Job 26 SCIENCE IN POETRY Job was finally so exasperated with his friends and their repeated assertion of his suffering being divine retribution for his wickedness and alleged secret sin, that he launched into a great poetic response that is remarkable in its depth of thought and knowledge, as well as his use of words. The book of Job is not a book of theology or history, but of poetic language that is not a doctrinal thesis. The human participants all said some things that were right and some things that were not. They were all influenced by their own ideas, prejudices and self-opinionated positions for argument's sake.
Yet, there is no question that Job did understand more of God's Person, ways and will than any of the three friends. His understanding of God was a result of his life lived before God, testified to by God Himself, and described at the beginning of the book. His areas of misunderstanding were colored, and maybe because of, the things he was suffering and lost. We are all at times overpowered by emotion rather than common sense of intelligent reason when there is unexplained pain that affects us body, soul and spirit.
With sarcasm Job responded to Bildad's last speech by saying in effect, that the three friends who looked on him as a helpless, quivering, sinful man, and had given him a lot of wordy explanations as to why he suffered, really didn't know what they were talking about and did not help him in the least. They had no counsel or wisdom to give in spite of their own exalted view of their intellectual prowess. Their advice was not sound nor were their words and the spirit in which they were given, of any help to him at all.
We need to learn and remember that when people need our counsel and help, it is up to us to move into the position where we can "walk a mile in their shoes," in order to be effective in our advice. To be able to truly empathize with another person we need to consider what I would need to hear if I was where they were. What would I want to hear if someone came to give me counsel? Understanding of where they are will give me a better perspective of their situation, and will produce better results than criticism and condemnation. Love and compassion will open more doors of understanding and give a more positive response to counsel, than giving advice or analyzing with a sense of scrutiny to find something wrong.
Job had listened to Bildad's speech, and told him right out that he knew what he said was copying the words of Eliphaz rather than his own philosophical opinions which were to Job spurious anyway. He put Bildad down as not saying anything worthy of paying attention to. He didn't have anything to say of value. He dismissed his opinions as useless in meeting the need of one who was suffering. Bildad had said a few things about God that were true, but when Job focused his attention on God, we can understand how much more he knew about God than his friends as he surveyed the God of creation.
First, he looked at things that are unseen. The souls of those who have died are under the all-seeing gaze of God. There are no braggarts in the place of the dead that proclaim there is no God. That attitude has changed. Those in the place of the dead tremble in fear before divine holiness which is no longer dismissed and unimportant by those who are in hell. "You cannot hide from God, though mountains cover you. His eyes your secret thoughts behold."
Bildad spoke of God in "high places." Job knew that His authority extends to the lowest of low places. Even though we cannot see the place of the lost, God is in control in the depths of darkness. He is also in control in the heights of space and the whole universe, of which we can only see a minute part. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things above and below. We see evidence of God in the very position of the earth with north and south being measureable and specific places, while east and west are non-specific.
In the form of an ancient poem, Job begins with earth being upheld by nothing but God. There is no giant turtle upon whose back the earth sits as some ancients taught. There are no legs like that of a table upon which earth rests like a flat tray like others thought. Job's view was not held by ancient philosophers because it was received from God, not man's imagination. What he wrote thousands of years ago was not considered a fact until a few hundred years ago when observation removed ancient speculation and the word of God was proven to be true scientifically.
The heavens, "the north," is where God reigns and even then, the vastness of space cannot contain Him. Earth is his "footstool," but for His own sovereign reasons, out of all the trillions of stellar things, God has set His love on mankind. All we have to do to be impressed with the awesome majesty, power and glory of God, is to step outside on a quiet starlit night and look at the sky. There is no great noise from the heavens. There is simply the overpowering sense of order, planning, beauty and wisdom that testifies to the Person, power and character of God.
Great amounts of water, millions of tons, are above us and is bound in place to be released a little at a time as rain all over the earth. Job knew that way back before scientists had been able to give an explanation of what he knew was a testimony of God. He had observed it and by his fellowship with God, recognized it as a work of God. Clouds covering the heavens, a spherical earth with a "circular horizon" and the boundaries of day and night indicating the spinning of the earth, were all evidence of God's wisdom, glory and interest in mankind in Job's day. Modern man has been skeptical of all that believers have know from ancient days until they think they have "discovered" the scientific reason of things as they are. We who know God have known by faith it was His work alone that creates, maintains and makes work nature and all associated with it.
In his poem, Job states that anything that would be in opposition or even potential opposition to God, will fail and be defeated, no matter what it is, what it does or where it comes from. The challenges of nature, of political powers, of men, or of evil cannot stand against the "thunder of His power." There were a lot of things Job had learned about God, and obviously from God, but he knew it was only a small whisper of knowledge compared with the fearful, loud clap of thunder from God's infinite power and wisdom. He knew he was only looking at the edge of the hem of God's greatness, and he was awestruck before even the little he knew about God.
His three friends thought they had God all figured out and were wanting Job to acknowledge their superior Knowledge. Job, on the other hand, was aware of his own limitations when it came to understanding the wisdom and greatness of God. That is one evidence of the reality of faith that all true believers have. The greater and more of our experiences with God, the more we are conscious of how little we know. It is impossible to describe, or even try to define the infinite wisdom, power, beauty and purposes of our God and gracious Father who is limitless in every way. It is like an ant trying to describe a human being, or a bird trying to describe the world.
Job was more aware of what he did not know than of what he knew. We are wise and teachable if we have the same attitude. Everything about God is limitless and unable to be fully described. What we do know is enough to make us love God and bow down our heads and hearts in His presence and sing, "O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the works Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed." Our response is truly, "How Great Thou art!"
When we get to the verse of that hymn that says, "And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Send Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin..." Then our awe is not only real, but is personal, and our worship of our Father-God is truly in spirit and in truth.