Darkening Counsel without Knowledge: A Meditation on Job 38

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?

or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?

Or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together,

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Many things happen in the world.  Things have been happening for thousands of years, and should the Lord tarry in His Return, they shall be happening for thousands of years more.  Some of those things people have found pleasant, others have been unpleasant—but all too often, the reference point of human appreciation is driven by a short sighted focus on personal happiness.  Even when people try to analyze local and world events with more academic rigor, no one has ever been able to weigh all the variables of a present moment, let alone all the variables preceding and succeeding from that moment.  In essence, no one is able to fully grasp the totality of the tapestry of their present moment in time, let alone every present moment to have ever transpired, or that ever will transpire to the end of time.  From the weather on the other side of the globe, to the political machinations of a small central African tribe, to the family dynamics of a cottage in Scandinavia, no one can calculate and weigh with accuracy every element in play in any given moment of time.  While the moment we live in may seem straight forward within our field of view, imagine trying to balance every thought of every person within a five mile radius of you, let alone the natural variables of every molecule in motion, every chemical reaction in progress, and every weak or strong nuclear force.  With a finite human mind, it simply isn’t possible to even perceive the infinite number of variables in even a local area of a present moment, let alone the totality of that present moment across the globe and the universe, and to accurately assess the value of one particular occurrence.  In terms of simple physics and the science of human cognitive function, no human being is up to the challenge of knowing and assessing without error or oversight the totality of any given moment.  We are finite beings, with limited capacities of sensation (in order to perceive the world around us) and reason (in order to analyze the information we have perceived).  Such knowledge of our limits should make us profoundly humble in our pursuits of truth in this universe, but unfortunately, given our fallen and self-absorbed nature, such healthy humility is often supplanted by an unhealthy pride.

In the story of Job, we find a righteous person—a person of faith and repentance before God, living by His grace, according to His Word—who endures tragedy at the hands of the devil.  Previously blessed with prosperity, he has been reduced to misery, all due to a conversation between the devil and God over whether Job would remain faithful should his fortunes change.  In Job’s misery, his friends come to counsel and console him, offering a series of unsatisfying propositions for why this fate has befallen him.  As Job begins to crack under the strain of having lost his wealth, his family, and his health, he begins to ask a variation on the timeless question, “Why me?”  Finally, at this point of crisis, God appears to speak with Job from a whirlwind.

Perhaps odd to our modern sensibilities, God is not gentle with Job, nor does He seem particularly concerned with offering Job a “safe space” so as to avoid “triggering” him.  Quite to the contrary, God drives right to the heart of Job’s weakening faith and calls him onto the proverbial carpet to stand up and answer like a man.  While Job has fallen prey to the temptation to question God for the justice of his present moment, God dumps upon him the totality of his woeful ignorance.  For several chapters God will continue to refine His point, that Job has no standing to question God in this present moment, when he cannot fathom the moments which have led up to it, nor the ones which shall succeed it.  Job was not there when God called the universe into existence, established the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and wrote the Natural Law into the whole cosmos of living and non-living things.  Job’s finite and fallen perspective was miniscule before the scope of the totality of time and space, and smaller still before the endless expanse of eternity.  God having used His Holy Law to straighten Job back out, returning him to a state of grace through faith and repentance, He then restores to Job by His Word of Gospel far more than was ever taken from him.  In the end, Job becomes an icon of those who always live by grace through faith, despite the ups and downs of life’s present moments, knowing that their saving God has all things well in hand, and in the words which the Holy Spirit gave to St. Paul, is working all things for good for those who love Him.

Job’s lesson is one which every person should learn anew in our own time and place.  Rather than despondence, rioting, and emotional flailing at God for why the world around us is the way it is, God calls us to hear His Word and trust Him.  We are reminded that we cannot fully understand even our present moment, let alone all the moments which have led us here, or the moments yet to come.  But God has given to us His Living Word of Law and Gospel that we might live in this present moment, even if we can’t fully understand it.  He has given us the Law of Love for God and neighbor (well detailed in the Ten Commandments) to help us orient our hearts and actions according to our vocations.  He has given us His Gospel of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus Christ, to raise us up to new and eternal lives of faith, hope, and love with Him.  He has taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer.  He has given the Sacramental signs of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Absolution to continuously remind us of the grace He continues to pour out upon us in Christ alone.  The witness of all Holy Scripture leads and builds to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of the world, and the promise that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.  As we wait in faith and repentance for His return on the Last Day, He has left us with His Word and Spirit so that we might endure courageously whatever life would bring to us in any given present moment yet to come. 

So, too, in this present moment, God speaks to you by His Word and Spirit.  He does not come to pamper your pride, or to try and stuff the understanding of eternity into your fallen and finite mind.  He does not answer your ignorant and self-centered question of “Why me?”  Rather, He uses His Holy Law to remind you of the fallen and finite creature you are; broken, blind, befouled, lost, and dying in your sins, drowning in a world awash in the evil imaginations of wicked men and monstrous demons.  And when you have come to rightly know yourself before the God of the Universe, He speaks to you His saving Gospel of forgiveness and life for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ; a love which raises you, washes you, enlivens you, and seals you forever in His grace and mercy.  These are the eternal things which God speaks into this moment of yours, regardless of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.  These are the things of eternal life and fellowship with God, which help us to see everything else in its proper perspective, even if we can’t understand the ultimate significance of every variable in our lives.  This is the saving Word of God which seeks and saves you today, and every day, for eternity.

Hear the Word of the Lord in this your moment.  Repent, believe, and live.  Amen.