God’s Bigness (Part 5 of 6)

As I write this portion of the blog, I am listening to the song More Than Wonderful.  How fitting! Towards the end of the book of Job, God speaks of His own bigness.  One would think that Job ‘s friends and especially Job had a great view of just how big God is, but God reveals to them just how much bigger He is than they had imagined.  Consider what God says about Himself by the questions He asks Job:  38:4-11

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

 when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

 “Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

 when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

 and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’

This is just a taste of what God says about Himself .  He does not need a book, a satellite or a doctorate in physics to know these things.  He has all the knowledge He will ever have or need.  He cannot get any more intelligent or wise.  He is incomprehensible, yet He has given us a lifetime to experience Him, a lifetime to only begin to comprehend Him.  Just think of what Heaven will be.  

God's Bigness Part 4 of 6

In the middle part of the book of Job, Job and his friends all speak of how big God is.  Consider what they say of God:

Chapter 9 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded? —he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; who made the Bear and Orion, he Pleiades and the chambers of the south; who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him

Chapter 12 With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man

Chpater19 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

Chapter 25 Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise

It is said of God: He redeems, He accepts, He restores, He raises up, He judges, He punishes, He listens, He gives life, He takes life, He offers hope.

That is a GREAT BIG GOD!!

God’s Bigness (Part 3 of 6)

God’s Bigness (Part 3 of 6)

After being attacked once by Satan and losing all that Job had lost, most people would have reacted the way Job’s wife had:  “Curse God and die”.  I can’t imagine losing the little that I have or my children but to lose all of that in a few moments time and then to lose my health an wife on top of all that loss would be unbearable… without a great big GOd. 

Job tells us just how big his God is by his reaction.  After the first attack: Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.   Job 1:20-22 (emphasis mine) He worshiped.  He did not ask why or why me.  He worshiped! He did not sin, he did not tell God he chose the wrong person, He worshiped!

After the second attack, his wife suggested “Curse God and die”.  Emotionally she was hurting just as much if not more than Job.  Before you condemn her for that reaction, remember, these things had happened to her as well. Job said “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil.”  I don’t suggest that any man say the things that Job said to his wife, but I think we all need to be rebuked once in a while. 

Once again, Job’s reaction speaks of how big God was to Job: In all this Job did not sin with his lips.  Oh that our God would be that big to us!

God’s Bigness (Part 2 of 6)

God’s Bigness (Part 2 of 6)

Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

It is said of Satan in Revelation 12:10 that he accuses us before God “for the accuser of our brothers …, who accuses them day and night before our God.  An interesting thought occurred to me – Satan must not have had anything on Job because it was God that brought Job to Satan’s attention, not the other way around.  Remember, this happened twice.  Once after Satan had attacked Job and destroyed his wealth and family. 

Wouldn’t it be great if Satan had nothing of which to accuse us when he went before God?  I believe God was so big in Job’s life that his whole desire was to please Him.  That should be the greatest desire in our life: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 (emphasis mine)

God's Bigness

God’s Bigness (Part 1 of 6)

As I thought about the book of Job, my thoughts went back to my childhood and the sermons I had heard about the “Patience of Job” or the “Faith of Job”.  Then I began to take a closer look at the book as a whole and it does have a lot to say about the man.  However, I think that the book says a lot more about God than it does about Job.  The book screams of a great big GOD!!. 

In the first two chapters God’s bigness is displayed in Job’s character and wealth.  Consider the first 5 verses: There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually (Taken from the ESV, emphasis mine)

Three things strike me from this passage.  The first is that he had a right relationship with God, second is that he had a good reputation with man and third he was consistent.  This speaks of how big God was in Job’s life.  Yes, Job was a great man, but his God was even greater!  Job was nothing without God.  Job had nothing without God.  That is a lesson we will do well to learn.