Job 12:7-10 (NIVUK)
7 ‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
The book of Job is a challenging book, and one to be understood as a whole. Job is going through great suffering, and much of the book is taken up by others trying to explain why. Some are well-meaning, and others are vindictive, and many responses sound reasonable. Job responds to them, often revealing the weaknesses or errors in their thinking, before he demands that God explains. The book ends with God’s response. Alongside it’s exploration of suffering, it also explores throughout the natural world and what it reveals about God. Here, in responding to Zophar the Naamathite, Job argues that creation ‘knows’ its origin is in God and that God is responsible for it and has power over it.
Father, thank you for creating us and this world that we live in – we live only because of you and recognise our dependence on you.
Leave a Reply