And then God speaks! It immediately reminds me of how God appeared to Elijah. Elijah, fleeing for his life from Jezebel, laments his fate to God. Why does God allow these things when all Elijah wants is to serve Him? Then God comes onto the scene: “Suddenly there was a very strong wind that tore apart the mountain and broke the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a whisper in the stillness” (1 Kings 19:11-12).
Like Elijah, Job wants answers from God! How can God allow all of this to happen to a man of God? If the Book of Job were performed as a drama, the curtain would now rise for Scene 2. From the power of the stormwind, the words emerge: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform me” (Job 38:1, NIV 2020). This is a direct confrontation between Creator and creature: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4).
What follows is how God takes Job, and us with him, back to Genesis 1 and repeats the creation story. This time, it’s not in the cryptic telling of Days 1 to 6; what follows is a lyrical poem. Like an artist weaving a breathtaking tapestry with the most colourful threads, the creation process unfolds before us. Surely, this is one of the most beautiful chapters in the entire Bible.
And so begins Job’s journey to gain a new perspective on his life!
PRAYER: Lord, I praise You as I read this creation story! You are indeed the Almighty God!
MUSIC
Let us listen to “Creation Choral” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe for their production The Bible.