“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without wisdom? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth? Tell me if you have understanding” Job 38:2, 4
How old is the Earth? How and when did the dinosaurs die? How did the seas become to lie exactly where they rest? Did the universe really come to exist through an unexplained random explosion? All tough questions that people assume to have the correct and concrete answers to today. But in my personal experience, I have come to realize that the wisest of all people are the people that can quickly and easily say these three words…I don’t know. Today countless people claim to have the answers. Answers to life, answers to the universe, answers to all of your problems. You see, in the greatest of pride lies the inability to simply state that you just plain don’t know. To admit through Godly realization that there is a power greater than all and that through that power all was created in perfect order and harmony. And Almighty God is that power. And as you admit and hand all the credit over to God, you really have no other outlet for certain explanations of life than to simply utter...I don’t know.
Job chapter 38 is one I have been waiting 2 months for, God finally speaks. Up until now we have seen men in their finite knowledge and wisdom attempt to explain God with every word they can muster. Five men utilize every cell of gray matter they possess to explain, reason, define, and describe how God works. And God crumbles every one of their words with His first three sentences. God asks two simple questions, "as you were attempting to define My creation, where were you ? Ouch. And the second, "why do you boldly attempt to explain that in which you know nothing of?" Double ouch. It’s as if God intended these questions not solely for Job and his advisers, but the men and women of 2021. You see, that is the glory of God, He was at the beginning, He is in today, and He will be in every tomorrow. And God’s Words, when spoken, contain the wisdom of all of those days. You see, God’s Words are not a snapshot in time, but a snapshot of time. His Words speak from the past, of the present, and live into a boundless future. And today, as we pridefully attempt to define and explain the ways of God, He is simply asking us…what wisdom do your words contain, yours or Mine?
One of my favorite lines from the Wizard of Oz is delivered by the scarecrow. Please allow me to quote from the original 1900 Frank L. Baum book. Dorothy: “How can you talk, if you haven't got a brain?” Scarecrow: “I don't know, but some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?” Dorothy: “Yes. I guess, you're right.” Our world today seeks to impress with knowledge. We tend to admire the individual that spews knowledge confidently, as if they just picked it off the nearest apple tree. But mostly it’s the delivery we admire, not the content. We admire the confidence more than the facts. It reminds me of another quote, “frequently wrong but never in doubt.” But you see, as men and women pretend to have all of the answers, God simply sits nearby and asks the same question he asked of Job and his advisers, "why do you speak without wisdom?" Today, it’s ok to say you don’t know. It’s ok to look upon the creation and plans of God and merely gaze in awestruck, unknowing wonder. You don’t have to understand it and you don’t need to be able to explain it to others. Simply look on in glorious awe at the miraculous way in which God orchestrates His universe. For God never asks for our understanding, only our belief in great faith.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28
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