“…You molded me like clay.” Job 10:9a
/I’ve been away on Thanksgiving vacation. Thank you for your understanding. I’ll be out another few days beginning this Wednesday, December 4 - Tuesday, December 10. That being said, here is today’s vignette:
In this passage, Job affirms God’s providence as Creator for every life ever brought forth upon the earth. Job beautifully pens what God breathed into His mind:
“Your hands shaped me and made me. Will You now turn and destroy me? Remember that You molded me like clay. Will You now turn me to dust again? Did You not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in Your providence watched over my spirit.” (vv. 8 – 12)
Job’s new argument to God focuses on God’s purposes. He reasoned his life must have had an original purpose in God’s mind, and he could not see the sense in destroying what was so well designed and created (vv.’s 8 – 9). In his appeal to God’s pattern of all that is good and right, Job reminded God that he was the result of divine planning and effort:
“Your hands shaped me and made me.” (v.8a) Each of us is uniquely designed and formed by God. Even the weak are considered strong in the Lord, being used to confound the wise (read Joel 3:10; 1 Corinthians 1:27).
“Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?” (vv. 10 – 11) God made an investment in each life He created: time and effort. He could have spoken each of us into existence, and, ‘Poof!’, we would appear. God chose another way to introduce us to the world: He grew each of us in our mother’s womb, allowing a physical process to occur which is miraculous in itself! Making cheese from milk curds is a tedious process, requiring attention to detail – with an end result in mind. Different cheeses go through similar, yet different processes… thus ending in a result which makes each cheese distinct in its own way.
”You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in Your providence watched over my spirit.” (v.12) There is another component to our being which Job recognized – one’s spirit. You see we are not physical bodies with a soul, we are spiritual beings with a physical body. Our spirits will last forever when we are found in Christ. God watches over the spirits of children. Jesus did not hinder the children to flock to Him (read Matthew 19:15). Job also recognized that God chose him – selected his spirit to watch over. Jesus taught His disciples that He chose them, they did not choose Him (read John 15:16).
Like the vine-dresser who chooses the vine to tend and harvest, so God chooses each of us for His purposes. His desire is for each of us to bear fruit just as mature plants bear fruit. Job’s pain proved to be a stumbling block to him, blinding him to God’s good purposes for his life. What pain do you carry? Has it become a stumbling block? Have you become blinded to the marvelous riches of His grace? Bring your prayers before Him to watch over your spirit. Avail your life to Him to bear much fruit for His Kingdom. Consider listening to my song, “I am Yours” on my website. Just go to the “Listen” tab and activate the song title. I hope it encourages you to be fully devoted to Christ.
Have a blessed day…