Job challenges Psalm 91 more directly than Genesis 32. Job, the archetype of those who trusted and honored God and suffered (Job 1:8), said “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him”. (Job 13:15) He was sorely tested by his ‘comforters’. The book bearing his name is more about bad theology than God’s ways. Certainly Job’s ‘friends’ did not understand God or His ways. (Job 42:7) In the end, Job’s response to God’s self-revelation in chapters 38-41 is profound. He quotes God twice, then acknowledges he has no answer, and repents.
I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:2-6)
Job did not see the behind the scenes confrontation between God and Satan in chapters 1 and 2 that we readers are privy to. In chapters 38-41, God showed him how much more there is in creation than he understood. Our simplistic understanding of eternal realities might be compared to a child’s understanding of an automobile. He sees his parents work the controls, but has no concept of legal, social, or practical implications of driving, much less the complexity of how the engine and transmission work. Driving three blocks in rural Utah is a far cry from driving in downtown LA, much less doing an engine overhaul.
God is love; the Scriptures and creation and the story of redemption all proclaim this. Jesus came to earth to save us because of His love for us. But that is the beginning of the story, not the whole story. We could speak of God’s holiness, of His creative power, and that takes us a few steps down the road. In Job’s case, God knew that Satan’s ravages would, in the end, open Job’s eyes to a whole new realm of revelation about Him, and thought it worth the cost for Job to grow in that dimension. What Satan intended for evil (i.e., Job’s renunciation of faith in God) became the pathway for the transformation of Job’s faith from religious form to living relationship.
The security of one who trusts in the Lord is anchored to faith in this ultimate truth: He knows best, is omnipotent, and loving when He acts; and we are not capable of comprehending His nature and character.
