A Penetrating Reproof from the Almighty, Part 1

0:42 Well, God finally speaks to Job. What he says is surprising, as you're going to discover this morning, but that's fine. God's full of surprises, which we will affirm again and again in the message today. Job 38, I'll read just a few verses and then we'll jump to 40. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, verse 1 begins, and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

1:35 Tell me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? If you were to list the questions between here and the end of the book, you'd find 77 that Job is asked. none of them able to be answered by Job. Humbled and broken, chapter 40, Job responds in verse 3, Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am insignificant. What can I reply to you? I lay my hand on my mouth once I have spoken, and I will not answer.

2:34 Even twice, and I will add no more. It's an old Hebrew colloquialism that means I have already said more than I should.

3:02 chuck title today's message a penetrating reproof from the almighty god's ways are often so surprising and when he does show up, if you will, his message is so often unexpected and unpredictable. Sometimes it's a close call and we realize after the fact that he has been there all the time protecting us, even when we didn't know we were in danger. That occurred to me this last week when I read a report that came from Montgomery County, Maryland, in the city of Wheaton, Maryland. The report reads, the first bullet fired in a shooting spree that killed five people in Montgomery County, Wednesday and Thursday, narrowly missed Ann Chapman, who was working at Michael Arts and Crafts store in Northgate Shopping Center.

4:04 It's a miracle no one was heard after the bullet cut a dime size hole in the display window, nicked a light fixture, pierced two poster board signs, and hit a metal rack holding rows of mini-books at 5.20 p.m. Wednesday. But the amazing thing is what the bullets stopped next to, the store's employees said. a book called Inspiration for the Heart from the Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. If you were to open the book flap, you would read, a simple daily prayer from the heart can inspire you to seek God's constant favor, power, and protection. The bullet has not been recovered.

4:58 Ann Chapman had no idea that she was that close to being shot. You and I think we know what is best for ourselves when, in fact, we do not. And sometimes when the Lord does come on the scene, we are downright not only surprised but shocked at how He says what He says and at what He says. I came across this week two prophets from the Old Testament who verify what I'm talking about. The first one we're not familiar with at all, and the other we're rather familiar with. So let's turn first to the less familiar, Nahum, just between Micah and Habakkuk. Doesn't help, does it? It's page 1437 in my Bible, and it's the seventh of the Old Testament minor prophets. If you're not familiar, that's okay.

5:57 Most of us aren't. that familiar with the Old Testament minor prophets. Nahum chapter 1 verse 3. I came across this this past week and was reminded again of how surprising the presence of God can be. Nahum 1 3. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power. The Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Now it's this part that intrigues me. In whirlwind and storm is his way, and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.

6:40 Look closely, put your finger on that last part of the third verse, and notice he's referring to a strong wind, a storm that may include thunder and lightning. And that which frightens us and drives us away is often, in fact, the reminder of the presence of God. One man writes, the power and majesty of God are evidenced most dramatically in the forces of nature. So I suggest the next time lightning flashes and thunder rolls and the rain begins to fall, rather than slamming your door and closing everything up and pulling the blinds and staying away from it that you stand and stare. Remember that the clouds are but the dust of his feet. God is there and very present at times like that. When he gave the law at Sinai, Moses writes that the mountain was surrounded by thick, heavy clouds. There was thunder and there was lightning when Elijah stepped out of the cave in his depression to see what was there.

7:53 There was the passing of a strong whirlwind that came by the cave. The same happened with Ezekiel. When Jesus walked toward the disciples frightened in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, it was in a time of storm that he stilled the storm and spoke peaceful words to his disciples. I read where Martin Luther, while pursuing a law degree as a young man in Erfurt, Germany, was caught in a thunderous, lightning-stricken storm, and the storm so humbled him, he realized he should not be pursuing law. This was God's way of saying to him, you need to pursue ministry. Now, every time we're in a storm, that's not what the Lord is saying to his people. But there was a sense of God's presence in that frightening moment, and his heart became unusually sensitive and tender.

8:51 And aren't we all glad he was not an attorney, but became a monk and ultimately discovered what became for us the roots of a reformation. God has his way in the whirlwind and the storm. This is called a theophany, T-H-E-O-P-H-A-N-Y, theophany. It's a disclosure of God's presence, a theophany. Nahum says that God is present in the storm, and in the midst of the storm, he's having his way. Now, with that in mind, go back to Isaiah. Isaiah is just before Jeremiah chapter 55 verse 6. I know we're in Job, but we're moving in that direction.

9:49 And just give me a moment to set it up, okay? Job speaks of some of this, at least the chapter we're looking at. And I want you to see something ahead of time. Isaiah 55 6. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord. He will have compassion on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. That part we understand. The next part is so surprising. For my thoughts, this is God speaking now. He steps in as Isaiah continues to write. My thoughts are not your thoughts. neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord well are they really that different are they really that far apart verse 9 as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts as far as the distance between heavens and earth, so is the distance between my thinking and God's thinking, your ways and God's ways. If you were raised like me, you were usually taught that God speaks in a still small voice, that he comes tippy-toeing on the scene, and he always sort of whispers.

11:22 But Nahum says he has his way in a whirlwind and a storm, and the clouds are but the dust of his feet. And when he does speak, what a surprising message. Often it is a shaking of our shoulders in the storm. Sometimes it is a reproof that levels us. We prefer the quiet setting. We prefer the calm and peaceful surrounding. But sometimes the storm is a doctor's report that's frightening. Sometimes the storm message comes in a rehabilitation center or in the emergency room or in a prison cell or as we're standing on the other end of the room and we're reading a note from our mate who says, I cannot stay any longer, I'm gone.

12:19 And we think in moments like that, where is God? Where is God when I need him? He is there in the storm and in the whirlwind. God's whirlwind messages are never forgotten. Most of us could testify that our lives began to be changed because of some reproof that came through some enormously significant event. Usually stormy. Now, Job 38 brings us to the place we've been waiting for for some time. Quite some time. Got a letter from one of the men in our church this week. Good letter. He said, I just want to thank you for Job, but could we do something in another book that isn't quite so character building? He said.

13:14 He said, if my character gets built anymore, I'll need to have another office space, another room in my office to put some of this character that's getting built. And he names one thing after another. And it's like the wheels have come off the cart. And so it has for Job. And adding insult to injury, not only does Job lose his ability to make a living, and along with that, his home and his entire family of 10 grown children. and he now has lost his health. And these so-called friends have come alongside to preach their sermons and to deliver their messages, all of which are off target and they don't help. And Job has stood toe-to-toe with each one of them, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and lately Elihu. And by the time he gets to Elihu, he just doesn't bother to answer.

14:08 He is out of energy, and he is so determined that he is going to wait for God to speak. Well, God speaks. In chapter 38, verse 1, the Lord answered, but he doesn't tiptoe and say, Psst, Job, it's me, God. He comes in a whirlwind. As if Job doesn't have it tough enough already, he's got to go through a whirlwind. And in the midst of the whirlwind, And as his hair is blowing and his beard is, no, he doesn't have any hair. He's bald. As his beard is blowing and as his clothes are being pulled off, he realizes this must be some significant moment. And he hears the voice he's been waiting to hear. But it isn't a voice of comfort. Now, if you and I had come, we would have come hopefully with comfort in mind. We'd have brought Job something to read.

15:05 maybe something to eat, and we'd sit down with him, and, oh, my, it's tough. But God doesn't do that. Why? His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts different than our thoughts. Remember that. Get out of your mind the idea that God is just like us, just a lot older.

15:27 And God understands like we understand, but he just, you know, he's been at it longer. He's not this old man with long white hair blowing wind from the north to make the boat sail across the ocean. He is totally and completely and absolutely different from us. Therefore, his ways are full of shocks and surprises. The first word out of his mouth is a reproof. Why would he do that? Here's a man covered with boils, waiting for comfort and needing help. And along comes the living God who has known the whole story from start to finish. He doesn't give Job any answers to his questions. He doesn't apologize for having been silent so long. He doesn't give a hint about the whole thing between himself and Satan way back when, when it all started.

16:23 He doesn't acknowledge that Job has been through deep struggles. when he finally speaks, he speaks in a reproof. Frankly, having thought about this for some time, I think Job by now has gotten in his defense a little arrogant. You get like that when you defend yourself too long.

16:46 When you've had to stand against the attacks of the others, you tend to get a little cocksure. And God is going to communicate a number of things to Job, but he has to get his heart right to begin with, and does he do that? He comes with a clipboard full of questions. His opening line is, who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

17:13 Now, you've got to understand, there's not a whole group of people standing there. It's just Job and God. So who is a pretty simple answer. Now, gird up your loins like a man. It's singular. He's not talking to the friends. He's talking to Job. Gird up your loins like a man. I will ask you and you instruct me. And he starts. He begins with the creation of the world. He moves to the stellar spaces, to the deepest seas. He goes ultimately into the animal kingdom, one question after another, after another. The first set of questions ask, can you explain my creation? Let's even add control it. Can you explain or control my creation? Just answer the question, Job. And that ends with a statement of humility when Job answers in verses 3, 4, and 5 of chapter 40.

18:09 God isn't through. The next set of questions ask, can you change or subdue my creation? And that's ended with Job's answer of repentance. We'll look at that some time from now. But right now, let's think about this first set of questions, which was answered with humility, thankfully.

18:30 Now watch closely. He begins with the creation. Verse 4, chapter 38, Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Well, obviously, he wasn't anywhere around. All of us were gone at that time. Tell me if you have any understanding. Who set its measurements? He doesn't know that answer. No one knows how the earth's measured or the universe about us. Are the multiple galaxies beyond that? Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Who laid its cornerstone? How did all of this get flung into space? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. That's a reference to the first stars. Those morning stars sang together. Perhaps at creation, the stars could sing. Maybe it's poetic writing, and it doesn't literally mean singing, but again, maybe the heavens were in harmony with one another.

19:26 We don't know. We weren't there. Writing this account, he refers to the morning stars singing together. Maybe they were the angels as they sang at the time of creation. These angelic creatures were witnessing all of this with open mouths, staring with this incredulous look about them. And then he moves to the sea. Who enclosed the sea with doors? When bursting forth, it went out from the womb. This is poetic. When I made a cloud, its garment and thick darkness, its swaddling band, and I placed boundaries on it, I set a bolt and doors, and I said, Thus far you shall come, but no farther, and here shall your proud waves stop. Could you do that, Job? Were you there when that happened, Job?

20:15 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place? Now he moves to the sun, this greater light by day, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth and the wicked be shaken out of it. Verse 16, have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell me if you know all this. Quite a set of questions, isn't it? You know what happens when you're asked questions like this? You get even more silent. You're already silent, but you get... As he says at the end, he puts his hand over his mouth, lest he be tempted to give one answer. You are totally out of it. It's like a classroom.

21:08 and the prof is way ahead of you and you and you you duck behind the head of the person in front of you so the prof can't see you've done it you're you're you're there and then he begins to ask questions and you you know you're outclassed not only do you not know you are aware that others know you don't know so you are doubly silent and yet god goes on the expanses of the sea i in my research. It may be dated, but the book I read talked about the deepest place of the sea has been revealed to be 6.78 miles. There may be deeper places, but at that point, that particular authority said we've come a little over six and three-quarter mile deep in the deepest place of the sea. And how about the stellar spaces? You may remember one of our space probes spent 12 years going 4.4 billion miles, passing within 3,000 miles of Neptune's cloud bank.

22:18 But that's only in this immediate galaxy. There are millions more. Who knows, but what ours is the smallest of the group. It's mind-boggling. It makes you quiet. So he carries him to the telescopes and then he takes him back to earth and he invites him to visit the darkness. 19 through 21 and then he says in 22, have you entered the storehouses of the snow? Have you seen the storehouses of the hail? What a poetic way to put it. all of the heavens that hold the waters that will drench the earth and the ice that will fall and and will form and the hail storms yet to come and he said he's reserved those for a time of distress I mean Job is just standing there suddenly the boils don't seem quite as significant and the The answers he was giving his friends with such dogmatism don't flow with such eloquence anymore.

23:24 He even asks him to verse 31, can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Now he's describing some of the constellations. Or loose the cords of Orion. Can you lead forth a constellation in its season and guide the bear with her satellites, another of the star formations in the shape of a bear. Many of you are familiar with that. Do you know the ordinances of the heavens or fix their rule over the earth? It's like being invited to one of these great telescopes and you take a look and you blink and you watch this entire world beyond our present familiar surface. you don't turn and start instructing the person who runs the place. You stuff your hands in your pockets and sort of walk backwards to get out of the place.

24:25 It is enormous. It's especially enormous because the one who could answer every question is talking to him and was there and has put them in motion and keeps them in motion. Who, how, can you, do you, will you, are you? If God's ways are higher than mine, then whatever he allows, I bow in submission. And that makes me humble. How needed a humble spirit is in a person like Joseph.