Seeing God with Your Eyes
“3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:
4 “Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” ”
“Then Job answered the LORD and said:
2 “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.” ”
Job is said to have lived sometime between 2100 BC and 1900 BC in the land of Uz. The beginning of the story starts out with God having a meeting with his heavenly beings when Satan suddenly intervenes. After questioning God’s overprotection of Job, God invites Satan to test Job, first by taking his possessions and second by taking his health.
Over a timeframe of 140 years[1], a lot of terrible things happened to Job. His oxen, donkeys, and camels were stolen, his entire herd of sheep burned up (e.g., killed by lightening), nearly all of his servants were killed, all of his children died in a bazaar natural disaster, his wife completely stopped supporting him encouraging him to “curse God and die,” and he became horribly and miserably sick with boils all over his body. To make matters worse, his last three friends bashed and belittled him by claiming Job’s troubles were the result God’s punishment for his sins. A fourth friend, Elihu, tried to share some wisdom with Job by reminding him just how mighty and powerful God really is. in that perhaps Job did not accept Elihu’s explanation and demanded to have justice and he wanted to talk to God.
Finally, God appears in a whirlwind to respond to Job’s continuous requests for justice and an explanation. God delivers two lectures to Job. The first focuses on God’s power and wisdom in creating the world, while the second addresses God’s power and wisdom in ruling, governing the world with judgement and justice.[2] [3] It is at the end of each lecture Job makes his brief statements.
The scripture above from Job tells me that God is very patient with us. I imagine Job as a spoiled child who has always had it easy. (Perhaps Satan was on to something?) God rebukes Job through a lengthy discourse in Job 38-39 to which Job’s response is completely inward focused. It is at this point that Job does not see the real power of God although God is speaking directly to him and reminding him of all the marvelous works He has completed. During Job’s second response, I believe God is even more patient because He has given Job the time and second opportunity to recognize his shortcomings and God’s full power. God could have easily taken Job’s life, but He offered a second chance after listening to Job whine and demand justice for 140 years.
In his first response, Job’s self-centeredness illustrates humanity perfectly, especially 21st Century humanity. He only thought about himself and refused to respond. He acted like he wanted to stick his head in the sand and ignore God. However, I believe the second response is the critical need for humanity today. It is during this response that Job has his “aha” moment. It finally clicked for Job in that his faults may not have been any sin he may have or have not committed prior to Satan attacking him. Instead, it was his lack of really seeing who God is. Not only is God the creator of all things, for He is continuously in control of all things. His power, majesty, and purpose are far more than any human can begin to imagine, and I believe it was at this critical moment that Job came to this realization.
How can we go from “hearing with our ears” to “seeing God with our eyes”? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
