35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
We act so wise, so sophisticated in our scientific world. We pretend we have it all figured out. And yet something as simple as lightening is still not fully understood. Probably as you read this section of Job you were thinking, “I know how that works.” The imagery used sounds very antiquated, doesn’t it? We know there are not storehouses for hail, snow and rain. We know when the relative humidity is above a certain level and the temperature below a certain level, precipitation will most likely occur. But the question still remains: do we have any control over these events? That is the LORD’s question to Job. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but 42:7 helps put everything in perspective. We may think we have knowledge, wisdom and understanding, just like Job did, but even our greatest knowledge still falls short. We are trying to understand the subatomic particles, but they still hold many mysteries. The far reaches of the universe are still unseen. (The only reason we are exploring space is a vain attempt at proving life exists other places, and therefore there is no need for God, but that is another story for another day.) I was talking with two parents this week about their twelve year old child. This child never learned the lesson that they are not the parent, and therefore they are not in charge. This child has successfully manipulated their parents into giving in to their demands. This child thinks too highly of themselves, and they need to be knocked down a few notches in order to get a better grip on reality. They are not in charge. In some respects, Job is getting this same lesson from the LORD. Job is not in charge of the universe. The LORD is. When we get too big for our britches, as my parents used to say, then the LORD is able to put us back in our place.
The Arnold Journey 