🌪️ The original Twister movie…
“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind…” Job 38:1 NLT
Well, so much for Job’s complaint that God wasn’t listening to him. The Almighty heard every word. And now? He’s gonna give Job a… science quiz?
Wait. What?
Yeah. A science quiz. Well, 84 questions deserves the word “exam.” From chapter 38-41 God, speaking from this tornado, asks Job a series of 84 questions. Job answers 0.
There are many fascinating nuggets in here. For instance, this is how we know that the Sons of God (the heavenly host) were already in existence when the Lord “laid the foundation of the earth” 38:6-7. Tolkien took this one verse and made a whole epic creation story for Arda out of it.
“Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?”
Job 38:16 NASB2020
No one but God knew there were springs in the depths of the ocean until the late 1970s. If you have a couple extra minutes and you geek out over sciencey things, here’s an article on it by an actual scientist.
Here’s another amazing gem:
“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!” Job 38:19-21 NLT
I do not know enough physics to comment on the first half of this. My interest is the last half. It’s sarcasm. God can use sarcasm. Perhaps your snarky teenager or spouse is more like the Lord than you thought. 😉
And this one…
“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?” Job 38:25 NLT
Lightening does indeed follow a path. I found the article below online and just pasted it in. Check this out!
When the electric field becomes very strong (on the order of tens of thousands of volts per inch), conditions are ripe for the air to begin breaking down. The electric field causes the surrounding air to become separated into positive ions and electrons — the air is ionized. Keep in mind that the ionization does not mean that there is more negative charge (electrons) or more positive charge (positive atomic nuclei / positive ions) than before. This ionization only means that the electrons and positive ions are farther apart than they were in their original atomic structure.
The importance of this separation is that the electrons are now free to move much more easily than they could before the separation. So this ionized air (also known as plasma) is much more conductive than the previous non-ionized air.
These electrons have excellent mobility, allowing for electrical current to flow. The ionization of air or gas creates plasma with conductive properties similar to that of metals. Plasma is the tool nature wields to neutralize charge separation in an electric field. Those readers who are familiar with the chemical reaction of fire will recall that oxidation plays an important role. Oxidation is the process by which an atom or molecule loses an electron when combined with oxygen. Simply put, the atom or molecule is changed from a lower positive potential to a higher positive potential. Interestingly enough, the process of ionization, which creates plasma, also occurs through the loss of electrons. By this comparison, we can view the ionization process as “burning a path” through the air for the lightning to follow, much like digging a tunnel through a mountain for a train to follow.
🤯 Link to the whole article here.
It goes on like this for 4 chapters! It’s amazing. He asks questions on meteorology, astronomy, oceanography, physics, zoology…
Oh, and on that topic- I hate to disappoint but the “unicorn” in 39:9-12 in KJV, looks less like this 🦄 and more like this 🐃. In the ancient world there was a bovine species called the Aurochs (pronounced: or rocks) The last one died in Poland in 1627, at the time of Galileo and the Pilgrims in Plymouth. Imagine a beef the size of a draft horse. And wild. With 4ft long horns. And an attitude.
I copied the paragraph below from an article with more info on the aurochs than most people care to know:
“Julius Caesar described the aurochs living in the Hercynian forest of Germania in De bello gallico in the year 53 BC. He writes that aurochs were “little below an elephant in size” and that the Germans used to catch these animals in pits, and used their horns as drinking cups.”
And ancient Roman cowboys would (somehow) catch these things and take them to Rome (get along little doggies 🐃🐃🐃🤠) where they would be hunted in the Colosseum by a type of specially trained gladiator called a Venatio.
Wow. I have wandered far away from Job. But it was fun, right?
So, given what we now know about the aurochs, review this bit: “Will the wild ox consent to being tamed? Will it spend the night in your stall? Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you?”
Job 39:9-10 NLT
Obvious answer: No.
God follows the wild ox with the ostrich.
“For God has deprived her of wisdom. He has given her no understanding. But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.”
Job 39:17-18 NLT
Dumb as a box of rocks but amazing in other ways. I’m sorry for another rabbit ostrich trail, y’all, but look what I found on birdfact.com:
Ostriches have a sprint speed of around 40 to 45mph and can cover a huge 5 metres in one single stride. They have been known to approach speeds of 60mph during short bursts, which makes them the fastest terrestrial animal with two legs on the planet.
Ostriches also have tremendous stamina and can maintain speeds of 30mph to 38mph for around half an hour or longer. That means that they can run a 26-mile marathon in approximately 35 to 40 minutes. For comparison, the human marathon record is just over 2 hours.
In addition to their world-record size, weight and speed, ostriches also have the largest eyes of any bird and can see large predators such as lions and hyenas at distances of some 2 miles. In fact, with a diameter of 5cm, their eyes are bigger than their brains!
After the ostrich God brings up the horse. Not gonna lie, I cried when they had the voiceover of this text from Job in the movie Secretariat while showing the horse running in slow motion. 🐎
After the horse, God talks about hawks and eagles. 🦅 I bet birdfacts.com could wow us with more amazing facts- especially about their eyes, which God mentions specifically.
After the animal questions, God pauses to see if Job has an answer yet. And all he says is: “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”
Job 40:4-5 NLT
The Lord asks if Job can handle the proud and wicked and then he brings up a mysterious critter called Behemoth.
Before we proceed, have you wondered yet, “What is God driving at with all the science questions?” Well, He actually gives it away right out of the gate. Here it is:
“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.” Job 38:2-3 NLT
Job has been demanding answers from God. God has merely turned the table on him. But this verse reveals the heart of the matter. Job, (who is about to find out just how ignorant he is of how the world works), has questioned God’s wisdom.
Have you ever been working on something- something which you are qualified and experienced to fix, (for which you have a number of possible solutions!), when some Joe Blow bystander starts giving you ignorant suggestions on how to do your job? Irritating isn’t it? I think it’s fair to say that’s how God feels in this moment.
I tune pianos. Not regularly anymore. I have two other jobs and a blog. But in the past I’ve had people who don’t even know how to play a piano, let alone tune it, offer me advice. I suppose I could’ve been like God and asked, “Do you know how to balance an F between a C and. Bb so that every associated interval actually works? Do you know how many beats per second there are in a Perfect 4th? Do you know what the correct number of beats per second feels like for a minor 6th and a minor 3rd? Do you know what two strings- vibrating at thousands of cycles per second- way too fast to count- do you know how to tell when they are in unison?”
That’s what God is doing here. He’s helping Job realize his ignorance. We need that sometimes. We don’t know what we don’t know. And when someone helps us realize it, it’s humbling. And that’s what Job needs. But it’s humbling by revelation- from the inside out- rather than humiliation. God won’t pick up Job and mop the floor Himalayas with him. That would be contrary to His nature. So Job gets an exam.
Which brings me back to Behemoth.
Some translations and even the Strong’s have it as “a singular of Egyptian derivation; a water-ox, i.e. the hippopotamus or Nile- horse.” A hippo? The word may indeed be ancient Egyptian for water-ox but I think the hippo we know today is a faulty conclusion. Two reasons:
1) Behemoth’s tail is compared to a cedar- and think “cedars of Lebanon” here. This is more like the California Redwoods than the scruffy Western Juniper that is sometimes called a cedar tree. Hippo’s tail? Not so much. 🦛
2) v.19 says that only the One Who made it can approach it. Ever seen a hippo in a zoo? I rest my case.
I am far from alone in suspecting that Behemoth was what we would call a dinosaur 🦕.
Let’s check it against the text.
Strength is in his belly/loins. Check.
Tail like a huge cedar tree. Check.
Bones like bronze tubes. Check.
Limbs like iron bars. Check.
Can traverse flooded rivers. Check.
Cannot be caught or tamed. Check.
As to the swamp habitat, I refer you to the short video below. (And yes, I know all about how controversial Kent Hovind is. But this clip is jammed with documented data and testimony that you can verify for yourself.)
Well, if you now think “Lacy is a nut. She thinks God was talking to Job about a dinosaur.” You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Next chapter is Leviathan- the fire breathing dragon. 👀
To The Reader 