The Lutheran Seminary of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 15 June 2015 "God Pause Daily Devotion" Scripture: Job 38:1-11[Complete Jewish Bible]

The Lutheran Seminary of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 15 June 2015 "God Pause Daily Devotion" Scripture: Job 38:1 Then Adonai answered Iyov out of the storm:

2 “Who is this, darkening my plans

with his ignorant words?

3 Stand up like a man, and brace yourself;

I will ask questions; and you, give the answers!

4 “Where were you when I founded the earth?

Tell me, if you know so much.

5 Do you know who determined its dimensions

or who stretched the measuring line across it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together,

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind closed doors

when it gushed forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its blanket

and dense fog its swaddling cloth,

10 when I made the breakers its boundary

set its gates and bars,

11 and said, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;

here your proud waves must stop’?[Complete Jewish Bible]
God's address to Job is challenging: "Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?" The words call us to enter this week on a note of humility. Job has been feeling bad for himself and not without cause! Friends have been giving him advice, too—but not without a hint of self-interest. They're the ones "without knowledge." Somewhere in Job's suffering, it would seem to them and perhaps to us, are God's plans. Or maybe not. God's words invite caution. Let's not fall into the same trap Job's friends do. We don't know everything. That's the point! Like the seas and the waves we get to go only "this far" and "no farther." How frustrating is that?!
Well, we'll just have to watch for the unsettling wind and the waves this week. It's not the first time they'll appear. And we'll have to reign in some of our questions, too. They may or may not get answered. And meanwhile the morning stars keep singing and the angels shout for joy. Music has a way of blending both our praises and our uncertainties.
Lord of sea and sky, blow in my life this day. May the music of confusion and the song of stars become a symphony of understanding and awe. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Dave Brauer-Rieke
Bishop, Oregon Synod, ELCA
Master of Divinity , 1982
Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?—
9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,
11 and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?[New Revised Standard Version]
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