The Creator Reveals Himself

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” —Psalm 19:1

MANY great scientists of modern times have openly stated their belief in the existence of a supreme, intelligent Creator. A. Creassey Morrison, in the book, “Man Does Not Stand Alone,” says, “By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering Intelligence.” Prof. Louis Pasteur, the noted French chemist, testified that he prayed while he worked.

Throughout all the centuries the wise and the learned have endeavored to pry into the secrets of creation and explain how the great universe came into existence. While these have discovered many of the laws which govern nature and are able, up to a point, to utilize this knowledge, they cannot explain how, out of nothing, there came into existence countless billions of planetary systems and myriad forms of life—plant and animal—and why law and order are so unmistakably displayed in these creations. Happy are they who, by faith, based on reason, are able to accept the plain testimony found in the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”—Gen. 1:1

Yes, there is a God! All nature testifies to this. This testimony is everywhere displayed throughout the earth, in the air, the seas, the skies. The Creator himself calls attention to this in a revealing dialogue with the Prophet Job, as recorded in chapters 38 through 41 of the Book of Job. Job was a faithful servant of God, the God who, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 2:1); but the Creator permitted calamities to come upon him. He lost almost everything in life which contributes to happiness, including his health. Job’s friends insisted that he was being punished for gross sins which he had secretly committed. Job denied this yet was unable to understand why his God was allowing him to suffer. However, in faith he exclaimed, “He knoweth the way that I take.”—Job 23:10

This controversy between Job and his friends continues throughout many chapters of the book. Then, as the record states in chapter 38: “The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” (vss. 1-3) The long series of questions which God asks Job brings out the many points which, because human wisdom does not know the answers, should help even the most skeptical to realize the truthfulness of David’s words, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Ps. 14:1) The wise know that belief in the existence of God leads to the only reasonable answer to many of our questions.

“Where wast thou,” God asked Job, “when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (vss. 4-7) Job was a wise man; he knew that everything made by man required planning and skill. This was true of buildings. In our day it is true of intricate machinery, of television, jet planes, and other modern marvels. These things do not just happen.

The earth, the home of all mankind, had been created without Job or other men having anything to do with it. Job was not present when the “foundations” were laid. He had no part in the architectural design and measurements. Nevertheless, he knew that the earth existed. This marvelous display of wisdom and design should help us, as doubtless it did Job, to realize that there must have been a divine Architect and Builder with intelligence and power far superior to that possessed by man.

Then the Lord reminded Job of some of the details connected with the creation of the earth. He asked: “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? when I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, … and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?”—vss. 8-11

Marvels of the Sea

How seldom we think of the miracle-working power of God in connection with the ebb and flow of the ocean’s tides. Oh yes, we know how to “explain” it. The tides, we say, are controlled largely by the gravitational “pull” of the moon. But what does that mean? What is gravitation? Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravitation, but who framed that law and implemented it? There are times when locally the winds increase the height of the tides a number of feet, and those living near the shore must temporarily seek higher ground; but seldom do men and women realize that ordinarily they can dwell safely by the sea only because God has decreed, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.”—vs. 11

Next Job was asked: “Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?” (vs. 12) Seemingly Job was a prominent man in his community and one who exercised considerable authority, but he had no control over the rising of the sun. “Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days?” No, of course not! Job knew that from the earliest days of his recollection the sun had risen and set without his having anything to do with it. He realized also that this was true of the generations before him. He knew that at no time had man ever had any control over the movements of the sun, the moon, the stars, or the earth. This was far beyond the ability of man. This was the work of God.

The Gates of Death

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?” Job was asked, “or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?” (vs. 17) Men and women of all ages have endeavored to peer beyond death, to know what lies beyond the grave. Apart from the revelation given to us in the Word of God, which assures us of a resurrection of the dead, no one has obtained any satisfactory information. Just as the mystery of creation is explainable only in the light of the fact that there is a supreme intelligent Creator, so the desire for life after death becomes a genuine hope only because the One who created life has promised to restore the dead to life. The various incidents recorded in the Bible of the awakening of certain ones from the sleep of death are therefore proofs of the existence of God, the God who created “the heavens and the earth.”—Gen. 2:1

Further Questions

Here is another intriguing question: “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, that thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?” (vss. 19-21) What is light; what is darkness? The light of day replaces the darkness of night, but where does the one go when the other takes its place? God asked Job if he knew the dwelling place of light, just where it stayed while its place was occupied by darkness. A foolish question? By no means! With all our modern scientific knowledge, no one has yet been able to give an adequate definition of light, or of darkness. Like electricity, which we know exists but cannot clearly define, so are light and darkness inexplicable. But God knows, for he created both the darkness and the light. It was God who said, “Let there be light: and there was light.”—Gen. 1:3

The Lord continued to question Job, asking him about a number of things described by unbelievers as the works of nature, things which, to those who believe in God, are frequently overlooked as proofs of his existence. We quote: “Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?”—vss. 25-29

The obvious answer to all these questions is that there must he a supreme, intelligent Creator who designed and created water and who also planned the means by which it would reach the ground and give life to vegetation. Most of us have witnessed with pleasure the revival of plants, or of grass, when water is provided; but do we realize that the process which accomplishes this is miraculous, made possible because all the elements involved were designed and made by God, who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth?

And how marvelous is the arrangement by which the water created by God reaches the “dry places.” (Ps. 105:41) As we know, it is by the evaporation of the water of oceans and lakes, the moisture ascending to form clouds, which are distributed over the land and which, by changes of temperature in the air currents, are caused to release their refreshing waters in the form of rain and snow. Reaching the earth, the water finds its way back into the oceans and lakes to continue the marvelous cycle. Scientific instruments of today tell us how all this happens, but the real power, or forces, which contribute to make it possible are still unexplainable.

The Heavenly Bodies

Shifting the focus of his questions from purely mundane things to heavenly bodies, God asked Job: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?”—vss. 31-33

The lesson implied in these questions is more striking today than it was to Job. Job was a wise man for his time, but in his day the knowledge of astronomy had not advanced to the present degree. Calculations now made possible by powerful telescopes have revealed the minute accuracy of time and distance involved in the movement of the heavenly bodies, giving evidence that they are held in their orbits, and at constant speeds, by the power and design of a supreme Intelligence inexplicable by man.

Without going into detail as to the particular references to Pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth, and Arcturus, the main point of the lesson is that neither Job nor we can possibly change the course of a single planet, sun, or star. Nor do we understand the governing forces which control “the ordinances of heaven,” or the manner in which their influences are felt in the earth. But God knows, for he created both “the heavens and the earth” and designed their relationship to each other.

In God’s Image

One of the most difficult questions which God asked Job was, “Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?” (vs. 36) The lower animal creations are governed largely by what we call instinct. From the time of their birth they seem naturally to follow a certain pattern, and while many of them can be trained to obey to a certain degree the directives of their human masters, there is no evidence that they really understand why. Certainly, as implied in the question asked Job, the lower animals do not possess a “heart” knowledge, or mental appreciation, of their existence or of their course of action.

But with man it is different. He is able to reason, at least to a limited degree, from the known to the unknown. He knows that some things are right and other things are wrong. He has a conscience which is pricked when he does wrong and affords peace and contentment of mind when he does right. Many have advanced theories concerning the alleged ascent of man from protoplasm to his present state. They have attempted to explain what has brought about the various changes in the anatomy of animals in the evolutionary process which has led to man; but no one has even attempted to answer the question put to Job, “Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?” of man, “or who hath given understanding to the heart?”

There is only one answer to this question. It is God’s answer, recorded in his own inspired Word for our instruction and encouragement. It is found in the very first chapter of the Bible, verses 27 and 28. Here we are informed that man, as constituted, is far superior to even the highest forms of lower animals, capable of reasoning, of planning, of inventing, of knowing right from wrong, because he was created “in the image of God.” When the evolutionists find a reasonable, valid, provable explanation of how this difference between man and his alleged nearest of kin among the brute creation came about, they will be a little more worthy of being given a serious hearing than at present.

Instincts Display Creative Wisdom

Throughout chapter 39 of the Book of Job a number of other questions are recorded, the answers to which must also be negative so far as human wisdom is concerned. These questions pertain to the marvelous instincts displayed by various animals and birds. The chapter begins with these questions: “Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they fulfill? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.”—vss. 1-4

Then the Lord called attention to the different characteristics of other animals—“Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.”—vss. 5-8

Again: “Will the unicorn [wild ox] be willing to serve thee, or abide by the crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?” (vss. 9-12) There are what we speak of as domestic animals which, with little effort, can be trained to serve man. But here God called Job’s attention to other varieties of animals which are wild and refuse to submit to human training. Who is responsible for these differences?

Neither Job nor we are wise enough to understand the creative processes which brought about the almost endless varieties of creation. There is a poem by Joyce Kilmer entitled “Trees,” which states that “only God can make a tree”; and this fact is even more striking when we consider the thousands of varieties of trees, plants, and flowers, as well as the great variety found in the animal kingdom. Only a supreme, intelligent Creator could produce this endless array of created things, with each in its own wonderful way displaying the wisdom and power of its Creator.

Additional Questions

Indicating that Job did not yet realize how little he understood of the wisdom and power of the Creator, further questions were asked him. “Gayest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?” the Lord inquired. (vs. 13) All birds have feathers and wings, but how vastly different they are. The peacock is noted for the beauty of its plumage; hence it is used as a contrasting example with the ostrich, which is rather plain in appearance. What made the difference between the two? The fortuitousness of evolution? No, the wisdom and power of the Creator!

In most cases the birds and lower animals instinctively exercise great care over their young. The birds even watch over and nest on the eggs from which their offspring are hatched. If this maternal instinct of the lower creations were the product of evolution, reason tells us that there would be no exceptions, for the same influences would have governed the evolutionary processes of all. But there are exceptions, and in questioning Job the Creator called attention to one. Referring to what the translators call an ostrich, the Lord said, “Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust [instead of sitting on them], and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear; because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.”—vss. 14-18

Evolutionists would be at a loss to explain why this mother bird takes no interest in her young. God’s explanation alone reveals the reason for this paradox of nature, that explanation being that he “hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.” But he did give the “ostrich” swiftness and strength so that “she scorneth the horse and his rider.” If we remove God from creation, we would here have another unanswered question.

Instinct or Endowment

In the closing verses of chapter 39, another convincing thought is brought to our attention. Job is asked: “Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.”—vss. 26-30

In calling our attention to the habits of the hawk and the eagle, the Lord reminds us again of the numberless peculiarities which exist in the life habits of the bird and animal kingdoms. There are the migratory birds which move from north to south and from south to north with the changing seasons. There are the swimming birds and the singing birds, the screech owls and talking parrots, the gorgeously handsome birds and the drab, colorless ones.

But why stop with birds? The same variety exists among land animals, trees, flowers, and insects. There is only one thing common to them all, which is that they have life—either animate or inanimate. Unbelieving human wisdom, in its folly, contends that all these myriad forms of plant and animal life just happened to develop as they did; but no one has ever been able to explain how they live. The origin of life is unknown, apart from the explanation given to us in the Scriptures that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Accepting this fact, as the many otherwise unanswerable questions asked Job impel us to do, then we know the answer to them all. And the answer is simple, which is that the infinite wisdom and almighty power of a personal God and Creator is responsible for the awe-inspiring works of creation which are so marvelously displayed in the heavens, on the earth, and in the sea.

Job also reached the conclusion that the only answer to all the mysteries of creation is that they are the work of an intelligent Creator. For Job, this was also the answer to the problem of human suffering. How could he question the wisdom of the great Creator in permitting him to suffer for a while? Surely the infinite wisdom displayed in all the creative works of God knew what was best for him. Should we not all reach that conclusion, and especially so if we would know the meaning of our existence and be inspired with hope as we contemplate the eternal destiny which the Creator has designed for his human creation?

Job said to God, “I know that thou canst do everything,” (ch. 42:2) If we know this, then we have a foundation of faith upon which we can build a true knowledge of God and of his all-wise and loving design in man’s creation. If we believe that he can do everything, no explanation of his plans and purposes which he has given in his Word will be disbelieved; no instruction will go unheeded or disobeyed; and no promise he has made, regardless of how far-reaching or seemingly impossible of accomplishment, will be doubted.

The wisdom and power of God are wonderfully displayed in his created works with which we are surrounded. However, had we no further revelation of God than these, we would have many reasons to wonder about his justice and love. God reveals these attributes to us through his written Word, and in this revelation we also find many reassurances of his wisdom and power. Indeed, it is the revelation of his grand design for his human creation which we find in the Bible that stamps this marvelous Book as the Word of God, his revelation to his servants here on earth.

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