He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. – Job 9:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 30, 2018): Job 9

Since pre-history or the time of Job, we have been picking out patterns in the stars that we see in the sky. Some of the oldest patterns are Ursa Major, or the great she-bear, Orion, and the star cluster Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus. We have invented stories that go along with the constellations and star clusters, and we have watched them as they have moved across the sky marking the seasons and the passage of time.

Some of the sky has changed since the days of Job. Because of precession, or the change in the tilt of the earth since the days of Job, some of the stars that Job would have watched can no longer be seen from the Middle East. And yet, these constellations and others remain as constant reminders to the age of creation, and generations of watchers wonder at them anew. One of the trials of modern life is that because of light pollution; sometimes there are great empty places in the sky devoid of stars. But if we are willing to get outside of the confines of the city and into less populated areas, once again the stars pop into view, inviting to once again wonder about them, and invent our stories of faraway places.

The phrase “constellations of the south” in this verse is a bit misleading or, at the very least, a modern understanding of the idea of constellations. We know that there are constellations that can only be seen from the either the North or South hemispheres. Because I live in the Northern portion of North America, I never see the Southern Cross or Cruz grace the Southern sky. The phrase “constellations of the south” carries this kind of connotation. I know that Cruz exists, but that I have to go south to see it. (From the United States, the best place to view Cruz is in Hawaii.) Cruz is a constellation of the south.

But Job would have had no understanding that the constellations change depending on how far north, or south, you go. He would have lived his entire life within a small area of the earth and had no idea what might have laid beyond the small boundaries of his world. Yet he did know that there were more stars than he could see, and it was more than just that stars rose in the east and set in the west. Some stars were hidden in the south as well. The phrase “constellations of the south” is probably better referred to as “chambers of the south,” at least from the perspective of Job. The creation of God was so vast that he kept some stars in a chamber just south of the horizon. These were stars that Job and his friends would only see during certain times of the year, and some them would never be seen at all.

Job’s point is this; how can anyone pretend to know this God who has created so much more than we will ever see. It is a good point to continue to ponder. We know more than Job did, and we see more than he did, and yet there are still things that are hidden from our eyes, and mysteries that we still cannot understand. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 10