Human Response 657: Know Not God

Job 36:26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

One theme in the Book of Job is that God is incomprehensible. We have some knowledge about God, for the Bible contains many details about who God is, how we can know Him, and how we can have an eternal relationship with Him. But because we are created creatures we cannot know Him completely. We can never know enough to answer all of life’s questions, to predict our own future, or to see how all His purposes fit together. Life creates more questions, so we must constantly turn to God for insight and for strength for each day.

The Lord God has revealed enough in His Word, and preeminently in His Son, for us to live and die on. But the things we do not need to comprehend are still hidden from us. For instance, we cannot really understand eternity (“the number of His years”). In the Bible God tells us what we need to know for life and salvation. But that still leaves mysteries we cannot see. God is so great that the human creation cannot really wrap his head around it.

With the Spirit’s help we can believe what He has revealed, and so we can trust Him for what we cannot fully comprehend. Some mysteries are still hidden from us, but some are revealed so that we may trust Him for what we do not know. Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord, but the things that are revealed belong to us.” Our response to life’s questions is to dig in and study the Word to hear what God has revealed. This we can know and believe, and it is sufficient.