Job 42:1-3
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
The more I know, the more I know what I don’t know. That sentence summarizes my 8 years in Bible college and Seminary. I may have gone in saying I knew it already but those were words without understanding. The first universities, from Oxford all the way to Princeton, were designed to teach understanding about God so ministers could serve him better. In chapters 38 through 41, Job received from God a university education on who God is and what he can do. This is Job’s valedictorian speech. Up to now he thought he knew God but, through trials and hearing from God, Job knew God’s power and his own dependence on God.
I pray for the day when the universities once again teach students to know God so they love him and serve him better. They have drifted far from their original mission but we need to remember what Job said to God, “I know you can do all things”. Even though the professors at these schools don’t know it, they are speaking counsel without knowledge. That sounds brazen but they need to know their need for Jesus Christ as Savior. Then they will know the knowledge that is too wonderful for them and the universities will return to their original mission. Proclaiming Jesus.
O Heavenly Father, you are more wonderful than we can imagine. May we hear your voice today and see your power in the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen. .