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| The Creation of the Earth |
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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 swaddling band for it (Job 38:4-9). The Lord is reminding Job of the Lord's role in the creation of the earth, nicely underscored by the birth images in verses 8 and 9. Of greatest interest to us, however, is verse 7, where the "morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). The irony of this passage is that the Lord asks Job to tell "if thou knowest" (Job 38:5) who it was who had been instrumental in the creation. Job, as one of the sons of God, as a likely "Noble and great" one Abraham saw in vision (Abraham 3:22), was surely one of the sons of God who shouted for joy. Job knew his Lord in this life, but had also known him before, and had shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. The scriptural definitions of how the earth was created are sufficient for our spiritual understanding, but are clearly not designed as a scientific blueprint. The Biblical emphasis is on the organizing power of God's word, not the mechanisms by which the will was accomplished. Before ever attempting to see natural history in the story of the creation, it is incumbent upon us to understand the spiritual history which is its purpose to portray. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
At one point during
Job's trials, the Lord, in glorious poetic language, reminds Job of his place in the great scheme of things.|
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