16th December 2025

16th December 2025


Pray (ACts) 


Read (38v4-40v2) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


Several weeks ago I was asked to give a talk about the sinking of the Titanic. I'm no expert on that great ship but I have been reading about it since I was a boy and I have amassed a range of facts, figures and stories which allow me to speak for an hour or two about the fateful night the Titanic struck an iceberg. If however you would like me to speak about quantum mechanics, cross stitch, the history of Argentina or a huge range of other subjects then unfortunately I can't help you. I know lots about some things, less about other things and absolutely nothing about most things.


Job wanted an audience with God and when the Lord spoke to His servant from the midst of a whirlwind, what followed was a clear demonstration that as humans we must simply bow before Almighty God. I'm sure Job was a wise man and he was perhaps even an expert on a whole raft of topics but Job was not there when the Lord laid the foundation of the earth (38v4) nor did he have any knowledge about when God Himself commanded the oceans saying "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed" (38v10). Job had no authority over the morning skies (38v12), he had never walked in the recesses of the world's oceans (38v16) and he had no experience with the gates of death (Job 38v17). 


It is only the Lord who has walked among storehouses filled with snow and hail (38v22) and it is only God who makes a path for the rain and the thunderbolt (38v25). Job may have looked at the stars but it is the Almighty who set the Pleiades, Orion, Bear and the other constellations (called “Mazzaroth”) in their place (38v31-32). Job could not command the rain or the lightning nor could he number the clouds or provide food for the lions or the raven (Job 38v34-41). 


Job did not know when the mountain goats gave birth (Job 39v1), he knew nothing about the wild donkey and his ways (Job 39v5) and the wild ox took no orders from the mouth of Job (Job 39v9). The ostrich lived her life without fear because the Lord did not bless her with wisdom (Job 39v17), if the horse was mighty it didn’t get it’s strength from Job (Job 39v19-25) and if the hawk soared to the heavens it wasn’t by Job’s understanding (Job 39v26-30).


Job had demanded an audience with the Lord and now the Lord demanded an answer from Job “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40v2). In Job's wrestling with his own personal circumstances he had found fault with the Lord. But was the faultfinder able to wrestle adequately with God? By no means.  The Lord doesn't know lots about some things, less about other things and absolutely nothing about most things - He know all things about all things. He is a master in every area of knowledge known to man and He knows everything about the subjects we know nothing about. Sometimes we need to admit our ignorance and trust that the Lord is good.


But what was the Lord God looking to accomplish in His interaction with Job? Some enter into debates in order to win a victory and humiliate their opponent. Others like to argue in order to show their supreme knowledge and learning. Neither was true about the Lord. God did not seek Job’s destruction or humiliation, instead the Lord sought to humble His servant. Job's frustration had caused Him to sin by questioning the goodness of God - he felt abandoned and in a place where he could not see or hear God. 


Yet in the midst of a whirlwind the Lord spoke which was an act of grace. It was as if the Lord was saying "Job I am here and I am greater than you can ever imagine. Rest in me. Listen to me. I am with you." Job was not destroyed but he was humbled which in itself is always the best place to be. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q46 What is required in the first commandment? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him  accordingly.
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