Words without Knowledge

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?” (Job 38:1–2 NAS95)

Job had been stuck in a bad place - a grievous situation. We do not know just how long his misery lasted, but it was as bad as anything that we have ever experienced, and probably worse.

Job and his friends do what we all do in these kinds of situations - they try and make sense of it. They try and figure it out. They try and chart a course forward. We talk out of our own heads, out of our own wants, or we repeat the ideas of others. And the words and ideas toward which we gravitate are those words and ideas that make our situation more comfortable for ourselves. In the Book of Job, the natural gravitation was to either justify self (I didn’t do anything to deserve this); or justify God (He does what is right). 

We also are trying to make sense of our situation. We have lived under restrictions for some time due to a virus that is spreading around the world, and has hit some areas of our society pretty hard. There is a lot of energy to suppose who is to blame. We hear a variety of theories about how the virus works, and how long it will last. Much of this is “words without knowledge.” And because of so many unanswered questions about how the virus works, spreads, lasts … we gravitate toward opinions that we prefer, whether they are true or not.

Though I don’t know for sure, my own “words without knowledge” would be that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. This is not “just the flu,” and it’s also not the end of the world. I would like to think that the virus will not return in the Fall, but me wanting that to be true will not make it so. And so, a middle approach has been adopted by government, and our course has been to wait, and to wait. Our “words without knowledge” is just so much beating the air, since we don’t know, and we are waiting for clearance to meet, taking steps not to put others at risk.

While the Book of Job is filled with “words without knowledge,” it is also filled with waiting. In the end, we hear Job with these words once he has caught a sense of the unknowability of the wisdom and ways of God: Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD and said,  “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” It was a learning experience, but we wonder why it took 40 chapters to get there. How long will it take us?