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Job 40:3-5
3 Then Job ['Iyowb] answered [`anah] the LORD [Yahovah], and said ['amar],
4 Behold, I am vile [qalal]; what shall I answer [shuwb] thee? I will lay [suwm] mine hand [yad] upon [lamow] my mouth [peh].
5 Once ['echad] have I spoken [dabar]; but I will not answer [`anah]: yea, twice [shanayim]; but I will proceed no further [yacaph]. KJV-Interlinear
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 4 'Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to Thee? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5 'Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add no more.' NASB
Just a quick note here. The web sites have been down since last night (Tues. - Wed.), and hopefully that will not last long. Our sites are hosted by companies out there in the internet world, and there seems to be server/network problems of some kind. I don't have any control over those computers or their function, but hopefully we'll be back in business before too long. Sorry 'bout that.
And one more note. Odd as it may seem, I made mention of the carbon footprint and global warming issues these past couple of days, and lo and behold there was a news story out today about a plan in Europe to issue to everyone, carbon usage cards. Once you exceed your limit you cannot buy or sell or engage in commerce, or you pay penalties, until your carbon credits come back into some sort of norm.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but were these words or phrases even in our vocabulary a year ago? I do not recall them at all, except in the recent news. And my point here is that if you recall our Revelation study, there will be severe economic sanctions placed on people in the Tribulation. And of course since the Tribulation is only going to last seven years, and these sanctions will be in place rather early on, then one can reasonably assume that these types of monitoring devices (credit ratings, ID cards, and now carbon credits, etc.) will be in place prior to the Tribulation. In other words, they will have been initiated during our Church Age, which of course we see happening right before our eyes.
And one more thought. As man rejects Bible doctrine, man by default attempts to control his environment. Adam and Eve put on fig leaves. Their sin lost them the perfect environment of the Garden. And now humanity is running is hot pursuit of controlling the planet, with little or no knowledge of how everything works.
Just food for thought. No extra charge for these tidbits. And no, I do not believe that the Rapture will occur anytime soon. I have always said that I believe that it will not occur until humanity has been overwhelmed by world overpopulation, where humanity will be totally overwhelmed by too many people on the planet. What with China trying to regulate births, and now we seem to be trying to control carbon usage, what do you suppose will be next on the horizon of government regulation?
Anyway, on with Jobs response to God.
God is the wisest of beings. God is omniscient. That means that He knows all that is, and He knows all that could be. He knows all that is possible but will never be, as well all that will be.
God possesses foreknowledge. That means that He knows all that will be, because He saw the reality of history before any history ever happened. He saw it in eternity past. We call this foreknowledge, the Devine Decrees.
So, when someone who is infinitely smarter and wiser than you, speaks to you, then what do you suppose your response should be? How can one possibly respond to someone who knows, literally and accurately, everything?
And Job did the right thing. He shut up. He admitted being a nothing of an object in this universe. The word for insignificant means, when you take a part of a drop of water, and toss it into the oceans of the world, how could anyone possibly ever find that exact partial of a drop. Or, if you take a speck of dust and throw it out into the heavens of the universe. How could anyone search the universe and ever find it.
That is insignificance. And that is the proper attitude that we should all take with God. Instead of whining and complaining and blaming God, then we should consider what God has done for each one of us.
We are insignificant, and yet God has created an entire universe around us, has maintained and controlled an entire history before and after us. And, despite Satan's and mans attempts to ruin it all, has and will preserve us for an inheritance in Heaven together with phenomenal significance.
Why should He do anything for us, let alone give us the inheritance of Heaven?
God has a plan for your life, and you personally, are at the highest of His priorities on His to-do list.
History is unfolding right before our eyes, and we may be forced to suffer as other generations before us have suffered, but then, that is God allowing Satan and humanity their final rebellion as they kick and scream over their inability to control their destiny.
The conclusion of our dispensation could be minutes away, or decades away. That timetable we do not know. But our priority is not figuring out history's timetable, but getting our spiritual growth and our spiritual life in order. Watching history unfold is nothing more than a privilege, which God has given us. That is, if we have any kind of spiritual life and have some discernment to observe and wonder about how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
And no, we are not going to stand out on the street corner preaching the end of the world. That is for fools. None of us were given the gift of prophecy por a crystal ball. There is no event that will signal the end of our age. Remember that the nation of Israel was restored way back in 1948, but that was not the regathering prophecy of the Bible. That regathering will occur at the Second Advent.
Our dispensation is filled with historical trends, and the best we can do is watch as these many trends come to pass across several generations.
And how do we watch? In silence.
The world is driving itself toward its final destination. We cannot prevent it nor change it. But we can drive our own spiritual life. And that is far more important for each one of us.
