Out of the Whirlwind

Job 38:1, 34-38, NIRV [1]

38 The Lord spoke to Job out of a storm. He said,

Job 38:34-38

³⁴“Can you give orders to the clouds?
Can you make them pour rain down on you?
³⁵Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶Who gives the ibis wisdom?
Who gives the rooster understanding?
³⁷Who is wise enough to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?
³⁸I tip them over when the ground becomes hard.
I do it when the dirt sticks together.”

Visual Aids:

• Bible

Message:

When we last heard from Job, he had lost everything but was still praising God. (Bring “Job” back out again this week. “Job” should still have on the red dots.) Job had also been asking God a lot of questions. He continued to praise God, but he still was complaining. In today’s scripture text, God reminds Job that there is a lot about the world that Job does not know. Job had no control over many things. I would like to play a game of questions to demonstrate how God wanted Job to understand.

• Can you name who made the clouds?
• Who makes rain?
• Who makes the lightning bolts flash in the sky?
• Who feeds the mother lions?
• Who feeds the baby birds?
• What is the name of the deepest part of the ocean? Have you ever been there? Do you think God has?
• What is the farthest star from this galaxy? Have you ever been there? Do you think God has?
• Who tells the sun when to rise?
• Who watches over ALL creation?

I noticed that none of your answers was Job.

God tries to show Job the bigger picture. What does “bigger picture” mean? (Allow children to answer.)

God showed Job the bigger picture because Job was acting as if he knew everything. When God is finished speaking, Job first covers his mouth as a way of showing that he has nothing to say because he is in such awe of God. Afterward, Job is honest and admits how little he does know and promises to keep quiet.

We are a lot like Job. We may think we understand everything, but we see only a tiny bit of what God is doing in the world. Sometimes, like Job, it is hard for us to be quiet. Sometimes it is best to keep quiet so we can hear God speaking to us. We continue to trust God, and just like Job, we realize how huge and amazing God is.

Today for our prayer, I want each of us to cover our mouths and sit quietly for thirty seconds. During that time, I want us to think about how awesome our God is. I want us to listen to God speaking to us. We probably won’t hear God’s voice here (point to your ears), but rather hear God speaking to us here (point to head) and here (point to heart).

Prayer:

Awesome and amazing God, all the wisdom I have comes from you. Remind me that there is so much about this world that I don’t know. Help me put my trust in you. Amen.

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[1] New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.