The Edges of God's Ways

"He who builds His layers in the sky, and has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth-- the LORD is His name."

Amos 9:6

I love how God speaks about the order of the world He has created.  I only recently learned about the layers of atmosphere scientists have discovered, and God founded these layers even as He "founded His strata in the earth."  There is the Troposphere, where "weather" happens; the Stratosphere where the ozone layer is; the Mesophere which burns meteors which could impact the earth; the Thermosphere where satellites are launched; the Ionosphere which is crucial for "Sun-Earth interactions;" and the Exosphere which is the upper limit of Earth's atmosphere.  I look to the heavens and I do not see any of these layers, know how they function, or how they protect us.  But God designed and founded them according to His wisdom, and the scripture tells us so.

When God created trees, He made them mature and able to bear fruit after their own kind.  He filled the earth with vegetation, and I expect if a mature tree had been cut down the day it was created it would reveal a series of rings.  In the same way, God founded His strata and layers of the earth.  There are molten layers far deeper than man can probe, yet many layers are visible on the surface as well.  God has laid them down one after another, many at the time of creation, and many layers since.

The third part of this verse speaks of something I learned about in the third grade:  the water cycle.  About 70% of the earth is covered with water, and about 97% of that is found in the oceans.  Water from the sea evaporates, forms clouds, and then is deposited in the form of snow and rain on the land.  The God who created the oceans "calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth."  We can observe this process and imagine it "just happens," or we can acknowledge the wise and powerful God who graciously provides for all He has made.

"The LORD is His name," the prophet Amos said.  God is the eternal, self-existent God who created everything according to His plans and purposes.  He has built the earth on nothing, and founded earth with His voice.  Job 26:6-14 magnifies our God well:  "Sheol is naked before Him, and Destruction has no covering. ⁷  He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. ⁸  He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it. ⁹  He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it. ¹⁰  He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness. ¹¹  The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at His rebuke. ¹²  He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He breaks up the storm. ¹³  By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. ¹⁴  Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"