The Starry Witness
The ancients that came before us lived most of their lives looking up. They looked to the sky to tell time, to determine what the weather will be like, and to seek the face of their God. Scripture is filled with examples in which God speaks to humanity through the wonders displayed in the heavens. Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, that the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.
Job learned this lesson directly from God in the midst of the most tragic season of his life. Job lost his family, and lost his faith in God’s justice and creation. In his desolation, Job declared, “From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayers (Job 24:12).” Job puts God’s justice is on trial. When God, in a whirlwind, finally responds to Job’s demand for answers, God points him upward towards all of earthly creation as a means to place Job in the proper perspective of his ignorance about how the world works. Within the Whirlwind Speeches of Job …show more content…
Yet, God’s love for Job is demonstrated in God’s willingness to respond to his complaint directly and by means of restorative blessings. Despite the vastness of the universe, God responds to Job directly and provides children and cattle to replace what was lost. Although Job bring God’s justice to trial, God seems to be less concerned about Job’s perception of Justice. Old Testament Scholar Kathryn Schifferdecker notes, “Job’s justice ia a paltry thing compared to God’s ‘justice’... It is God 's [justice] that is of the utmost significance, and Job stands accused of trying to annul it.” Thus, God seemed to be more concerned about restoring Job’s hope in a God who hears the complaints of those who suffer. This offers humanity a theocentric theology of hope from a God who cares deeply for humanity’s suffering in the midst of creation’s
The ancients that came before us lived most of their lives looking up. They looked to the sky to tell time, to determine what the weather will be like, and to seek the face of their God. Scripture is filled with examples in which God speaks to humanity through the wonders displayed in the heavens. Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, that the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.
Job learned this lesson directly from God in the midst of the most tragic season of his life. Job lost his family, and lost his faith in God’s justice and creation. In his desolation, Job declared, “From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayers (Job 24:12).” Job puts God’s justice is on trial. When God, in a whirlwind, finally responds to Job’s demand for answers, God points him upward towards all of earthly creation as a means to place Job in the proper perspective of his ignorance about how the world works. Within the Whirlwind Speeches of Job …show more content…
Yet, God’s love for Job is demonstrated in God’s willingness to respond to his complaint directly and by means of restorative blessings. Despite the vastness of the universe, God responds to Job directly and provides children and cattle to replace what was lost. Although Job bring God’s justice to trial, God seems to be less concerned about Job’s perception of Justice. Old Testament Scholar Kathryn Schifferdecker notes, “Job’s justice ia a paltry thing compared to God’s ‘justice’... It is God 's [justice] that is of the utmost significance, and Job stands accused of trying to annul it.” Thus, God seemed to be more concerned about restoring Job’s hope in a God who hears the complaints of those who suffer. This offers humanity a theocentric theology of hope from a God who cares deeply for humanity’s suffering in the midst of creation’s