Can You?

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  

Colossians 1:17 

Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 

Job 38:31-33 

What can we do? The first part of our text asserts that in Christ all things hang together. The second portion of our text comes from the mouth of Christ, in pre-incarnate form, as He speaks to Job out of the whirlwind. Our text refers to various astronomical phenomena, which have names like Pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth (or Arcturus) and Ursa Major. Several points worth considering arise from this statement. The first point is that Job was obviously familiar with these bodies and their names. This demonstrates how knowledgeable he was. Second, while he could observe all these heavenly bodies, he could exercise no control over them. He could not influence them or uphold them. If a star began to die, he could not stop it. If something unusual occurred in the universe he might be able to observe it and record it, but he could not alter or affect it. Christ is asking these questions to point out that He could do all these things. He can bind the cluster of the Pleiades and loose the belt of Orion. Herein lies the value of our understanding of Who Christ is and what He does. This means He is not only the Creator of all that but also the Upholder of it. It is exceedingly important of us to know this One Who does uphold all these things which are beyond our control.  

Great God of wonders, 
we rejoice that You are sovereign. 
We praise You that You can effect 
change where we cannot. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning