted and talented”. It wasn’t until I realized that I wasn’t either of the above, seeing myself as nothing compared to Him, that I was freed to follow Him and worship Him. He is everything. I praise You, Lord God!!
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: