4 ¶ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations
of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou
knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof
fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all
the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or
who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of
the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the
garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set
bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto
shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
There are several ways of looking at
what verse 4 actually says but generally only one meaning. God is saying to
Job, “where were you when I created the earth?” It is a challenge showing God’s
knowledge superior to Job’s as the Creator of the very earth he is standing or
sitting on. In historical scholarship there is what is called a primary source.
That is usually a first-hand eyewitness account or an interview with an
eyewitness. The book of Genesis represents an eyewitness account of creation
and the first half of human history by the one who created and oversaw it, with
Moses as the interviewer or the amanuensis, secretary. It is a primary source
in contrast to what 19th century preacher, DeWitt Talmage, whom my
grandfather was named after, called in a sermon, “The Guess of Evolution.”
It would be easy to view this as
poetic language, talking about the earth’s foundations and its corner stone, as
this is comparable to how we discuss building a building. As we know it has
already been said that the earth hangs in empty space there can be no
misunderstanding that God is talking about the earth sitting on something. See
chapter 26, verse 7. It may be tempting to talk about the earth’s mantle, on
which the earth’s crust sits, as being its foundation but I think it would be more
reasonable to view this as a figurative argument with references to building a
building as metaphorical descriptions. It is not God’s purpose here to give a
science lesson but to make a point about His sovereignty and Job’s ignorance.
Verse 7 reveals something
interesting. The terms, “morning stars,” and the, “sons of God,” are
synonymous, perhaps? Jesus Christ is, “the
bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16). He is the Son of God, uppercase
S. (Mark 1:1).
We became the, “sons of God,” when
we believed on Christ (John 1:12). Perhaps we will replace those beings that
left, “their first estate.” (Jude, verse 6). Angels, as appearances of the sons
of God, is a word that is used interchangeably with that phrase.
Genesis
6:2 That the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which
they chose...4 There were giants in the
earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the
daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men
which were of old, men of renown.
These supernatural beings which
became natural beings are awaiting their final judgment now.
2Peter
2:4 For if God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment...
While the following verse may be a
reference to future events, if it is a reference to past events then, by cross
referencing one might assume that chapter 12 of Revelation is a summary of
spiritual events in history.
Revelation
12:3 And there appeared another wonder
in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and
seven crowns upon his heads. 4a And his
tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth...
Of course, this raises as many
questions as it answers but helps explain why human history appears, as some
have said, to be the autobiography of a madman with the reptilian cherub,
Satan, and the rebellious sons of God influencing mankind in every way.
But, in the beginning the morning
stars, the sons of God, patterned after THE Son of God, as we will be one day (1John
3:2) rejoiced.
Again, in verses 8 through 11 we
have poetic metaphor mentioning the sea that came from out of the earth as in
Genesis 8:2. Those who study these things believe that there exists now more
water in the earth’s mantle, the foundation if you will permit me, perhaps as
much as in the oceans above the crust. (39). The point here is that there is
order on the earth, natural limitations to what we see around us. The idea here
is staggering. The sea stays in its place by God’s command and, therefore, the
opposite must be true, that when there is a tsunami, such as in 2004 on the day
after Christmas, or a tidal wave that washes over a city like Japan’s Fukushima
in 2011, that it was by God’s permissive will that these disasters occurred.
This goes against the thinking of
modern Christians of God as being a benign bystander watching a building catch
fire and then responding to the screams of some by rushing in to carry them to
safety. It suggests that God built the building, placed the people in it, set
the fire or gave permission for it to be set by Satan, and then saved whom He
chose. We have a huge problem with God’s sovereignty and the activity of our
Creator in every function of and aspect of life because we wish so much to
believe that we are gods and we demand to be the measure of all things and the
judge of right and wrong.
God has enlightened Job somewhat to
His sovereign authority and dominion and rule over nature and, indeed, over all
creation.
(39) Becky Oskin, “Rare Diamond Confirms that Earth’s
Mantle Holds an Ocean’s Worth of Water,” Scientific
American, March 12, 2014. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rare-diamond-confirms-that-earths-mantle-holds-an-oceans-worth-of-water/
No comments:
Post a Comment