Where Were You?

Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

One of the standard lines when detectives question a subject is this: “Where were you on (Date) at (time)?” They are checking for an alibi, a person who can verify that you weren’t at the scene of the crime. Or if they can’t verify where you were, then you stay on the suspect list.

Where were you on September 11, 2001? I was on the 4th floor of an office building doing paperwork. My assistant told me about the attack, but I thought he was being himself, a jokester and fun-loving person. We immediately went to find a TV so that we could watch the news.

Where were you when you ate your first apple? I would guess that none of us remember that moment. I didn’t carry any real emotional content so we forget it. But where you were when the wedding proposal happened, that is worth remembering.

Job has been struck by tragedy like few other people in history. He doesn’t understand why. His whole world is tuned upside down. He is questioning almost everything he believes. He has complete trust in the LORD, but is struggling to understand the origin of his sufferings.

The one thing Job feels will help him understand it being able to stand before the LORD and ask some straight forward questions. He wants the answer to the ‘Why?’ question.

His friends have spoken. A lot of help they were! They tried to answer Job’s questions, but all they did is introduce more questions. And they claimed it was Job’s fault the trouble had come on him and his family.

Finally, all the human talk, all the back and forth, all the questions, answers, accusations, and defending are over. I think they have worn themselves out and it is nap time.

But then the LORD shows up and speaks from a storm. We love the storms we get here in Central Florida. And our rainy season seems to have finally kicked into gear. Well over two months without any rain. I can see why the Saharan Dessert is so dry. And we love hearing the power of these storms from the safety of our home.

He starts by giving a summary of all the words that have been spoken in the previous thirty seven chapters. He asks the question, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” Ouch! They thought they were working to make sense out of what was happening, and all they did was obscure it.

Some of the obscuring happened when they answered the wrong questions. They thought there was a direct correlation between an individual’s sin and the negative things that happen in life. They thought the horror Job was living through was a result of Job’s sin.

But the LORD accuses them of lack of knowledge. In our words, they don’t have a clue about what they are boasting.

So the Prosecution approaches the witness box and begins His examination. I don’t know about you, but I don’t envy Job at this point. The LORD has told him to “brace yourself like a man.” The Truth spoken can be the most intimidating event in life. I am sure Job will remember this moment forever.

This first question hits Job square in the jaw. There was only one there when the world was created: The Creator! And Job is not the creator. Job is a created thing, a creation of the Creator. The LORD goes back to origin to begin his examination.

Ravi Zacharias often spoke of these four questions:
Where do I come from?
Why am I here?
How should I treat people?
Where am I going?
Origin, Meaning, Morality, Destiny. And the LORD speaks to that first question, origin.

The LORD continues in the next several chapters to outline the details of this natural world that He put in place, but about which Job and his friends have no knowledge. He speaks in language they can understand. They know what a foundation for a building is. So in their mind, everything must have a foundation.

And the LORD is the One who established the Earth. It is amazing the balance that He put into the Earth’s placement. Any closer to the Sun and it would be too hot for life. And further away and it would be too cold. If the Sun were larger or smaller, life wouldn’t be sustainable. And this delicate balance permeates every aspect of life here on Earth.

So for the LORD to begin by asking Job about the Origin moment calls Job to reflect on the biggest of questions. The scope of Job’s questions and answers has been too small. And as a result, the conclusions he arrives at can’t be accurate. He has built his house of cards on nothing.

So the LORD is inviting them into His world. He is expanding their perspective and in the process drawing them closer to understanding. They needed the walls of their world blow out so that they could see the whole picture.

Are there areas where you struggle to understand? Read these final chapters and allow perspective to inform both the questions you ask and the conclusions you reach.

Where were you?