Job 39: Why Do We Think We Can Understand?

Have you ever tried to explain something simple to a child and realized how limited our understanding can be? Join us in today's episode of the Bible Breakdown Podcast with Pastor Brandon, where we start with a personal story about the challenge of explaining why the sky is blue to a young child, only to uncover deeper truths about our human limitations in grasping God's vast creation. Inspired by Job chapter 39 and the story of George Washington Carver's divine insights, we explore the humbling realization that some mysteries are beyond our reach and the importance of seeking understanding within our limits.

Moving forward, we reflect on the profound themes of God's unfathomable wisdom and love as depicted in Job 39. We challenge ourselves to trust in God's grand design and His loving wisdom, even when we face suffering and uncertainty. Through personal anecdotes and biblical reflections, we draw inspiration from Job's acceptance of God's sovereignty and discuss the power of prayer in strengthening our faith. This episode encourages us to echo the heartfelt prayer of asking God to help us overcome our unbelief and deepen our trust in His divine plans, reminding us that everything we have is given and taken by the Lord.

SOAP Bible Study Method- https://www.brandoncannon.com/soap/
Bible reading plan- http://www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible/
Free weekly newsletter- https://www.brandoncannon.com/

Social:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebrandoncannon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoncannon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandoncannon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theBrandonCannon

The More You Dig. The More You Find.

Chapters

• 0:00 Seeking Understanding From God
• 4:35 God's Unfathomable Wisdom and Love
• 10:44 Trusting God's Wisdom and Love

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Well, hello everyone. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, job, chapter 39, and today's title is why Do we Think we Can Understand, why do we think we can understand? We're going to get into this in just a moment, as God is continuing to talk to Job about everything that's going on.

Speaker 1: 0:44

But I was one of those parents before we had kids. I decided that when my girls got old enough, they were going to get any answer to any question. Like I wasn't going to hide it from them, right. Like I would see parents who, when they would ask questions like, hey, dad, why is the sky blue? They would just say, oh well, god made it that way. And I would be like, no, don't do that, tell them. Tell them why the sky is blue and all this stuff. Well then, I had kids of my own and I still remember one time one of my daughters asked that very question Dad, why is the sky blue? And I was ready. I'd been looking for this. I figured it was going to come up, and so I started talking about how the sun you know the light refracts and creates a prism and all this kind of stuff. And I remember talking to her and I was so proud I was, I was been ready for this for like two years, right, and she looked at me and she just looked as lost as could be until finally I just said you know what, baby, because God made it that way. Oh okay, daddy, and I thought I've been preparing for like two years for that, but that's what she could understand and that was good enough.

Speaker 1: 1:55

Well, I want you to kind of hold that in your mind as God continues to talk to Job, and really think about why do we think we can understand the questions we're really asking? We'll get into all that in just a moment, but, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you are going to the Bible Breakdown discussion, where we are just digging into God's word. There's an amazing team of people doing a phenomenal job and, man, the more we dig, the more we find, and so you can go in there and they just have such great things on it. And you can also go to our website, thebiblebreakdowncom, and you can get these emailed to you every single day. Well, if you have your Bibles, want to open it with me to Job, chapter 39. I wonder if we've really thought about sometimes I know I haven't the idea of the questions we ask God, god explain this to me. God explain that to me.

Speaker 1: 2:45

I remember one time listening to someone and they were talking about one of the probably the smartest scientists in American history named George Washington Carver. He was a scientist in Alabama and there was a problem with a lot of the crops that weren't growing because of just some of the different things with the climate and different things going on. And they found out that what would grow in that area was peanuts and he wanted to help the local farmer because this was a crop that if they could find uses for it, they could actually grow it in abundance and could grow it every single year and make a lot of money. And according to the legend and you know how legends are according to legend, one day George Washington Carver is walking through a field and he's talking to the Lord. He said God, will you explain to me all of the greatness of the stars and all the greatness of your creation? He said. God spoke to him and said no, it's too big for you, son, you wouldn't understand. He said okay, god, god, would you explain to me the earth and all the greatness of the earth and the oceans and the seas? He's like no, son, that's too big for you. You wouldn't understand it. And then George Washington Carver said then he knelt down and he picked up a peanut and he said okay, god, would you explain to me the peanut? And God said now, that's big enough for you. Well, the truth is and I'm going to assume that's true, right, I don't know, but the truth is is that God did give George Washington Carver an amazing understanding of the peanut, and I think it was over a thousand different uses. He came up for the peanut, including everyone's favorite peanut butter, and it was an amazing thing that God did. And I love the story of God saying no, you won't understand that. You won't understand that. Find a question, you will understand and I'll be glad to answer it right. And so, as we read this kind of, have that in the back of your mind and then we'll finish it off together in a moment. You ready.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Job, chapter 39, verse 1, says this do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild? Do you know how many months they carry their young. Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down and give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields. When they leave home, they never return. Who gives the wild donkey its freedom? Who untied its ropes? I have placed it in the wilderness and its home in the wasteland. It hates the noise of the city and has no driver to shout at it. The mountains are its pasture land and it searches for every blade of grass. Will the wild ox consent to be tamed? Will it spend the nights in your stall? Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you? Give it strength so you can trust it. Can you leave the trust of the ox to do your own work? Can you rely on it to bring home your grain and deliver it to your threshing floor?

Speaker 1: 5:40

The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust. She doesn't worry that a foot might crush them or a wild animal might destroy them. She is harsh toward her young as if they were not her own. She doesn't care if they die, for God has deprived her of wisdom and he has given her no understanding. But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider. Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? Do you give it the ability to leap with the locusts?

Speaker 1: 6:20

And its majestic snorting is terrifying. It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. When it charges out for battle, it laughs at fear and is unafraid. It doesn't run from the sword. The arrows rattle against it and the spear and the javelin flash. It paws at the ground fiercely and rushes forward into battle. When the ram's horn blows, it snorts with the sound of the horn and it senses the battle in the distance. It quivers at the captain's command and the sound of the horn, and it senses the battle in the distance. It quivers at the captain's command and the noise of battle. Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spreads its wings toward the south? Is it your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest? It lives on the cliffs, making its home in a distant rocky crag, and from there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes. Its young, gulp-down blood. Where there is a carcass, there you'll find it.

Speaker 1: 7:18

And so what God is telling Job is Job. I got so much going on that you don't understand. You look at the horse and you see it, but you have no idea how much I am doing. It wouldn't even be worth me explaining it to you. You see the ostrich, but you have no idea what's actually going on. And what God is doing is he's building this case, because yesterday we talked about this idea of God has got so much more going on than we can see. Now he's also explaining that also. Not only do I have more going on than you see, but it's also more intricate than you can understand. It's not just big, it's dense as well. And so, as we get ready to end our time together, remember the title of today's episode is why Do we Think we Can Understand?

Speaker 1: 8:07

Have you ever thought about and I say this as something to challenge all of us have you ever thought about how proud and arrogant we are for demanding God explain himself to us? It's normal, we all do it. But imagine, imagine the worst happens in your life. I don't know and I don't want to say anyone particular, but the worst happens in your life. I don't know and I don't want to say anyone in particular, but the worst happens Something terrible in a relationship, something terrible in your job, something terrible in your health all this, what is it that we want God to tell us? Why? God basically we're saying God, you explain to me why you had to do that.

Speaker 1: 8:45

You ever thought about how absolutely arrogant that is God of the universe, one who knows everything inside and out and from the beginning and the end, who has this complex idea and plan that I would never better get my head around. You explain it to me. You imagine what would happen if God did. Our mind would explode. There's no way we could understand the intricacy. It's just like I said at the beginning, when I had planned and prepared how I was going to tell my daughter all about why the sky was blue, and I started to explain it to her and she just sat there completely not understanding what in the world was going on. I think if God told us 1% of the answer to our questions, we wouldn't get it. And so finally, like I said at the beginning, I told my daughter baby, it's just because God did it that way. God did it that way.

Speaker 1: 9:36

And I wonder how many times God says can you trust me? Can you trust me? But, god, I need to know why. I know that. I know that. I know that you want to know why and I know that you think that's the most important question. I know that, but, honestly, if I told you why, you wouldn't understand. It would just make you more confused. So the better question is can you trust me? And I wonder if, today, if that's the better question for all of us, instead of asking God why, instead, we should ask the question God, can I trust you? And the answer is yes, because God loves you more than you can imagine.

Speaker 1: 10:15

Think about it for a moment. The very God who said I don't want that person to die and go to hell. So I'm not just going to shout my love from heaven, I'm going to come to earth myself, I'm going to live a sinless life. I'm going to die and go to hell. So I'm not just going to shout my love from heaven, I'm going to come to earth myself, I'm going to live a sinless life, I'm going to die on the cross, I'm going to rise again and I'm going to offer you the hope of salvation. That God says can you trust me? Who gave everything of himself for us? Do you know anyone else has done that for you? No, only God could do that for us.

Speaker 1: 10:44

That God says can you trust me with this? Well, of course I wouldn't trust anybody else. I wouldn't even trust myself with this because I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. But the best of all says he's got this. Can we really understand? The answer is no. But the better question is even in our pain and remember Job's about trusting God's wisdom in suffering can we trust the Lord? The answer is yes.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you are with us more than we can imagine. I pray today, god, that you will help us to learn to trust you more and to realize we're not always going to understand, mainly because we couldn't. But we can trust and I pray you will help us, lord, just like the man said in the New Testament God, help my unbelief, help me to trust. We thank you for that today In Jesus' name, amen. Well, remember, right after losing everything Job said in Job 1, verse 21,. I came naked from my mother's womb. I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Job, chapter 40.