1 October 2022

Job answered the Lord:
‘I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.’
From Job 42: 1-3, 5-6, 12-17, NRSV

Job’s response to God’s listing just a few of the wonders wrought by God’s hand is understandable. It is humble and acknowledges the limits of his own understanding. He recognises that he has heard of all these things about God but now that he has had a direct experience of God, he fully appreciates God’s power and majesty and sees himself as small and insignificant. From this point on, Job’s fortunes change and he goes on to have livestock by the thousand and ten children – three of them girls who, unusually are not only named but receive an equal inheritance of their father’s great wealth with their brothers,

• • Is Job’s response demeaning or simply humble?
  • What is your response to those moments when you sense the grandeur of God?

Spend some time today thinking of times when you have had a moment of sensing God’s majesty and power – and how you felt in response.