February 16-20

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"








"Who kept the sea inside its boundaries?"









"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear?"









"Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?"









"Where does light come from?"







"Have you visited the storehouses of the snow?"








"Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground?"









"Does the rain have a father?"









"Can you direct the movement of the stars?"









"Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?"





"Or maybe you'd like to discuss My wisdom, ingenuity and creativity when I made the animals?"



















They say that a picture is worth a thousand words! If so, I just spared myself from having to write 14,000 of them. Let's just take a moment to sit down and consider all that God's hand has made. Our images today do not scratch the surface of revealing the beauty and diversity of His creation! If I were to direct your attention to the flowers, the mountains, the woods, the deserts, rivers and springs, what color, what majesty, what beauty would our eyes take in? As I consider some of the sites to have you fix your gaze on, I realized that this tiny blog couldn't begin to cause you to fathom God's creativeness. No wonder Job's response was, "I am nothing - how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."

Elihu had given Job some excellent advice that, if he had heeded it before his accusations of God's lack of wisdom and judgment, he would not have had to retract his words. Elihu advises Job that, instead of accusing God of doing wrong, "Glorify His mighty works, singing songs of praise!" What great words of wisdom!!! Obviously, the apostle Paul knew the power of that advice and hundreds of years later; he lived by those words. When he found himself in difficult situations, he never asked, "Why?" He simply lifted his voice and glorified God! When he cried out for God to take away his thorn in the flesh and God responded with the fact that it was there for a reason, Paul determined to give God praise and glorify Him in his weakness. Yep, Paul understood the power of praise!

Don't you find it interesting that God did not come and speak to Job until after Elihu spoke? It reminds me of John the Baptist; he was a voice in the wilderness that prepared the way of the Lord! I can recall many times in my life when God has sent someone to me who had a word that opened my ears and softened my heart to hear God's voice. Sometimes He will speak through a messenger, sometimes through a friends, and sometimes He will even use an adversary! Often it is a remark that means nothing to anyone else, but it has been an arrow to my heart. Only then, was I able to hear the voice of the Lord! Come to think of it, it just happened in the last two weeks!!!

What an experience Job had. He ends his conversation with God by saying, "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes." Wow!!!! What and awesome experience!!!!!!! Although his revelation of God came at a high price tag, it came! We end our time with Job with some sobering questions; what is a revelation of God worth to us? How badly do we want to see Him face to face? These are questions that only God really knows the answer, because He is the One who knows our hearts. We may think we do, but "the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked! Do we dare ask Him to reveal ours to us?

*******

On Thursday, we pick up a new road map and start our trek through Exodus. For some, this is familiar territory, but it is always an exciting adventure.

I won't spend a great deal of time laying out the trail map for Thursday and Friday, but I do want you to look through my spiritual binoculars and focus on one area. Do you see that burning bush over there? God is speaking to Moses, while Moses is arguing with God. Sigh!!! Moses is asking God to give him His name. Up until now, they have known God by his title Elohim. Now God reveals His covenant name YHWH. (The four letters are a transliteration of the four Hebrew letters that constitute God's name. Unfortunately, I can't put the Hebrew characters on this blog site.) God says that this is His eternal name! That brings about a very intriguing fact about the letters that make up this covenant, eternal, sacred name. The orthodox Jews feel that it is so sacred that they will not write it or speak it, except in very rare situations. Within the four letters is a hidden message for those who don't speak Hebrew - a much more vivid message to those that do! There are three Hebrew phrases that are constructed from these four letters:

HYH - these three letters make the phrase "He was."
HWH - these correspond to the phrase "He is."
YHYH - these equal "He will be."

And His eternal name is YHWH! We do not worship a God of the past, although He existed in the past. We do not worship a God who is only concerned with today, although He is there for us today. He is not a God that is only in the future, yet He has already determined what will happen in the days to come. He is the "I Am." He is the God who exists, in every generation, in every circumstance, with all power and ability to meet every situation!!! What a might God we serve!!!

*****

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Monday
When Elihu speaks of God sending storms, he says there are two distinct reasons why He sends them. What are the two reasons?

Tuesday
God caused Job to consider His wisdom. Do you see a progression to the topics God points out? What is this progression representative of?

Wednesday
What modern day animals come to mind when God describes the Behemoth and the Leviathan?

Thursday
Moses' father-in-law had two names. What were they? For those who want to go one step farther, what do they mean?

Friday
Before Moses left Midian, God gave him specific instructions. He told him to tell Pharaoh that Israel had a special relationship with Him. What was that relationship?