11-16-14. Job 36:24-26. Extolling Our Great God to the whole world.
Job 36:24-26. Extolling Our Great God to the whole world. Kevin E. Jesmer
Elihu tells Job that God is exalted in his greatness (22,26) and that people of faith should “extol his works.” Look at Job 36:24-26, “24 Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song. 25 All humanity has seen it; mortals gaze on it from afar. 26 How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.” What does extol mean? It means to, “To praise highly; exalt.” “To glorify, praise, or honor.”
First, Extolling God means to exalt God within our circumstances. This WILL require a change in attitude as we live in the midst of our difficulties. When we are suffering the last thing we want to do is extol the Lord Jesus and tell the world of God’s greatness. We tend to be totally selfish, seeking some relief. But God wants us to lift our eyes up from our difficult circumstances and fix them on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-3 reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Second, God wants us to extol him without understanding everything about him first. Here is a definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1-3 reads, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
Throughout the Bible there have been people who have extolled God without understanding all of His ways. Think about Abraham. God called him to believe God’s promises in Genesis 12:1-3, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Mary was a young lady. She was called to a tough mission to be the mother of our Lord Jesus. She didn’t understand the ramifications of the calling. She never fully understood the God who was calling her. But she had faith and she responded to God’s call, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’” (Luke 1:38) Abraham and Mary were both suffering in their own personal circumstances. Mary was poor and powerless. She could have been stoned to death for what God was calling her to do. Abraham was poor and surrounded by idol worshippers and a culture of war. He was told to move someplace he didn’t know. But they were called by a God they never fully understood and yet they obeyed and submitted to him, believing in God’s promises. They set out to live by faith in an awesome God and extol the Lord by faith.
There are multiple examples of those who extolled God in their lives without understanding everything about God. Hebrews 11:32-39 sums it up well, “32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
I have been called to extol the greatness of Jesus and his life-giving Gospel to the ends to the ends of the earth. I have my own personal difficulties and sufferings. Yet, I must not be focused on my own issues alone. I need to fix my eyes on Jesus and run the race set before me. I pray that God may open the eyes of my heart to see his greatness and his glory all around me. Then I pray that God may show me ways to extol him his glory to world and grant me the strength and inspiration to do so. Where would I been without this direction in my life? My heart longs for God and meaning and hope and eternity. I can’t imagine living on survival mode. It would be a weight too heavy for me to bear. But praise God for the privilege to extol his greatness, even when I am suffering.
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