Questions

 Have you ever wondered how many questions you ask in a day?

Maybe it's just me but I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to trivia like this. Here's what I discovered:

Approximately 2 questions per minute, 40 per day and 70,000 per year. Unless, of course, you are a toddler, then the number jumps exponentially. 

We ask questions for various reasons: for knowledge, for clarification, for conviction, and because I'm an educator, to assist in learning. 

So let's talk about the Bible for a minute. The King James Version is home to 3,298 questions. Can you guess which book has the most questions? If you guessed Job, you'd be correct. Even though it is not the longest book in the Bible, it has the most questions coming in at 329. The others?

Jeremiah 195, Isaiah 190, Psalms 163, 1 Samuel 157, Genesis 149 just to name the top few. All four of the gospels together have 630 total. 

I'm sure some of you by now are saying, "So what?" 

If you have read the Bible at all, you may have noticed that God often uses questions as His primary source of imparting wisdom. Jesus himself spent a lot of time asking questions, answering questions and causing questions. God often asks questions He already knows the answer to. Case in point; Adam and Eve hiding in the garden. God obviously knew where they were but asked the question anyway (Genesis 1:9).

But let's get back to Job. There is one question in the very first chapter that causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up every time I read it. "Have you considered my servant, Job." (Job 1:9) He is, of course, talking to Satan and effectively just put a target on Job's back. And Job's primary question is one that I'm sure we would all be inclined to ask given his same circumstances, "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?" (Job 3:11)

And then for 35 chapters, Job moans, cries and questions his very existence. Nowhere in those 35 chapters do we see God strike Job dead for asking questions. In fact, when God finally answers in chapter 38, he answers with questions...tons of them. God reminds Job of who He is through a series of questions that for the most part can all be answered with "Not me." "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?" (Job 38:4-5)

Although God's answer may seem like a reprimand, Job 42:12 says He blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. There is a difference between asking God questions and questioning God. God is not opposed to our questions. In fact, He welcomes them. 

How awesome is it that we serve a God that is so confident in His goodness, righteousness, blamelessness and integrity that His reputation isn't threatened by questions? Now that's a question I know the answer to.