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Job 26:7
7 He stretcheth out [natah] the north [tsaphown] over the empty place [tohuw], and hangeth [talah] the earth ['erets] upon nothing [baliymah]. KJV-Interlinear
7 'He stretches out the north over empty space, And hangs the earth on nothing. NASB
In ancient times all that anyone had to go on regarding the makeup of the universe was in what they could see. The earth or ground which man stood on was obvious, and the clouds above the ground are obvious as well. Then there is a vast emptiness followed by the sun, moon and stars.
With no science, no telescopes, and no satellite tools at their disposal, knowledge was limited pretty much, to what man could see.
This certainly should make obvious sense.
If you stand outside in the early morning or early evening and see the moon or some of the nearest planets in the sky, they seem round, like giant spheres. And, if they are near the horizon, the atmosphere has tendency to magnify them to appear larger than they would if they were directly overhead.
And what holds them up? Nothing which is apparent. There are no pillars, no ropes, certainly no person is standing there and holding the celestial objects in their place. They just seem to be floating on a vast region of nothingness.
The throne of God is said to reside in the north,
Isa. 14:13
13 'But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. NASB
The north is not somewhere on this planet, but outward into the far reaches of the heavens.
The ancients had a view of the planet, or rather an opinion, and that opinion or belief was pretty accurate. Especially when you know that they had no proof of gravity, the vacuum of space, or even how everything was organized.
Remember that Job lived only a few generations following the flood of Noah. So this is a pretty early time in mans history.
Most history books teach that the predominate thought was of a flat earth with the earth being the center of the solar system. That theory being promoted from the time of Aristotle, who lived in the mid 300's B.C., until the time of Copernicus, who lived in the late 1400's A.D.
Of course, there were others who believed in a round earth. Men such as Columbus, who sailed west in search of the Far East. However, the predominate thought for centuries was of a flat earth, and any disagreement would certainly bring ostracism or even execution for speaking such heresy.
Job speaks in a tone and manner of common knowledge. No one present will disagree with him, because they all are well aware of the facts of life. At least as everyone believes them.
They can all see into the evening or night sky, and they can all see the spherical shape of the moon and other objects. It is not a giant leap to believe that the earth is also a sphere. Job has already made mention earlier in this book, of the unseen celestial objects in the southern sky.
How can any of this be? Well it is obviously by means of the power of God. They lacked any further science or explanation. But what is seen, is obvious. The how's and why's were not for their generation to understand.
The world will have to wait another 2000 years before it hears from Aristotle and still another 2000 years before the world sails with Columbus, and still another 500 years before we get to our current day.
And, even though we have more knowledge and science with regard to how this universe works, we still have our theories regarding things we do not understand. We also have our subjective or superstitious beliefs, too.
Job's generation lacked modern science, but their common sense functioned pretty well. We have phenomenal science and may have a better understanding of the things God has designed, but when the spiritual side of life is ignored, then common sense fails, too.
