Sermon for March 11th, 2018

Job 38:1-7, 34-41

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man,
   I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
   Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
   Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
   or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together
   and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

34 ‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
   so that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
   and say to you, “Here we are”?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,
   or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
   Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
   and the clods cling together?

39 ‘Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
   or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
   or lie in wait in their covert?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
   when its young ones cry to God,
   and wander about for lack of food?

Where Were You?

For thirty-five out of forty-two chapters in the book of Job, God is either the subject of conversation or its target. During those thirty-five chapters, God listens silently while Job questions, complains, and attacks God, trying to make sense of his suffering. Finally, in today's text, God responds. Compared to the words of Job (24 of those 35 chapters), God's response is mercifully short (just 2 chapters). And so, in my sermon today, I am going to attempt to follow God's example. Mercifully short.

Let's jump right in. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?"

Many people interpret this as God putting Job in his place: "Who are you to question me? Can you do all the things I can do? Sit down and shut up, you puny mortal!"

I find this interpretation a bit harsh, especially given what we, as readers know from reading the first two chapters: That all of Job's suffering, the loss of his children, his property, his health, were all instigated, approved, and carried out under God's supervision and authority, in order to settle a cosmic bet with Satan about whether or not Job would "curse God" if he lost these things.

Incidentally, for what it's worth, God lost the bet along time ago, probably somewhere around chapter 7, and several times thereafter.

Job's loss and his pain are real, and his words to and about God flow from that experience. God knows this. God knows Job. God loves Job. If God is putting Job in his place, it is not done in anger, but gently.

When I read this text, I see God calling Job's attention to some pretty beautiful things, cosmic things, and simple things, gently drawing him out of his inward focus and back into the larger world that we are all connected to as God's children, as part of God's creation. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? I don't think it's a sarcastic question. It's a question with an implied answer: You were with me, Job. You were there. You were part of me, though you didn't know it yet. Your children were, are, and always will be part of me, too. Let me show them to you. When God speaks of the morning stars singing together, and all the heavenly beings shouting for joy--I imagine he is showing Job more than just a word-picture.

Our commitment to SERVICE

Last week, Job reminded God of all the things he had done for others--(insert job's quote here). Basically, Job is saying, "look at all the things I did for other people." In today's passage, God returns the favor, essentially saying, "Look, *everything* I have done is for you and for everyone."