Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? — Job 26:14

Given the assumptions and beliefs that were common in the ancient Near East where Job lived during the era of the patriarchs, his insight regarding the greatness, dominion, and majesty of God are truly remarkable. The history of the region is marked by many achievements that changed the world, including understanding the concept of time and math, and the inventions of the wheel, sailboats, maps, and writing. However, Mesopotamian religions were polytheistic, and worshippers gave homage to multiple gods and goddesses who supposedly created the earth, combated hostile deities, controlled the weather and the seasons, and brought fortune or misfortune to mankind.

Beliefs about the cosmos were also varied. For example, the Babylonians believed the sky was a solid dome through which water sometimes seeped through as rain. Ancient Egyptians perceived the universe as rectangular and box-like. Early Greeks thought the world was a floating disk surrounded by a great river. Hindus believed that the universe was carried on the back of four elephants who rode on the back of a tortoise.

Today’s text reveals that Job understood it is not mythical gods, but God’s power that controls all natural forces. That power extends over the living and dead, the north and the south, the sun and the moon, the clouds and the seas. And as our focus verse states, Job realized that all this was but a little portion of God’s ways!

Another individual who understood this great truth was Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary to India in the early 1900s. Like Job, she recognized that all God created and controlled were only small parts or “edges” of the infinite power behind them — only the extremities, fringes, and outlines of the ways and works of God. During the final years of her life, an injury prevented Amy from having much personal contact with her loved ones at the Dohnavur mission she had established for children rescued from temple prostitution. To stay in touch with her fellow workers and the children, she regularly wrote devotional thoughts to encourage and instruct them. These messages were published in a book titled “Edges of His Ways,” a title based on our focus verse, and in the years since, that book has blessed many far beyond the borders of India.

The reality of God’s great power is a truth that we can apply to our own lives. Has God answered a prayer for you? Has He given you a glimpse of His mercy, His forgiveness, or His grace? Be assured that these gracious gifts are only “parts” of His ways. God’s greatness is not restricted to creative acts; it extends far beyond the physical universe around us. The One who “hangeth the earth upon nothing” is interested in us and mindful of our smallest needs.

BACKGROUND

The third and final cycle of discourses between Job and his friends, which began in chapter 22, continues in these chapters. In chapter 25, Bildad the Shuhite gave a short speech about God’s awesomeness and man’s wickedness. However, he offered no new arguments and did not refer to the preceding speech. He ignored Job’s examples of the prosperity of the wicked, instead accusing Job of pride for claiming his suffering was not the result of sin. 

Bildad’s key point is made in verses 4-6: How can a mere man be justified before God? Bildad’s reference to man as a “worm” in verse 6 was a metaphoric way of comparing man’s lowly and insignificant state to God’s majesty and greatness. This view of man’s insignificance was also spoken of by the Psalmist David (see Psalm 8:4-5) but unlike David, Bildad failed to see man’s unique and God-given potential; Bildad had indicated in verse 4 that he felt man was unjustifiable. 

In chapter 26, Job began his final response — a long discourse which first addressed the brief speech of Bildad, and then became a speech on wisdom and a final defense that ended in Job 31. For the first time, Job used singular pronouns in this discourse, so he seemingly was directing his words to Bildad, although his comments obviously were intended for all three of his visitors. (The fourth visitor, Elihu, had not yet spoken.) In verses 1-4, Job repudiated their previous attempts to help him, saying that no help had been given to ease his suffering. 

In verses 5-14, Job acknowledged that God is sovereign, and gave a description of the power of God. Several statements in these verses — for example, that God “hangeth the earth upon nothing” and that He “bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds” — reveal a remarkable grasp of scientific principles that were in sharp contrast to the beliefs that were part of the legends and mythology of that era. The chapter concludes with Job’s accurate statement that man could not possibly know everything about God. 

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

(Hannah’s Bible Outlines - Used by permission per WORDsearch)
II.   The solution of Job’s three friends
     D.   The third cycle of speeches (22:1 — 26:14)
           3.   Bildad’s advice (25:1-6)
                 a.   God’s greatness described (25:1-3)
                 b.   Man’s sinfulness asserted (25:4-6)
           4.   Job’s answer (26:1-14)
                 a.   His repudiation of his friends (26:1-4)
                 b.   His description of God’s greatness (26:5-14)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. In Job 25:2, what did Bildad say were “with” God?
   
   
2. What key point do you think Job was making in Job 26:2-4?
   
   
3. In what specific areas of your life have you seen the parts or edges of God’s ways?

CONCLUSION

Our finite minds can only grasp fragments of God’s power, but we can be sure that He is aware of our needs and in control of everything that impacts our lives.