By “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.” Job 38:16-18 ESV
The last four or five mornings I have gone back to this next paragraph in the book of Job and simply stared. I have read, and read, and prayed; and yet I have no idea what to say about it. It’s funny how sometimes words and ideas just don’t come. I have wanted to think of an example of a time I had falsely claimed I knew something, and then was shamed by a person who actually knew. I can’t seem to remember a time, though I am sure it happened many times in my younger years. I was a very skilled liar as a boy. It’s even hard to look back at my life when I was young and know for certain what was true and what was a lie.
I think God’s intention by these questions is again to humble Job. God asks him if he has ever been to the locations of the springs of the sea, the recesses of the deep, the gates of death, and the gates of deep darkness. Job has obviously not been to any of these places, and therefore has no right to speak about them. And since he can not comprehend these types of things, he surely can not comprehend the throne room interaction between God and Satan regarding Job’s current suffering.
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? They have not been revealed to me either. They have been revealed to the One who hold the universe in the palm of his hand. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. And if we know him, it is enough. He has entered all the places God asks Job. And he alone delivers a person from the gates of death.
Blessings to you this Saturday!
Leading Family Devotions 