Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?... Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding... Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?... Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?... Then Job answered the LORD... I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Job has suffered everything—property, children, health—and maintained his innocence against friends who insist he must have sinned. He demands an answer from God. Finally, God speaks. And says nothing about Job's suffering.
Instead: a cascade of cosmic questions. Where were you when I created the universe? Do you know how the ocean was bounded? Can you hunt prey for the lion? Can you catch Leviathan with a hook? The answer to suffering is not explanation but overwhelming encounter.
← Previous dayToday
✝
✝