Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

It was overcast when Becki and I knocked out our little walk/jog. But now it’s clear sky with full sun.

We were sure relieved with Thano returned this morning from his DEQ test on his little Ranger pickup. It passed. No problems. Whew! I was worried they’d find something amiss. The main point of worry is that Thano ain’t got no money.

Back to the shop…and the huge table project. I was laying in bed this morning doing some cranial engineering…designing a lifting device for picking up this table, once it’s all put together. I would think it will be at least 400 pounds…maybe 500. I plan to get the crane truck in position so I can use it to move even the top around. I’ve used the track hoe to move the top once…but I can’t afford to risk any hydraulic oil dripping on the face. The crane would be safer.

Blessings on your coming and going.

Love, Dad/Ray.

In this speech that God is presented as making, a large amount of attention is given to two huge animals that are way beyond man’s single-handed ability to capture and control—the “behemoth” and the “leviathan.” It’s still not certain exactly which creatures best fit this poetic description. The point is, however, that God made them (40:15) and has sovereign power over them, while man cannot make anything living and has no absolute power over any of them. Therefore it follows, “Who then is able to stand against me?” That makes sense to me—I think I get it. Furthermore, I have no resistance to God’s claim to ownership which, of course, gives Him every right to set the rules. “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Puny little man doesn’t really own anything in the absolute sense. He cannot even master his own existence and keep himself alive for very long. Human bodies are being squished on our roadways, for example, on a daily basis.

The words of Paul in Romans 12:1-2 seem very appropriate here—as do the words of missionary martyr, Jim Elliot. Both expound on the wisdom and reasonableness of full surrender to our Maker as compared with the foolishness of resistance or opposition to Him. Jim Elliot penned, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

As the course comes to an end (in the University of Adversity), Job is allowed to graduate magna cum laude. His HEART AFTER GOD has caused him to pass the test and prevail, even though he spoke at times with ignorant complaint. The other guys flunked the course and were required to go back a grade. They too spoke ignorantly, but with arrogant dogma—the seedbed of false doctrine.

The inclusion of Psalm 1 in this reading seems fitting. Job was careful not to “walk in the counsel of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1). This is not to insist that his friends were necessarily wicked. But they certainly spent a lot of time sitting “in the seat of mockers” (Psalm 1:1)—mocking Job for his clear conscience and HEART AFTER GOD. Notice too that Job is an example of balanced Biblical prosperity—“…like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:3). Job went through a season of testing, storm, and drought, but his faith didn’t wither and he flourished in the next season.

Consider again, “Who then is able to stand against me?” For sure, not those who resist and oppose the Most High. “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5). On the other hand, “…the LORD watches over the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6)—even through the tough seasons. And that’s very very encouraging good news.