unsplash-logoMichał Parzuchowski
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. -Job 42:3
Someone has said that ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. That being the case, we say some pretty ridiculous things on the way to understanding. As a teenager, I once blurted out in church discussion led by my pastor that Paul had said, "To thine own self be true."
He very kindly informed me that I had just quoted Shakespeare.
There is nothing like a bright red face to put you in your place.
At some point, knowledge is better than ignorance and wisdom is far greater than foolishness. But both knowledge and wisdom come to us through a process of encounter with God. Though Job was humbled by the realization that He had known far less than he thought he had known, he rejoices in his new-found relationship with God and the unfolding clarity that is coming to his heart.
You can be embarrassed or instructed. Embarrassment will cripple you, but instruction will lead you on. My high school choir instructor taught us to make our mistakes blatant so that they could be corrected. He didn't want the bass section to whimper.
"If you are going to make a mistake, make a good one so we can fix it."
It is in seeking that we find.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. -Job 42:5-6
Truth is personal. Job came to that place of understanding and it filled His heart with joy.
Who am I before God that I can ever presume to tell Him anything? That is the proper stance for us to take. He is God; we are not. He knows everything; we know nothing. We can get thickheaded and haughty in our complex theologies, but when God really wants to tell us something that we need to understand well, He speaks very clearly and simply - in His Son. Take heed of Him.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; -Hebrews 1:1-3
