“At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. He said: “Let the day of my birth be erased,and the night I was conceived. Let that day be turned to darkness, Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it. Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it. Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months. Let that night be childless. Let it have no joy. Let those who are experts at cursing whose cursing could rouse Leviathan — curse that day” (Job 3:1-8, NLT).
Heavenly Father, How true are Your words that Your thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our ways, Your ways. As You spoke in days of old to Your children, please speak to us, and help us to have Your thoughts and teach us Your ways, that in all things, we might represent You aright. We ask this in the mighty Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen.
God does not respond to Job word for word. Instead, God reveals to Job His Omnipotence as Creator, His Omniscience as Sovereign, and His Justice as a Loving Parent. Let us listen as He speaks to Job about the mystery of the beginning of life, and the way of life, within the animal kingdom:
‘ “Do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave home and never return. “Who gives the wild donkey its freedom? Who untied its ropes? I have placed it in the wilderness; its home is the wasteland. It hates the noise of the city and has no driver to shout at it. The mountains are its pastureland, where it searches for every blade of grass” (1-8, NLT).
‘ “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust. She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them or a wild animal might destroy them. She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own. She doesn’t care if they die. For God has deprived her of wisdom. He has given her no understanding” ‘ ” (13-18).
‘ “Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spread its wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest? It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag. From there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes.
Its young gulp down blood. Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it” ‘ ” (26-30).
If we are listening, we will hear when God answers our hard questions, our murmurings, and our painful groanings. God responds to us, about what is on our mind, and when we are willing to listen, we will hear His voice. Job was talking about life, to the Giver of Life! God took the time to show Job life from His perspective. The details, and the care God takes in beginning and sustaining life even in the animal kingdom.
That brings to my mind a scene from the beginning of life in the Garden of Eden. God had created Adam, and then He created the animals, and gave Adam the task of naming them. In the process Adam became aware that every animal had a companion except him! I have always believed that God did that with a purose, in order that Adam would see, in the creation of Eve, a very special gift from God, and he did! (See Genesis 1:22-23).
Could it be, that God, in showing Job the attention to detail that is put into creating and sustaining, the life of animals, he would be able to appreciate how much more attention is invested in the creation and care given to those who are made in God’s image and likeness?
“How can I dismiss the day that you were conceived Job, when,” ‘ “[I] made all the delicate, inner parts of [your] body and knit [you] together in [your] mother’s womb . . . [I] watched [you] as [you were] being formed in utter seclusion, as [you were] woven together in the dark of the womb” ‘ ” (Psalm 139:13, 15)!
What a personal God we serve!