We tend to think of ancient peoples as lacking in scientific knowledge. In many ways they were. It’s only been in the last one hundred and sixty years, thanks initially to the experiments of Louis Pasteur, that scientists began to understand the role of bacteria and viruses in illness. The germ theory of disease improved our lives dramatically, yet lay undiscovered for thousands of years.

However, our ancestors excelled in the study of the heavens. Magi from the east observed a unique star and followed it for weeks to the home of the Christ-child. Job spoke in praise of God when he said, He suspends the earth over nothing. No flat-earther, Job understood our planet to be a sphere hanging in space.

Job next commented on weather phenomenon. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. When Job endured downpours he wondered, how does so much water float overhead? Perhaps you wondered the same while studying the water cycle at school?

As someone who earned a biology degree, I find these scientific references fascinating. Job observed and made mental notes. He saw the hand of God in nature, and realized the enormity of God’s power. He added, And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?

Magnificent sunrises and alluring moons dance on the outer fringe of God’s works. Enjoy his whisper. So much more remains undiscovered. Part of the adventure of following the Lord involves the process of exploration, of glimpsing the thunder of his power, and orienting ourselves toward his glory.

Job 26 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by The New York Public Library