Job 40:1-14

[1] And the Lord said to Job:

[2] "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Anyone who argues with God must respond."

[3] Then Job answered the Lord:

[4] "See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.

[5] I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but will proceed no further."

[6] Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

[7] "Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to me.

[8] Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?

[9] Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?

[10] "Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.

[11] Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on all who are proud, and abase them.

[12] Look on all who are proud, and bring them low;
tread down the wicked where they stand.

[13] Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.

[14] Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you victory.
[NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

A woman was walking home from work when a car pulled up alongside her and the driver asked her if she would like a ride. The woman refused to get in and continued walking home. The car pulled to the side of the road, waited for a couple of minutes, and then pulled up alongside the woman again.

Once more the driver asked her to get in the car. Again, she told the driver that she didn't want a ride. She also told the driver to leave her alone. Again the car pulled up on the side of the road and waited. And a third time, the driver pulled up alongside this woman. This time he TOLD her to get in the car. He was going to give her a ride.

At this point the woman became furious. She walked up to the open window of the car and screamed at the driver: "I told you I don't want a ride. Why won't you listen to me? I told you not to buy that ugly car. Why won't you listen to me? I told you if you bought that ugly car, I wouldn't ride in it. Now why don't you drive your stupid, ugly car home and leave me alone. I'll be home later." (1)

I had no idea that story would end up like that when I first started reading it. Sometimes it helps if you know the whole story doesn't it. Well, it's the same way with the book of Job. It helps if you know the whole story doesn't it.

As we read and study Job, we find that out. All of Job's friends come and lamblast him. Even the young friend, Elihu. He's been quiet, listening to his elders. But he finally speaks up and is angry at Job because, in his eyes, Job seems to be justifying himself rather than glorifying God.

Elihu, like his predecessors though, missed the mark. However, he does point out the majesty of God. And he sort of sets the stage for the chapters in which God speaks to Job. Job has wanted to talk to God and now God grants Job the supreme compliment by doing just that.

In this conversation, Job realizes and admits that he is "of small account" when compared to God. But in this discussion and confrontational conversation, Job is reassured of God's existence and power. And the readers discover the depth of God's MAJESTY, MYSTERY and MERCY.

I. MAJESTY:

A. Nowadays we speak of God in more personal terms. We speak of our personal relationship with God and believe that's that kind of intimate relationship God wants to have with each of us. But at times it's good to step back and take a look at the larger picture.

Sort of like looking at a larger intricate carving or painting. It's easy to get caught up in the intricacy of the detail. The brush strokes, the use of the pattern and grain of the wood. All of those things are beautiful to behold up close, like our personal relationship with God.

But to really take in the majesty of the carving or painting, you have to step back and take it all in. That's what we have here in Job.

Job had a very personal and faithful relationship with God. But there came a time when he needed to be reminded of the big picture. And in the confrontational questions of God, we see the big picture. We see the MAJESTY of God.

B. Have you ever witnessed the MAJESTY of God? Have you ever stood absolutely amazed at some aspect of God's creative process and power?

I can remember three times when I was absolutely blown away and speechless. I was so awed by the beauty and power of God that I couldn't express it then and I can't even now as I remember. One was sitting on the edge of a cliff on the coast of Japan, watching the sunrise over the ocean. The second was a sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains one summer in Colorado. But the most awe inspiring of all was the first time I got to hold my son Joshua in my arms.

You see, I had been overseas when Paul was born and he was six months old the first time I got to hold him. But Joshua was only a few minutes old when I got to hold him. I was there when he was born.

And for just a moment, time stood still and I knew that I had stepped into the very presence of God. As I looked down into Joshua's tiny little face, I realized what a privilege it was to be a part of this miracle of birth. I realized it is only God who can control that miracle of birth. I was overwhelmed by the majesty of God. And holding my son, I felt a lot like Job, humbled and "of small account."

And believe it or not, it felt good. It felt good because I realized I was a part of the MAJESTY of God. I realized that I may be "of small account" but even the one of smallest account is a part of God's great MAJESTY.

II. MYSTERY:

A. We will probably never fully understand God's MAJESTY. But that's OK because through Christ Jesus, we become a part of that MAJESTY. And part of that MAJESTY is being a part of the MYSTERY.

Part of the MYSTERY is knowing that we are all "of small account."

M. Scott Peck, author of "The Road Less Traveled" said that one of his favorite quotes is: "Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived."

One of the wonders of our faith is the simple mystery that while God reveals Himself, God very rarely explains Himself. But isn't that what faith and trust are all about? We may not know the "Why?" but we certainly know the "Who?" of our faith.

It is the same as we live out of our faith. Christians don't live on explanations. Christians don't live on answers. Christians live on promises. Christians live on deepening relationships. John Oxenhan writes:

He writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand.
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife -
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this - His way was right.

God deliberately keeps some things secret and some things a mystery to keep us humble, to keep us faithful, to keep us trusting God and not ourselves.

B. Today is a day when we celebrate both the MAJESTY AND the MYSTERY of God. Today we come to the Lord's table to celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It's a MYSTERY to us how simple bread and wine can tell the whole story of creation and redemption. And yet, it does.

Summed up in the loaf and the cup are the hopes and dreams and will of God. Summed up in the breaking of the bread and the taking of the cup is the story of God's love for us, our failure and our fall, and God's act of Redemption in Christ.

Part of the MYSTERY is knowing that we are all "of small account." And yet also knowing that no matter how small we are in the grand scheme of creation, God loves us enough to have sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, to redeem us and offer us forgiveness.

And to me, that's an even greater MYSTERY.

III. MERCY:

And yet, that MYSTERY points to and leads to God's MERCY. Just thinking about MERCY boggles my mind. It overwhelms my heart and fills my soul with a sense of gratitude. It's almost unfathomable. Yet, it is the center of our faith.

How could the sinless, precious Son of God give Himself up for us and willingly face the humiliation and cruelty of the cross? How could God love us that much to give us His Son? How could Jesus love us enough to willingly die so we don't have to? We're of such "small account." How could God think so much of us or love us so much, especially when we know how much we have failed to do even the simplest things God has asked us to do.

Let's face it. We go through life like a Potluck luncheon I read about. It seems at a recent church potluck luncheon someone had brought a bowl of fresh apples. Next to the apples they had placed a sign. "Apples - take one per person. Remember, God is watching."

A little further down the line next to the cookies was a napkin on which someone with a crayon had scrawled this message: "Cookies - take all you want. God is watching the apples." (3)

We try to fool ourselves into thinking that maybe God isn't watching us. That maybe God is just too busy taking care of everyone else or watching everyone else to notice us. And it's for that very reason that we need the MYSTERY of God's MERCY. Because while we're busy fooling ourselves about God, God is busy watching us and loving us anyway. Loving us enough to send His Son.

CONCLUSION:

A father and his young daughter were riding in a crowded elevator. Suddenly a woman in front of them turned around and slapped the father's face. The elevator stopped and the woman stormed off as she looked back shooting venomous looks at the man.

The father was obviously shaken and confused. He looked down at his daughter and said, "I wonder what her problem was?"

To which his daughter replied: "Oh, she was just a mean lady who likes to hurt people, Daddy. I didn't like her either. She kept stepping on my toes. So I pinched her bottom as hard as I could. That's when she started picking on you."

Remember sometimes it helps to wait until you know the whole story.

Job found that out. And when he searched and waited he found nothing but He may have been "of small account," and so may we but if we put our lives into the hands of Christ, we will become part of God's MAJESTY, MYSTERY and MERCY through Christ.

1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), July, 2001

2. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), November 1993

3. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), July, 2001

4.