“In the past I heard about you, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”

Even though the Lord was proud of Job, He allowed Satan to test him by taking away his wealth, children, and health (Job 1 and 2). Hearing about this, Job’s friends came to visit him and comfort him. After the friends finished what they had to say and after Job responded to them, the Lord Himself spoke to Job. He spoke to Him from a whirlwind (Job 38:1).

The words of our verse for today are a part of what Job said in response to the Lord’s speech from the whirlwind. In the past, Job had heard about the Lord. He probably heard about the Lord from his ancestors, since the Scriptures did not yet exist. Job did not take this instruction as mere hearsay. He believed what he was told. He believed in the existence of the Lord, he trusted in the Lord, and he was obedient to the Lord. That’s why the Lord bragged about him to Satan and that’s why Satan wanted to test him and prove the Lord wrong (Job 1:8-12; Job 2:3-6).

Job’s whirlwind experience, however, was a whole new level of divine encounter. Instead of experiencing the Lord by hearing about Him, the Lord spoke to him personally. We should not assume that Job had a direct experience of the Lord Himself, even though he said, “I have seen you with my own eyes,” for no one can see the Lord directly and live (Exodus 33:20). Rather, he saw and heard the Lord indirectly through the whirlwind. He understood God and saw His works.

Although we may never personally encounter the Lord in a whirlwind, the Lord still speaks to His people in personal ways. It could be anything. The Lord spoke to Balaam through a donkey, Daniel through an angel, and the Church father Augustine through a child. Also, people raised in the church often take the Bible for granted, but we must not do that. God speaks to us in it! Seeing the love, compassion, patience, and mercy of Jesus on the pages of Scripture, reveals the nature of God the Father as well—as if we had seen Him with our own eyes.

Don’t be surprised when—whether through pages of Scripture or the movement of the Spirit—you receive a word that is exactly what you need to hear. And be thankful, dear friends, that we serve a God (the God) who wants to be known by and be in relationship with His people. What a blessing!

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International