The Mere Edges of His Ways are Seen

Job 26:1-14 

1 But Job answered and said:

2 "How have you helped him who is without power?
How have you saved the arm that has no strength?

3 How have you counseled one who has no wisdom?
And how have you declared sound advice to many?

4 To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit came from you?

5 "The dead tremble,
Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.

6 Sheol is naked before Him,
And Destruction has no covering.

7 He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He binds up the water in His thick clouds,
Yet the clouds are not broken under it.

9 He covers the face of His throne,
And spreads His cloud over it.

10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are astonished at His rebuke.

12 He stirs up the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.

13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

God’s majesty is spelled out by Job in defense of God’s providence and grace in judgment.  He reminds them that God helps the helpless and those without strength, which is a display of His grace and love for His creation.  This is unlike his friends who want to judge and condemn those who fail or suffer apparently because sin must always be behind it in their eyes.  Who have they counseled with good and helpful words as God does?  Whose spirit moved them, their own, an evil one (as here from the first two chapters), or from God?  The LORD alone causes the dead to tremble because the grave is open to Him, and destruction cannot escape divine judgment.   Theirs pales in comparison.  God alone has the power of and over creation to hang the stars in the heavens and support the earth hung in space by gravitational and centrifugal forces as it hurtles around the sun in a perfect orbit by His word and design.  He made the world round, not flat, with a circular horizon as a boundary between light and dark, day and night, in the earth’s rotation.  What a design and what omnipotence!  He controls the weather, even the hurricanes and storms in the seas, and decorated the sky with a myriad of stars and galaxies.  Yet all these are the mere edges of His ways, as if an overheard whisper where we only hear a snippet of all He has done.  The magnificent thunder of His power beyond that of the storms is beyond our comprehension; we understand only these outer pieces of His work and character by His word operative and observed in His creation (Romans 1:20).  Yes, we see Him and His work planned before the horizon (predetermined or predestined) of time according to His word inasmuch as He reveals to us.  We see dimly the reflection as in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Corinthians 3:18) of His redemptive plan of salvation from Genesis chapter 3 to the consummation at the final page of Revelation.  We do well then to heed his word and reflect all counsel against His word of truth, and beware living by speculation become as fact.  How glorious are the edges of His ways and thundering of His power over time and space according to His plan and working to all us out of darkness into His light in Christ!  God’s providence and grace and omnipotence are awesome!