The Divine Speeches

    We as humans are finite. We are not eternal or all-powerful. We are not all-knowing and omnipresent, ultimately we are not God. Humanity is not the creator but rather the created. To truly understand how we fit into the cosmos and also the Divine Plan we must first decenter ourselves from the narrative. While it should be understood that humanity is incredibly valuable and cherished. We are not the Authors of Creation. 

    In a better understanding of our finitude we can better understand God's glorious power. In a better understanding of God's glorious power we better understand our own finitude. It is a cycle that allows us as humans to live rightly. This exhibition mirrors one aspect of this cycle. The goal is to learn more about God's power and from those realizations to learn more about our finitude. It should be understood that the goal is not to make us feel worthless but to better understand the infiniteness of God. Through this better understanding we can take comfort just as Job did that while God is all powerful He is also a loving and caring father. 

    Art across cultures has been tapping into the same truth that God Himself explores throughout the Divine Speeches in Job 38-42. They might not be fully accurate but art can have common grace insights that allows us as people to experience the comfort that Job felt from hearing God speak on the natural world. Much like the rhetorical questions about His creation these paintings help us decenter ourselves and acknowledge our own limits. 

    

Homer Winslow, Gulf Stream, 1899 reworked by 1906, Oil on canvas, 06.1234

This painting feels hopeless. The man is completely alone, surrounded by danger. His only hope for rescue is fading into the storm in the background. He is at the mercy of the forces that are around him. These natural forces are intent on destroying him. The sharks seem to be waiting for the man to fall into the water so that they can eat him. This painting is one example of how artists can show the powerlessness of humanity in their struggle against nature. While it is extremely negative in nature, which goes against the themes present in God's speeches to Job it does capture the harshness that so many people feel in this broken world. 

Fan Kuan, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, ca 950 C.E., National Palace Museum, Taiwan

The sweeping cliffs and crashing waterfalls dwarf any human or anything we can create. The travelers that are present are lost in the scale of the the rest of this painting. As with the Divine Speeches this paintings shows the grandness of the world that is around us. That grandness has only one true source. That source is the Creator, and the King of the Heavens. This painting captures the awe that is present when truly understanding how great God is.  If these mountains, waterfalls, and rivers are so great than how much greater is He who created them. 

Asher Bran Durand, In the Woods, 1855, Oil on canvas, 95.13.1

As with other members of the Hudson River Valley School, Durand focused on the wild and untamed wilderness of America. This world is not evil or out to punish those who are living in it. However the world is simply so much bigger and more expansive than we can ever imagine. God works through the Divine Speeches to show Job just how much more there is to the world and by extension God Himself than Job could ever understand. 

Elias Martin, A Romantic Landscape, 1768, Oil on canvas, National Museum of Sweden 

Like other romantic painters Elias Martin focused on creating an emotional response for the viewer. They wanted to focus on what they called the "sublime". This sublime is meant to give people a sense of awe in the world around them. This is incomplete as this awe has no true outlet. However throughout the Divine Speeches God uses the natural world to create awe in Job in order to bring Job to right worship of God Himself. As Christians this awe of nature found in these paintings can lead us to worship much like Job. 

Albert Namatjira, Mount Sonder, MacDonnell Ranges, 1945, New South Wales Gallery

Much like the Romantics and the American landscape painters in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, Namatjira captures the beauty of the landscape around him. An aboriginal from New South Wales, Namatjira he captures the beauty of the lands around his home. The beauty that he captures can be understood as a picture of the power that God has.  It should be noted that the truth of God through reveled creation can be seen by any culture and through any art technique. 

Ito Jakuchu, Insects by Pond Side, date unknown, handscroll painting, Idemitsu Museum of Arts 

Unlike the other paintings in this exhibition this work does not inspire awe by showing us the grandness of the world but rather by showing the detail of creation. Throughout the Divine Speeches God does simply decenter Job through awe-inspiring creation. He also shows His care and creativity throughout the details of creation. Ultimately when we view the greater world around us we should not just be made to feel feel small but also that God takes incredible care of the seeming small aspects of the world around us.