Job 37:13
'He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy'.
Today we continue our thoughts on this verse, words spoken by Elihu to suffering Job. So far we have reflected on God's minute control and creation of the weather, examples of God using the weather to discipline, punish and warn the ungodly, and how he corrects his own followers in love as a shepherd uses a rod to protect, defend and bring his sheep into right paths.
So what does this now mean, 'He causeth it to come ...for his land...'?
My study Bible link references this to Job 38:26 & 27 where God is speaking to Job and asking who has done many things in creation:
'To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth'.
It seems to speak of God's care over his creation, for the sake of the creation - the land. He sends rain purely for the benefit of the land that plant life might spring up. He has an interest in that which he has created.
We can get all fired up thinking we are going to 'save the planet' and so forth, but when we realise that this vast world of creation and these different weather phenomena were all created by and controlled by a great God doesn't it make us feel our audacity?
Whilst endeavouring to be good stewards of the earth we have been given don't we need to keep in mind who has the ultimate charge of our world? To take care not to subscribe to a view which denies the existence of its Creator who is constantly looking over his creation.
Lastly, this verse refers to God causing weather 'for mercy'.
We see this in God's promise that all the while the earth lasts he will send the seasons with their different weathers needed for plant growth and life.
We see his mercy in promising to never again flood the whole world - and the beautiful rainbow which we see at times of rain and sunshine is his voice reminding us of this - reminding us that he keeps his promises, that we can trust him and that he is a great God.
We see his mercy when in times of famine, such as Elijah's time, when Elijah prayed for rain that God was merciful and sent abundant rain.
We have personally in recent years experienced his kind mercy in beautiful weather he has sent. Do you remember at the beginning of the first covid lockdown when all seemed alarming and strange but we had weeks of lovely warm weather which meant some of us could enjoy the freedom of our gardens?
And then on our wedding day - October 20th when we were concerned it might be too chilly, wet or gusty for some of the elderly relatives - the Lord gave us a beautiful, sunny day with no wind from start to finish. How thankful we were!
So, spiritually and providentially, we have times when the cloud comes over our sun and all feels dark or bleak, and we need to pray more earnestly or return to the Lord. But then there are also the times of bright freedom when we bathe in the sunshine of the Lord's love. When he in his mercy pours out a blessing on us and we are filled with praise and love to him, our hearts and faces turned towards him.
For spiritually dear reader, who is the source of our daily sunshine?
The weather outside may be perfect but if our hearts are dark or sad it almost seems to mock us. But let us look at it and see it as a sign of the rest and comfort which is found in our Saviour and Heavenly Father. May it be a sign to us that whatever our circumstances and feelings, the great God who orchestrates and created the weather is Sovereign over our lives too.
May the 'Sun of righteousness arise' (Malachi 4:2) and shine in each of our lives today, warming us, healing us, his 'wings' covering and sheltering us. May we be enabled to look out of the window at the weather outside and remember, this weather was brought by my God. 'He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy'.
Is it a cloud over our sun today, a voice from the Lord that we need correction, is it just an ordinary day when the weather is for the land, or is it a token of the Lord's great mercy to us?
May the Lord bless us as we think on these things.
Comments
Post a Comment