When our three year old granddaughter Naomi saw our Christmas tree for the first time this year, it was a joy to see her eyes filled with wonder and hear her expression of, “Wow!”
In a
nutshell it is this expression of wonder that infuses Elihu’s theology at the
end of chapter 37 as he beholds the approach of the terrifying beauty and
majesty of God. And it is this very vein
of thought that ultimately begins to lift Job out of his awful circumstances.
37:14
“Listen to this, O Job, Stand and consider the wonders of God!”
At first reading Elihu’s admonition seems a little cruel. How
can a man so diseased and despairing even attempt to stand? And yet twice in the chapters to follow it is
this exact admonition that Jehovah uses during His encounter with Job. But perhaps it may be more of an admonition
to “stand still” then simply to “stand.”
Immobilized by his weakness, Job still had to be reminded that the
raging of his spirit needed to be quieted.
“Listen” comes from
a root word meaning “to expand” and so literally means to “broaden out the ear.” Five of the six times this word is used in
Job it is found in the speeches of Elihu.
Sometimes our
spirits may resemble Job’s – agitated, mad at God, and un-listening – when what
would truly bring healing are silence and stillness and a “standing still.”
37:15 “Do you know how God establishes them,
and makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
16 Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, the wonders of one
perfect in knowledge…?”
Picking up a
refrain from chapter 36 and the first half of chapter 37, Elihu again focuses
on the meteorological mysteries of clouds and lightning and thunderstorms (the
word “cloud” is found 22 times in Job).
The
word “wonder” is found twice in these first couple of verses, and it refers to
things that are beyond human capabilities, the unsolvable “I-can’t-find-a-way-out-of-my-problem”
things. These abnormal events are designed to strike the mind forcibly, to
create a sense of wonder, and cause us to know that there is a God Who cares! In the midst of his gloom, Job’s sense of
wonder needed to be rekindled.
37:17 “You whose garments are hot, when the
land is still because of the south wind?
18 Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, strong as a molten mirror?”
Throughout
this book, Job has wanted an encounter with his seeming Antagonist (he would
get his wish shortly). But Elihu wants Job to consider something, “You know Job
– when it gets really hot out here in Uz and you are sweltering and all you
have strength to do is to take a nap, are you able to ‘hammer out the sky like
a metal mirror?’” Francis I Andersen
reminds us, “Since the sky seems firm
and solid to a viewer on earth, the poetic comparison with ‘a molten mirror’ should
not be spoiled by introducing quarrels about its scientific accuracy. The Hebrews were fully aware that the
structure of the heavens was much more complex than that of an inverted bowl.”
The version
of the Bible called The Message puts those verses this way, “Why, you don’t even know how to keep cool on
a sweltering hot day, so how could you even dream of making a dent in that
hot-tin-roof sky?”
37:19 “Teach us what we shall say to Him; we
cannot arrange our case because of darkness.
20 Shall it be told Him that I would speak? Or should a man say that he
would be swallowed up?”
Note the word “arrange.” It is used of the arranging of pieces of
firewood in Genesis 22:9, of the setting in order of the pieces of showbread (two
rows of 6 cakes each) in Leviticus 24:8, and of the preparations for a legal
case in Job 13:18. It often contains a militaristic/battleground tone and is used
in the context of warfare and means a ‘drawing up in battle order.’ At one point Job described himself as being
“attacked by the terroristic forces of God ‘arranged’ against him.” (Job 6:4)
Throughout
this book Job was desirous of taking legal action against God in a court of
law. But in this very poetic scene,
Elihu reminds Job that he can scarcely formulate an opening statement let alone
argue or arrange an entire case. “Job,
your dispute arises from a lack of knowledge of God’s ways (your darkness); you
can hardly see past your tears let alone peer into the omniscience of God and
plumb the depths of His love!”
The Arabs
had a proverb, “Take care that thy tongue cut not thy throat.” Barnes writes in his commentary, “We are surrounded by mysteries which we
cannot comprehend, and we should therefore approach our Maker with profound
reverence and submission.” And Trapp
reminds us, “Silence may be our best eloquence!”
Perhaps verse 20 could be paraphrased, “You are on the verge
of being swallowed up by your raging and bitterness; should I really ask one of
the angels to approach the One Who dwells in unapproachable light and say, ‘I
hate to bother you Sir, but Job has a few complaints….’”
37:21 “Now men do not see the light which is
bright in the skies; But the wind has passed and cleared them. 22 Out of the north comes golden splendor; Around
God is awesome majesty.”
It’s
a little difficult to tell exactly how this scene plays out. Is it that the dazzling splendor of God is in
the initial storm or is it that the natural metrological storm clears and the
supernatural storm appears? However it takes place, one thing is for sure – the
dazzling splendor of God begins to agitate Elihu and his speeches indicate as
much. Barnes writes, “God is introduced in the following chapter
with amazing sublimity and grandeur…He comes in a whirlwind, and speaks in
tones of vast sublimity…as Elihu discerned (the approach of God) he was
agitated, and his language became abrupt and confused. His language is just
such as one would use when the mind was overawed with the approach of God…”
Our speech would become a little agitated
also if the earth was reverberating with the thunder of God, a lightning storm
filled the blackened sky and suddenly a tornado appeared!
Verse
22 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, “Out of the north comes golden
splendor; around God is awesome majesty.”
The Message renders it, “…a terrible beauty streams from God.” Instead of trying to reason our way out of
our problems, maybe we just need a glimpse of “the terrible beauty that streams
from God!”
I
cringe when I hear someone refer to the Creator of the Universe as “the Big Man
upstairs.” We are but one breath away
from eternity and we should speak of eternal things with far more reverence and
respect.
37:23 “The Almighty, we cannot find Him; He
is exalted in power and He will not do violence to justice and abundant
righteousness. 24 Therefore men fear
Him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”
Trying
to paint a word picture of the immensity of God is a little like trying to gain
a sense of the vastness of the ocean by putting our ear next to a sea shell and
“listening to the ocean.”
Concerning
verse 23 one writer states, “This is a very abrupt exclamation and highly
descriptive of the state of mind in which Elihu was at this time – full of
solemnity, wonder and astonishment at
his own contemplation of this ‘great First Cause’…" Barnes puts verse 23
literally and simply by translating it this way, “The Almighty! We cannot find
him out! Great in power, and in justice, and in righteousness!”
And Clarke summarizes this section by
saying, “…the incomprehensible glory
and excellency of God confound all his (Elihu’s) powers of reasoning and
description; he cannot arrange his words by reason of darkness; and he
concludes with stating that, to poor weak man, God must for ever be
incomprehensible and to him a subject of deep religious fear and
reverence. Just then the terrible majesty of the Lord appears! Elihu is silent!
The rushing mighty wind…proclaims the presence of Jehovah: and out of this
whirlwind God answers for and proclaims Himself!”
A weatherman has
enough difficulty trying to remain upright and do a broadcast during the fury
of a hurricane. But can you imagine
trying to introduce the King of kings during this storm?
Concerning verse
24 Matthew Henry writes, “He regards the prayer of the humble, not the policies
of the crafty.”
The approach of
God had left Elihu and Job and the others in a state of wonder. The dictionary
defines “wonder” as “to be filled with amazement,
bewilderment, astonishment or awe.”
Our God is a wonder-working God – He is able to do
the “beyond our comprehension” things, the extraordinarily difficult things
that baffle the imagination. I believe
that we are created with a need “to wonder.”
Whether it is contemplating the wonder of the tiny spring-like cucumber
tendril (by Harvard scientists nonetheless!) (to see, click on this link: Cucumber Tendril),
or writing a blog about a desire to “Reclaim Curiosity in a Ho-Hum world” (One Man's Wonder)
or thinking about the origins of the universe, we have a desperate need to
wonder.
Perhaps this is why, during a very, very
dark period in Israel’s history, I find it so striking that the prophet Isaiah wrote,
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government
shall rest upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
His Name shall be called “Wonderful…” He is able to bring hope to your un-resolvable
situation.
Dan Vander Ark
Copyright 2013
Dan Vander Ark
Copyright 2013
