“…stop and consider God’s wonders.” Job 37:14b

Drawing very close to the soon to be heard words of God, Elihu continues to draw Job’s attention to God’s handiwork – almost as a prelude to the coming appointment with The Almighty. Young Elihu instructs Job (and any who had come to see and hear the intervention of Job’s friends – intervention is not a recent or new idea) to stop… to cease from striving… to discontinue any further conjecture as to the purposes behind the catastrophes he had faced… and to abandon any efforts toward a face-off with The Almighty.

Then Elihu redirected Job’s attention to the wonders of God’s creation, namely the skies and clouds floating among them. Although modern man has unlocked the mystery of the water cycle, in Job’s day it was a marvel to behold. Elihu challenged Job’s ability to completely understand how God controls the clouds which release their powerful bolts of lightning upon the earth (v.15), much less how those clouds laden with water continue to float in the air (v.16).

Confronting Job further, Elihu queries if Job were able to spread-out the skies – which, to him, appeared as solid as a mirror of cast bronze (v.18). God breathed through Elihu a biblical precept which has been denied, argued and rejected for eons: the depravity of man. After provoking Job to instruct everyone on how to confront God, Elihu postured the precept with these words: “…we cannot draw-up our case because of our darkness.” (v.19b) Elihu may have hinted at Job’s own inherent depravity with the words, “You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind…” (v.17). In other words, we are made finite, human, and one’s own stench belies one’s imperfection.

We live in an age when everyone is told they are good, strong, pretty, etc., which is fine for building up a child’s self-esteem, but spiritually lethal to carry into adulthood. Even in these days, we see all too well the depravity of humanity bent on destruction. And everyone of us is born with that tendency. We may not like it… we may avoid its reality… we may even deny it… yet, it is within each and every living soul.

The depravity of man is essential for understanding one’s need for a savior. We are unable to save ourselves. However, God is able. In fact, the very reason Christ came to earth was for the purpose of reconciling the brokenness of mankind to the perfect love of God. God’s love is always greater than one’s deepest sin, always higher than one’s pride, always wider than the lengths one takes to avoid or run away from God’s love. He loves you with a love none other is able to provide or sustain.

Stop and consider God’s wonders… and the most breathtaking wonder of all: He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life! (John 3:16)

Have a blessed day…