Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
God asks Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, challenging him to explain creation if he has understanding, since he was not present to witness it. Since humanity was made last, no human being took any part in creating the world, for God laid its foundations by His own power. That laying took place at creation, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy as the heavenly host watched the work with admiration. When the foundations of the earth were laid the foundation of the Sabbath was laid also, and both the Sabbath and marriage began in Eden at creation. The Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, recalling that He made the world in six days and then rested, to be remembered every week and kept pure and holy throughout all time. The question was asked not to be answered but to show that human wisdom is limited, for the majesty of the works of creation and the forces God governs surpasses all human knowledge.
Question and Creation Setting
God confronts Job with where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, challenging him to explain creation if he has understanding, since he was not present to witness it and does not possess the understanding needed to explain it. The question introduces God's account of the works of creation and the forces He governs and orders, whose majesty and power surpass human knowledge and show the limits of human knowledge in the face of divine power and wisdom. Because man was made last, no human being can claim any part in the creation of the world or of anything that has the breath of life.
That laying of the foundations took place at creation, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy. The heavenly host watched the Creator's work with admiration and took a deep and joyful interest in it. The surrounding scene is one of rejoicing over the laying of the earth's foundations.
God laid the foundation of the earth by His power, and the Bible gives the authentic account of that act, reaching back to the earth's origin and into the distant past beyond the limits of human research. The six days of creation were the work of Jehovah through Jesus Christ. The creation of Adam and Eve was also a source of joy to the loyal angels, while Satan by contrast took no pleasure in it and became jealous of Christ.
Sabbath and Marriage Institutions
When the foundations of the earth were laid, the foundation of the Sabbath was laid also, for the Sabbath and marriage both began in Eden at creation. That laying of the foundations took place when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy, while the heavenly host watched the Creator's work with admiration and deep, joyful interest. The Seventh-day Sabbath was instituted when the foundations of the world were laid, and the six days of creation were the work of Jehovah through Jesus Christ. After those six days God ordained the seventh day as sacred rest and worship, blessed it, sanctified it and made it holy for people to remember, keep pure and holy, and observe throughout all time.
At that beginning God rested on the seventh day, blessed it and sanctified it as sacred for humankind, and the Sabbath was made in Eden and entrusted to humanity to keep pure and holy. The Sabbath was given to the world so people would remember that God created the world in six days, rested on the seventh, and blessed that day as His rest. God gave it as a memorial of His making the world in six days and sanctifying and blessing the day of rest.
The Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, recalling that He made the world in six days and then rested, and it is to be brought to mind every week and not hidden from view. It presents Him as the memorial of the living God who created the heavens, the earth, and all things therein, and nature bears witness to God as Creator. Keeping it remembers Him as the true and living God.
At that same creation beginning in Eden, when the morning stars sang and the sons of God shouted for joy, God constituted marriage as a divine ordinance and instituted the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Because marriage dates from that beginning, it stands as firm and binding as the Sabbath, and God's marriage institution is to stand as firmly as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is as old as the earth itself and belongs to the fourth commandment, the only one of the ten that defines the living God who created the heavens and the earth and all things therein. Keeping the true Sabbath would have kept that Creator before the world, so there would never have been an infidel or an atheist, and its observance would have preserved the world from idolatry.
God established the Sabbath in Paradise as essential for humanity for spiritual and physical health, with the earth's foundation and the Sabbath's foundation laid together. This scene of the creation of the earth, when the sons of God shouted for joy and the Sabbath was instituted in Eden, will be brought vividly before every mind, showing the Sabbath's origin at creation. The things children see in nature can lead them to remember God as Creator and the creation of the world, when the foundation of the Sabbath was laid.
Human Limits and Faith
The question opens God's own account of the works of creation and the forces He governs, whose majesty and power surpass human knowledge. It confronts man with the fact that he was not present when the foundations of the earth were laid and does not possess the understanding needed to explain that work. The mysteries of Jehovah thus revealed in nature cannot be understood or answered even by men of the greatest intellect and the most profound scholarship.
The questions were not asked in order to be answered, but to call attention to the deep mysteries of God. Their purpose is to teach that human wisdom is limited. They show that in the surroundings of daily life there are many things beyond the comprehension of finite beings.
In both divine revelation and in nature God has given such mysteries to command faith. He is to be acknowledged as much from what He does not reveal of Himself as from what is open to limited comprehension. Though men may be ever searching, ever inquiring, and ever learning, there is an infinity beyond.
The question rebukes human fallacies and establishes the Word of God that man was created after the image of God and Christ. Deep thinking and investigation of the vital doctrines concerning the salvation of the soul, with heavenly wisdom added to diligent human effort, gives glory to God as supreme. Such study brings judges and kings in courts of justice, in parliaments and councils, to acknowledge Him, while all nature bears testimony as designed for the illustration of His word.
God asks Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, challenging him to explain creation if he has understanding, since he was not present to witness it. Since humanity was made last, no human being took any part in creating the world, for God laid its foundations by His own power. That laying took place at creation, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy as the heavenly host watched the work with admiration. When the foundations of the earth were laid the foundation of the Sabbath was laid also, and both the Sabbath and marriage began in Eden at creation. The Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, recalling that He made the world in six days and then rested, to be remembered every week and kept pure and holy throughout all time. The question was asked not to be answered but to show that human wisdom is limited, for the majesty of the works of creation and the forces God governs surpasses all human knowledge.
Question and Creation Setting
God confronts Job with where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, challenging him to explain creation if he has understanding, since he was not present to witness it and does not possess the understanding needed to explain it. The question introduces God's account of the works of creation and the forces He governs and orders, whose majesty and power surpass human knowledge and show the limits of human knowledge in the face of divine power and wisdom. Because man was made last, no human being can claim any part in the creation of the world or of anything that has the breath of life.
That laying of the foundations took place at creation, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy. The heavenly host watched the Creator's work with admiration and took a deep and joyful interest in it. The surrounding scene is one of rejoicing over the laying of the earth's foundations.
God laid the foundation of the earth by His power, and the Bible gives the authentic account of that act, reaching back to the earth's origin and into the distant past beyond the limits of human research. The six days of creation were the work of Jehovah through Jesus Christ. The creation of Adam and Eve was also a source of joy to the loyal angels, while Satan by contrast took no pleasure in it and became jealous of Christ.
Sabbath and Marriage Institutions
When the foundations of the earth were laid, the foundation of the Sabbath was laid also, for the Sabbath and marriage both began in Eden at creation. That laying of the foundations took place when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy, while the heavenly host watched the Creator's work with admiration and deep, joyful interest. The Seventh-day Sabbath was instituted when the foundations of the world were laid, and the six days of creation were the work of Jehovah through Jesus Christ. After those six days God ordained the seventh day as sacred rest and worship, blessed it, sanctified it and made it holy for people to remember, keep pure and holy, and observe throughout all time.
At that beginning God rested on the seventh day, blessed it and sanctified it as sacred for humankind, and the Sabbath was made in Eden and entrusted to humanity to keep pure and holy. The Sabbath was given to the world so people would remember that God created the world in six days, rested on the seventh, and blessed that day as His rest. God gave it as a memorial of His making the world in six days and sanctifying and blessing the day of rest.
The Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, recalling that He made the world in six days and then rested, and it is to be brought to mind every week and not hidden from view. It presents Him as the memorial of the living God who created the heavens, the earth, and all things therein, and nature bears witness to God as Creator. Keeping it remembers Him as the true and living God.
At that same creation beginning in Eden, when the morning stars sang and the sons of God shouted for joy, God constituted marriage as a divine ordinance and instituted the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Because marriage dates from that beginning, it stands as firm and binding as the Sabbath, and God's marriage institution is to stand as firmly as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is as old as the earth itself and belongs to the fourth commandment, the only one of the ten that defines the living God who created the heavens and the earth and all things therein. Keeping the true Sabbath would have kept that Creator before the world, so there would never have been an infidel or an atheist, and its observance would have preserved the world from idolatry.
God established the Sabbath in Paradise as essential for humanity for spiritual and physical health, with the earth's foundation and the Sabbath's foundation laid together. This scene of the creation of the earth, when the sons of God shouted for joy and the Sabbath was instituted in Eden, will be brought vividly before every mind, showing the Sabbath's origin at creation. The things children see in nature can lead them to remember God as Creator and the creation of the world, when the foundation of the Sabbath was laid.
Human Limits and Faith
The question opens God's own account of the works of creation and the forces He governs, whose majesty and power surpass human knowledge. It confronts man with the fact that he was not present when the foundations of the earth were laid and does not possess the understanding needed to explain that work. The mysteries of Jehovah thus revealed in nature cannot be understood or answered even by men of the greatest intellect and the most profound scholarship.
The questions were not asked in order to be answered, but to call attention to the deep mysteries of God. Their purpose is to teach that human wisdom is limited. They show that in the surroundings of daily life there are many things beyond the comprehension of finite beings.
In both divine revelation and in nature God has given such mysteries to command faith. He is to be acknowledged as much from what He does not reveal of Himself as from what is open to limited comprehension. Though men may be ever searching, ever inquiring, and ever learning, there is an infinity beyond.
The question rebukes human fallacies and establishes the Word of God that man was created after the image of God and Christ. Deep thinking and investigation of the vital doctrines concerning the salvation of the soul, with heavenly wisdom added to diligent human effort, gives glory to God as supreme. Such study brings judges and kings in courts of justice, in parliaments and councils, to acknowledge Him, while all nature bears testimony as designed for the illustration of His word.