Job 26:7 Commentary and Bible Study

God works unaided. Man, though given creative powers as a dim reflection of his Creator, must always work with materials already present, and does not advance far without building on the ideas and works of previous generations. God works alone, starting from scratch, not dependent on anyone before him and not reliant on matter as if the world was eternal. He made all out of nothing, ex nihilo. Whatever exists, exists because he made it and designed it. There are no pre-conditions for him except his own perfect skill and wisdom. This truth makes all his works the more wonderful. All that we see is his handiwork and out of the myriad of choices that could have been made, what exists is what he chose to make. As Job considered the earth, its position in the heavens and its relation to other heavenly bodies, and as he measured human power against divine power, he was struck forcibly by the skill and cunning with which God works as the master builder of all things. Like a device that works so simply and so effectively, and yet whose principle of operation defies analysis, so the earth is constructed in a way that baffles human understanding. Man has been given the task by God of studying his works, and he has slowly penetrated some of their mysteries, but the full effect still fills him with awe when he stops to consider it. Ancient cosmology was more advanced than we are often prepared to give it credit for. Man observed the sun and the moon floating in space and evidently concluded that the earth occupied a similar position. God has, as it were, hung the earth on nothing, for it maintains its position around the sun suspended by an invisible thread of stupendous strength. Yet God’s secret mechanisms work perfectly.The clouds, which drop life supporting rain on the earth and sometimes deliver torrential deluges, appear to hold their contents effortlessly. God works according to what we call the laws of physics, and all this happens constantly and reliably. How can the clouds which float effortlessly over our heads, hold such volumes of water without prematurely bursting forth with the great weight of moisture? How can they deliver it precisely to the place that God has ordained, so that all the earth is refreshed? Our increased knowledge of how these things happen ought to make us marvel all the more at the cunning workmanship of the Lord in bringing about such amazing results by such simple means. The overall effect is not reduced because we have learnt more about the way in which this occurs. It still remains true that millions of tons of moisture from the sea are gathered up into the clouds and carried far inland to water the lands that are dependent on this process for life.