Week Four - Day Three: Getting Acquainted

Yesterday, we discussed how knowing God means much more than knowing things about God. Remember the great A. W. Pink quote? “God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments.”

Having said that, knowing things about God is certainly required if we are to know Him. Information is not enough, but we must have right information about Him before we can really know Him. If we’re going to acquaint ourselves with God, it is critical that we think rightly about Him.

We tend toward a lopsided, diminished view of God, don’t we? Specifically, we tend to pick the parts of God’s character and activity that we like and we focus on those. Then we discard the uncomfortable parts … or we just don’t think about them. They say children in dysfunctional families do this with their picture of their parents. (Okay, maybe not the best illustration. I don’t think God is creating a dysfunctional family, even though some of us ... Another digression.)

This is why we began our look at the character of God last Friday by looking at Psalm 90. This Psalm suggests some things about God – and about us – that are difficult to swallow, even troubling if we’re honest. “We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.” (Psalm 90:7) This is not usually the way we think about God. “All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.” (Psalm 90:9) Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed, right?

And yet, if we faithfully read the Bible, if we refuse to pick and choose our favorite themes, (arguably by doing this we ‘create’ God in our image instead of the reverse) when we simply let God’s faithful followers speak without editorial work we realize that they sound the uncomfortable themes of Psalm 90 consistently and throughout. This is not just the work of some overwrought Jewish guilt; nor is it a wrongheaded Old Testament distortion. This is part of the character of God and part of the fabric of the real world in which we live.

How about a reality check? Human beings are capable of fantastic creativity and incredible benevolence. But we also know the whole video of human behavior includes some terribly dark scenes. It’s not different with God! There is beauty and there is joy; there is glory and God is good and loving. But God’s character is certainly not less complicated than our own, so there is much more to who He is and to who we are than that rosy picture offers.

And when we engage Him – the real God and not the God of our imagination – we are forced to bow. We are brought to our knees in wonder and amazement and fear! There are things that thrill us, but there are also things that we will not understand.

Before doing our day, let’s look at a profoundly humbling section from the Old Testament book of Job. Do you know the story of Job? He was a faithful guy – good family, successful business, nice home in the suburbs and served on the elder board of his local, mid-sized church (or, the Ancient Near Eastern equivalent anyway). Then calamity happened (kind of like the bumper sticker). He lost his business, he lost his family and his friends pretty much started blaming him for it all.

So, Job has a little, itty, bitty question: WHY GOD? Before we begin our day today, we need to hear God’s answer.

Before You Start Your Day:

1. Read this at your own risk. This is not for the faint of heart.
   1. For a sampling of God’s answer look at Job 38:1-21; 39:19-30. Read the whole if you have the stomach and the time.

      (1) Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

      (2) "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? (3) Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. (4) "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. (5) Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? (6) On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- (7) while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

      (8) "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, (9) when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, (10) when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, (11) when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?

      (12) "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, (13) that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? (14) The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.

      (15) The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. (16) "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

      (17) Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death ? (18) Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

      Tell me, if you know all this. (19) "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? (20) Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? (21) Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!

      (19) "Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? 20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? 21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.

      (22) He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.

      (23) The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.

      (24) In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. (25) At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry. (26) "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? (27) Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? (28) He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold. (29) From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar.

      (30) His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he."

   2. Take a deep breath. This is a little like doing spiritual yoga. It feels like the heart and spirit are not meant to be bent in this direction. But this is absolutely critical to a right understanding of God!
2. Now let’s look at Job’s response.
   1. Read Job 40:1-5 and 42:1-6.

      (1) The LORD said to Job:

      (2) "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"

      (3) Then Job answered the LORD :

      (4) "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.

      (5) I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more."

      Then Job replied to the LORD :

      (2) "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. (3) You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. (4) "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' (5) My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (6) Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

   2. If you are alone now, I encourage you to get on your knees, just like last night, and to lift your hands toward heaven. (If you are not alone, find some time later to be alone.) You don’t have to speak this morning. Simply tell God, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
   3. Silence!