April 3, 2009
A FAINT WHISPER
Job 26
Rachel Shelton
Central Truth
In all that we see and in all that we know, we only get a glimpse of God's power and majesty.
Key Verse | Job 26:14
"Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?" (Job 26:14)
Job 26
Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable
1 Then Job answered and said:
2
“How you have helped him who has no power!
How you have saved the arm that has no strength!
3
How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4
With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath has come out from you?
5
The dead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6
Sheol is naked before God,
1
26:6
Hebrew him
and Abaddon has no covering.
7
He stretches out the north over the void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8
He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9
He covers the face of the full moon
2
26:9
Or his throne
and spreads over it his cloud.
10
He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11
The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12
By his power he stilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered Rahab.
13
By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Dive Deeper | Job 26
During and after college I spent many summers working at a camp on Lake Travis just outside of Austin, Texas. Sometimes, we would get word from those working on the dock that a storm was on its way. Occasionally, I'd run down to the lake and sit on the dock to watch the storm brewing. I could see it off in the distance. The sky was dark, the hills were blurry, the waves were getting bigger, and the temperature was dropping. At first, I could only faintly hear the thunder in the distance across the lake. But as the storm drew closer, the wind would whip around. And by the time it came upon us, the wind roared SO loudly that I could hardly hear the person standing next to me.
As Job describes to his buddy the greatness of God, he explains HOW HUGE and HOW AWESOME and HOW GREAT God is in all that He does. Yet, Job goes on to explain that "these are but the outer fringes of his ways," and we hear only the faintest whisper of God.
Can you believe that!? What we see and what we know of God is only a sliver of His power and His majesty and His greatness! I've seen God do some pretty HUGE things in my life and in the lives of those I know. I have seen Him do what only He can do, but Job says that this is only a glimpse? Holy cow!
Sitting on the dock at summer camp and being on the edge of the storm is NOTHING compared to the REAL DEAL. As I read this chapter in Job, I feel like he's saying that we're just sitting on the dock. We are getting only a glimpse of God, and we can't even fathom His true power and majesty. I get excited to know that someday I will hear more than a "whisper" of God's greatness.
Discussion Questions
1. Sometimes when things are tough, we lose sight of how BIG God is. Can you think of a time when you allowed your circumstances to cloud out what you knew to be true about God?
2. How would you describe God? Do you know God as well as Job did? Even through the toughest of tough times, Job gives us a great description of God and His power.
3. Are you ready to give an answer for the faith you have in God even when it seems that life is crashing down around you?