Job 20-42, Exodus 1-4

Each week, as I read, I mark different verses in my Bible and then stick a sticky note on the page so that when I do the recap, they are easier to find. By weeks end, I look like I have a little rainbow along the edges of my Bible. I like the reminder that I am delving into the Word and that these pages spoke to me in some way.

This week I have the same number of sticky notes that I usually do. But I'm not sure what to do with them. I don't want this to become the "endless" post, with so much information that it becomes distracting. So, I am going to choose the one section that has been lingering in my mind for the past few days. I may go back and touch on a few other things this week but this particular section of scripture has captured my imagination.

Five weeks ago we started our reading with "in the beginning." We saw God create light, darkness, earth, sky, the seas, dry land and so forth. And to be perfectly honest, while the wording was concise and not terribly detailed, it was enough.

Because it was what I expected. The creation story was, is and always will be this way.

Until this week.

Until God spoke.

And let me tell you, His words spoke to the poet in my soul. Did you see the creation story in Job 38?

Where were you when I made the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know!
Who stretched a ruler across it?
What were the earth's foundations set on,
or who put its cornerstone in place
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted with joy?

"Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
when it broke through and was born,
when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea
and wrapped it in dark clouds,
when I put limits on the sea
and put its doors and bars in place,
when I said to the sea, 'You may come this far, but no farther;
this is where your proud waves must stop'?

"Have you ever ordered the morning to begin,
or shown the dawn where its place was
in order to take hold of the earth by its edges
and shake evil people out of it?
At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal;
the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
Job 38:4-14

For someone like me, someone who absorbs the printed word like it's her very lifeblood, someone who thinks in word pictures, this passage is a beautifully crafted story of "in the beginning." And I am delighted to find it here. The morning stars sang, the angels shouted for joy, clouds like a coat for the sea...I am so in awe of my God. He delights me. Once again, I found treasure in a place that I least expected it. Although, after all that I have learned of my God, I should not be surprised.

So tell me, how has God delighted you this week?