I will not sin against God    

In Job 31.23 we find his determination to not sin against God, "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing."

"...calamity from God..." - not a popular thought or theology today. It isn't pleasurable to preach, either. I much prefer the topics of love, grace, forgiveness, peace, joy, etc., to the topics of judgment, wrath, vengeance, plague, pestilence, retribution, and calamity. This would probably be a good lesson in which to explore how one's personality plays strongly in one's social system adaptation, theological development and personal view of the Holy.

However, that isn't going to be the direction of this little missive on Job.

 A couple of weeks ago my old mini-van 'died' in the Post Office parking lot. It was terribly inconvenient for this to happen on such a hot day and in such a high traffic location. I had been a lot of different places already that day. I had no idea there was going to be this problem as the old van hardly ever had any mechanical difficulties.

I mused on why it was totally, completely, suddenly dead. Various opinions were offered, including the possibility of a bad ignition switch or some type of resistor. Jene' came to pick me up and suggested we try to 'jump' it and get a new battery...how sweet, how novel, how irritating that I hadn't thought of that. I was going to have it towed to a mechanic.

It did start. It was the battery. The old white mini-van has once again become my reliable horse of choice. The battery! I don't think much, nor often, about batteries. This one has side terminals. It requires the negative cable to be longer than the positive cable. It has to be solidly connected to the grounding bolt and to the starter. If there is any corrosion preventing a good grounding or a positive connection to the starter, it won't start the engine.

So, too, is the reality of our attachment to God - if it is going to work properly. To only be attached to God with a positive strand or with a negative strand is to be left dangling inoperable in a time of heat or crisis. Down through the years I've watched folks who have only nurtured the strand of grace and acceptance, or have only nurtured the strand of fear and judgment. In times of great stretching, requiring flexibility in perceiving the ways and methods of God, these folks are unable to adequately meet the demands of the crisis and fail to provide any strength or answers to the world around them.

Job knew the goodness of God. He practiced that goodness in his own life. Job knew the grace of God and had endeavored to extend that to everyone, from 'the gate of the city' to 'the widow.' Now, however, in this time of great angst of soul, Job recognizes the bottom line on his motivation to not sin against God lies in his deep awe of the Eternal God, High and lifted up, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Hosts.

This awe leaves one weak in the knees, trembling and shaking. Ask  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, or the men in the grave upon whose bones the body of Elisha was placed. Ask Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Ask Ezekiel or John the Revelator. This is an awesome, Holy, and terrifying being. This is GOD, not to be casually approached nor euphemistically mentioned. This is THE "I AM!" This one Hebrew word, written by Moses to quote the Eternal Judge, indicates an action verb from a root verb meaning "to be."

Job was saying, in essence, 'because He IS and I some day will stand before Him in full view of all His Majesty, by this reason - I will not sin against God. I recognize the terror of calamity that can come from God.'

This needs to be added, by every Christian, to the reasons why he or she determines to live every day in a way that is pleasing to God!