“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” (Job 38:2-4)
These past years we have seen the rise of Science as nearly omniscient idol. It started its rise in the global climate change debate that has been raging for decades as we were daily reminded to trust the science. It rose to new heights in the midst of the global pandemic as again, the government and the media urged us to trust the science. And lately the talking leads urge us to trust the science to accept transgenderism so men can become women and vice versa. Yet how can we Christians trust the science when modern science as a whole rests upon a worldview that is fundamentally not godly or Biblical and is flawed by its major tenets of the Big Bang theory and of evolution.
Here in Job 38 the Lord God Almighty tells us that He is the author of scientific truth, not theories, opinions or speculation, but truth. God is in charge of and maintains full control over everything. He set spiritual laws and scientific principles in place, and these are all discoverable, all observable, and all show His glory. His laws, when followed and obeyed, result in peace and joy. When these laws are broken, the result is sin and chaos, just as we see today.
Millions of people including scientists and scholars claim to know the fundamental laws and origin of the universe. They claim to know the origin of all life. Yet they were not present when God created everything, when He created life. Who are they to second guess Him? Who are they to play God by pontificating upon and boasting in their superior knowledge which is based on theory and conjecture.
The Lord’s series of graphic yet unanswerable questions to Job ought to make each one of us keep quiet and never again boast of our “wisdom”. And despite all our scientific and technological advancements, natural disasters and epidemics seem to occur with random unpredictability, without reason or logic; but the Lord controls all of them, sets their limits and uses them for His own purposes. We humans label God’s power as “mother nature” and spend a lot of time and energy trying to prevent the damage that results from sickness, floods, earthquakes, severe storms, and climate change. Yet the best science and government can do is make predictions, attempt to minimize risk, and repair the resulting damage. We humans, therefore, must place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, trust Him and ask for faith, mercy, forgiveness, wisdom, and the strength to endure. He will not fail to carry us through.