Text: Job 12:4-10
Did you catch the contrast in this text? There is a contrast between those who carry their god in their hands and God, who has all things in His hand. So, what will it be for you, god in hand or in God’s hand? The answer seems easy enough, but before you piously reject as out of hand the idea of having god in hand, you might want to check out those with god in hand in our text. They are kind of appealing!
These folks are at ease (v 5). They laugh at those who are weak, whose “feet are slipping.” They have contempt for those who are suffering any kind of misfortune. So how many of you are that much at ease-no worries, no suffering, no struggles of any kind-so that you can just sit back and laugh at those who do?
These people are undisturbed (v 6a). How many of you can say that? How many of your homes, especially those with children, were undisturbed this morning as you were getting ready for church? How many of you kids are undisturbed when your parents never let you stay out as late as your friends get to? How many of you parents are undisturbed when your kids come in two hours past curfew? How many would be undisturbed if your daughter announces she is pregnant or you receive that frightening diagnosis? These people may be “marauders,” robbers, and thieves, but at least they are undisturbed.
They are secure, but perhaps not in the same way that many of us measure security today. How many of you feel confident in your financial stability, with peace of mind over your income and the future? Some may find this security in their careers, while others might even explore new ways to earn, like trying out an instant play casino for a bit of thrill and chance. How many of you feel grounded enough in the truth of God’s Word to stand up and speak for the vulnerable, from the innocent in the womb to the defenseless in care homes? Security means more than financial peace; it’s the courage to reach out, offering support to those in need, be it young women facing crisis pregnancies or those burdened with difficult past choices, with the love and forgiveness of the community.
At ease, undisturbed, secure-how many of you can boast of those things? It all seems to be possible because they “carry their god in their hands” (v 6c). You have to admit, that would be pretty convenient. It implies that you are in control of your god. You can shape him (or her, I suppose) any way you want. You could exchange your god if you found one you liked better.
Think of the convenience! With god in hand, when you are not at ease because some form of suffering has come into your life, you can find a god who says suffering is your enemy and no possible good could ever come from suffering, a god who says that you have a right to end suffering by killing the sufferer and you have a right to have your physician assist you in doing that. You can find a god who will put you at ease by calling this compassionate.
With god in hand, when daughter comes and announces she is pregnant, you don’t have to be disturbed. You can shape your god into one that allows abortion, who says it really is the only option available. That certainly is the deceptive message of this god we turn to so readily for rescue from a crisis pregnancy. Women are deceived by it every day. As one stated after her abortion, “Abortion was available and real accessible. I told the people at the clinic my fears, but they never offered any alternatives. All I could think of was abortion. I couldn’t really see beyond the moment.” (1) Women feel pressure from boyfriends, husbands, and parents and they end up making a decision that they really do not want to make. The god carried around in the hands says there is absolutely no other way out.
Since the majority of women who have abortions are Christian, this could very well describe someone here this morning. If so, I welcome you here with all these other sinners! It’s not the sin of abortion that separates us from God, it’s sin! We all stand equally guilty before God. So, please understand, you are not alone, and please stay tuned! God has some good news for all of us this morning.
With god in hand, you don’t have to risk your security by speaking up or reaching out when it comes to life issues. You can find a god who says, “These are political and divisive issues. Let someone else risk their security by speaking out for the innocent and defenseless. Let Lutherans For Life take care of that. Let someone else reach out to the women who are hurting because of abortion. These things do not belong in the church.” You can find a god who says, “Don’t rock the boat, be secure.”
So, you see, having a god in hand can be pretty convenient. You can always be at ease, undisturbed, and secure. I would recommend such a god very highly . . . except for one thing. Such a god, a god in hand, would have to be very, very small. Such a god would never be able to hold you in his hand. But there is a God who can!
All of creation knows that! Job says, “Ask the animals, talk to the birds or the fish, they will teach you. Speak to the earth itself, it will inform you. They all know that in God’s hands is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (v 7-10). The only ones who do not realize this are those focused on their own little hands carrying around their own little god. Everyone else, indeed, everything else, knows that God has everything in His hands; and if God has everything in His hands, God controls everything!
That is Job’s main point with his three friends who have come to comfort him in his grief and suffering over all the bad things that have happened. But they weren’t much comfort! They figured Job must have done something wrong to deserve these bad things. Job continues to proclaim his righteousness. He is convinced that he isn’t being punished by God for some specific sin. He tries to get his friends to understand that being good is not always the basis for freedom from suffering. Neither is being bad always the basis for the presence of suffering. But whether the good suffer and the bad don’t, or the other way around, everything is in God’s hands! If everything is in God’s hand, God is in control!
Now that all sounds well and good. That’s helpful for us when we look at our world as a whole and see the good and the bad, justice and injustice, joy and sorrow. We can say, “Well, everything is in God’s hands. He can work it out.” However, when it comes down to a personal level, things are not always as clear. Sometimes we end up saying, “Well, if everything is in God’s hands then why is my life such a mess?”
That’s why it is good to be reminded frequently that if God is big enough to have everything in His hand, He has you in His hand! ”In His hand is the life of every creature”-that includes you. In His hand is the “breath of all mankind”-that includes you.
As you look at the Scripture passages where God has His “hands in things,” you realize that His hands have been involved quite a bit. In fact, you were always in His hands. His hands “knit you together” in your mother’s womb. (Those who carry their god in their hands only see this as cell division.) God’s hands “shaped” you and “formed” you in the womb. (Those who carry their god in their hands only see this as tissue growth.) God’s hands “brought you forth” from the womb. (Those who carry their god in their hands think it was just the doctor who did that.) Of course, there is the human factor involved in this bringing forth. Because of that, you were also “brought forth in iniquity.” Even with God’s hands involved, birth couldn’t do anything about that.
But rebirth can! And God’s hands are involved in that as well. Those invisible, hard to imagine, spiritual hands of God, became visible in the person of Jesus. Jesus had real hands that touched and healed, hands that raised up and blessed, hands that folded in prayer and-most terrible of all, most wonderful of all-hands that were pierced and bled. (The gods carried around in people’s hands never bleed.) But Jesus’ hands bled and that blood cleanses from sin. It cleanses you from your sin. The hand of God’s wrath-something frequently seen, and always feared, in the Old Testament and that we all so readily deserve-came down upon Jesus. Now God’s hand of grace reaches down to you and through the waters of baptism, through the Word of Scriptures, and the sacrament of His body and blood, brings you forth again to new life and sustains you in that life. ”In His hand is breath and life” your breath, your life. You are in God’s hands, and Jesus reminds us, “Nothing can snatch you out” of those hands.
Does this mean you will always be at ease, like those who carry their god in their hands and that no suffering will ever come into your life? No. But it does mean that your God is with you in your suffering, and remember, He is a God who knows about suffering. He is there to get you through suffering. He is there to help you endure suffering that seems to have no end. He is there to work in and through suffering, not to kill the sufferer, and to accomplish His good and gracious will. Even in the face of suffering-when you don’t feel at ease-you are in His hands.
You’re in God’s hands. Does that mean you will always be undisturbed, like those who carry their gods in their hands? No, disturbing things are going to happen. But it does mean that when your daughter comes to you and announces she is pregnant, you are in God’s hands. She is in God’s hands. Her baby is in God’s hands. They are hands of love, hands of support, hands of forgiveness. What if she doesn’t come to you, but gives in to the lies and pressure of those with their gods in their hands and has an abortion? You are in God’s hands. She is in God’s hands. Her baby is in God’s hands. They are hands of love, hands of support, hands of forgiveness, hands of healing and hope. Disturbing things will come into our lives, sometimes by our own choosing, but in it all one thing remains undisturbed, you are there-in His hands.
You’re in God’s hands. Does that mean you will always feel secure, financially or otherwise, like those who carry their god in their hand? No, but it does mean you have a source of security far greater than finances can provide. You are in God’s hands, the “hollow of His hands” the Bible says, the inner, protected, and secure part. It is a “strong hand” that holds you, a “mighty hand” and “powerful hand.” From His hand you can draw strength to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to be bold in sharing the positive For Life message of Scripture and how it applies to the life issues. You can find the strength to understand these are spiritual issues. The Gospel compels us to be neighbors to those not yet born, to love them as the work of God’s hands in creation and redemption. We have the greatest message in the world to offer to those struggling with a crisis pregnancy or a frightening diagnosis or a past mistake. So, you may not always feel secure in your life or in dealing with life, but you are secure-in His hands.
Yes, I suppose it can be kind of appealing to carry your god in your hand, to have him be whatever you want him to be. It would be worth checking out except for that one thing. Such a god would have to be very, very small. Such a god could never hold you in His hand.
But there is a God who can.
And He does! Amen.
(1) Nancy Michels, Helping Women Recover From Abortion (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1988), 15.