Minimalist Bible: Story of Job — The Lord's Challenge

Written by Chad -

God has given me the idea to pursue a personal design project of creating minimalist posters to share the awesome stories of the Bible. If you missed out on previous posters, don't worry, I have created a landing page where you can easily catch up. Check it out here.

This poster series comes from the book of Job. It is a story beginning with hardship, frustration and hurt, with an ending of redemption and forgiveness. I'm excited today to reveal The Story of Job: The Lord's Challenge, part five of a six part series.

The Story of Job: The Lord's Challenge begins in Job 38:1-3 (NLT) which says, "Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’"

You can read the rest of the conversation between Job and God in Job 38-42:6 (NLT).

The Know-It-All
We've all had a conversation with a Know-It-All at some point. For some of the lucky ones who have never experienced a Know-It-All, I will do my best to define such a unique individual. The Know-It-All is an individual who acts as though he/she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others. 

Can you use the word in context? Why yes: 

Chad: I like ordering my comic books online because...
Arthur: Chad, that is blaspheme! You call yourself a comic book collector? You need to go to local comic book shops and purchase the comics that way. Not only does it get you out of the house and interacting with people, it allows you to help the local small businesses. There is a nice comic book store three miles down the road from your place. That's where you need to go from now on.

Yeah, Arthur is a Know-It-All.  

Job and his three friends are perfect examples of Know-It-Alls. They constantly argue over why Job is in the shape he is in. They all have their reasons and none of them are willing to budge on their own answer to be swayed the others. Job and his three friends are forgetting who the real Know-It-All is until He shows up as a whirlwind. A freaking whirlwind. WHAT?!? 

God immediately lays it out in front of Job and his three friends with some of the hardest questions that only He knows the answers to. For example: 

"Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?" (Job 38:19)
"Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33)
"Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?" (Job 38:36)
"Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?" (Job 38:41)

WOW! You won't find these types of questions on the SAT. No human will never know the answers to these questions. Only God knows. As we pursue God, we must accept the fact that we really don't know much of anything. God has gifted us with just enough wisdom and knowledge to do His work on His planet.  

A verse that helps me put this concept further into perspective is from Isaiah 55:8-8 (NLT): "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'"

God tells us that He doesn't think or act like we humans act. His thought process goes beyond anything measurable on earth. With this credibility, I can confidently go to God in prayer to find answers instead of trying to figure it out on my own. His thoughts are better than mine and are much more creative than anything I can come up with on my own. He is the perfect person to do brainstorming with because He will ALWAYS think outside the box. His knowledge goes far beyond anything my little brain can compute; far beyond the information contained on Google. I'm so happy to have a personal God who is a Know-It-All.