Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
The declaration belongs to the divine interrogation in Job 38-40, which establishes that humanity appeared last in creation and had no share in making the world or any living breathing creature, thereby upholding against mistaken human theories that man was formed in the image of God and of Christ. Faced with God's searching questions and unfathomable mysteries, human wisdom reaches its limit and finds nothing to answer, so humble silence is the only fitting reply. Seeing one's own ignorance, narrow understanding, neediness, and lowly standing before God requires a humbled spirit and the quieting of bold, presumptuous words. Both what God has chosen to reveal and what He has withheld from revelation are to be received with trusting faith. Those unacquainted with the working of God's Spirit ought not to speak carelessly about or sit in judgment upon God's testimonies, but to take a lowly place before Him. Laying the hand over the mouth and bowing in the dust are the outward signs of that inward restraint and humility needed when evaluating what one is unable to rightly appreciate.
The declaration belongs to the divine interrogation in Job 38-40, which establishes that humanity appeared last in creation and had no share in making the world or any living breathing creature, thereby upholding against mistaken human theories that man was formed in the image of God and of Christ. Faced with God's searching questions and unfathomable mysteries, human wisdom reaches its limit and finds nothing to answer, so humble silence is the only fitting reply. Seeing one's own ignorance, narrow understanding, neediness, and lowly standing before God requires a humbled spirit and the quieting of bold, presumptuous words. Both what God has chosen to reveal and what He has withheld from revelation are to be received with trusting faith. Those unacquainted with the working of God's Spirit ought not to speak carelessly about or sit in judgment upon God's testimonies, but to take a lowly place before Him. Laying the hand over the mouth and bowing in the dust are the outward signs of that inward restraint and humility needed when evaluating what one is unable to rightly appreciate.