The God of All

The account of Job in Scripture opens with a conversation between God and Satan in the spiritual realm. In this conversation, we learn that Satan questions Job’s allegiance to God, and God subsequently gives Satan permission to test Job through various trials to prove that his faith is genuine.

Satan swoops into action. In a matter of minutes, Job loses his flocks and servants, his property and riches, and he suffers the death of his 10 adult children. In a second wave of trials, Satan even takes Job’s health, causing him to endure tormenting pain. When three of Job’s friends come to visit him, instead of offering comfort, they bring distress—another trial amid the horrific blows Job has sustained.

During their visit, Job and his friends ask some big questions, and Job’s friends make some sweeping generalizations about God’s character, without truly knowing what they are talking about. As Job plunges into despair, he asks, “Why?” (Job 7:20–21).

At the end of the account, God speaks to Job from a whirlwind. Instead of answering Job directly, God asks his own set of questions—questions that reveal that he alone knows everything, more than Job can ever comprehend in his humanness. He uses multiple examples of his workings in the natural world to represent the pinnacle of his truly unfathomable power as Creator. As the one who put all things in motion, God reserves the right to rule as he chooses in his infinite wisdom.

Questioning God’s Wisdom

Sometimes, we direct blame toward God for difficult circumstances in life. We question his wisdom and even try to correct him. But what is his response to this mistaken thinking?

“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it. . . . Will you even put me in the wrong?

Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?” (Job 40:2, 8)

We crave knowledge and, with that knowledge, control of our circumstances. But it is this very desire for control that led Adam and Eve to sin in the garden.

We may never know the answer to all the “whys” that we will pose in our lifetime, and as frustrating as that may be, we will not find the answer to our questions by blaming God or questioning his wisdom. Instead, we need to focus on the things that are revealed to us—God’s eternal promises recorded in the Bible. Scripture tells us of God’s mercy in sending his son, Jesus, to die for us so that we may be saved and live rooted in God’s goodness, love, and peace. And Scripture reveals his plan to one day judge every wrongdoing, defeat Satan, and redeem creation from its suffering (Romans 8:18–24).

The God of Details

God revealed that nothing happens in this universe outside the scope of his mindfulness.

Even though God did not directly tell Job why he endured loss and pain, God revealed that nothing happens in this universe outside the scope of his mindfulness. From the tiniest building blocks of all things to the largest astronomical marvels, God alone is responsible for the details that speak of his power and his eternal nature. The more we learn, the more we discover how much we really don’t know—but God is omniscient, and his understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). Nothing happens in this universe without his awareness, including the trials we bear.

Job held tightly to God’s goodness in the middle of trials he did not understand. In the end, God was merciful to him and blessed him (James 5:10–11). We too can be confident that God works all things together for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

This sampling of passages from the book of Job shows his all-encompassing power and care.

Earth Science

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?” (Job 38:4–5)

“Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?” (Job 38:18)

Oceanography

“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?” (Job 38:16)

Atmospheric Science

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings?” (Job 38:34–35)

Meteorology

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” (Job 38:22–23)

Zoology

“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions?” (Job 38:39–40)

Mammalogy

“Do you give the horse his might? . . . With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.” (Job 39:19–24)

Ornithology

“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?” (Job 39:26)

Herpetology

“Who can open the doors of [Leviathan’s] face? Around his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal.” (Job 41:14–15)

Ecology

“Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place?” (Job 39:5–6)

Astronomy

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?” (Job 38:31)

Astrophysics

“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?” (Job 38:33)

Science of Light

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness?” (Job 38:19)

“What is the way to the place where the light is distributed?” (Job 38:24)

Study of Time

“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?” (Job 38:12–13)