Job 36 BEHOLD, THE GREATNESS OF GOD! This epic poem we know as the book of job, is to the western mind quite beyond our normal way of thinking, let alone dialogue. We are used to rapid verbal exchanges of a sentence or two, and occasionally a monologue of a few minutes that open up questions and answers that are given as immediate response responses, not well thought out conclusions. Whoever wrote the book of Job guided by the Holy Spirit, must have been amazed, as are we, at the depth of thought and experience that came from Elihu after he had courteously waited for a response from Job to his last challenge.
In essence he had said, "Instead of looking at yourself and all you are suffering, look up and wait for God to speak to you in His own time and way." Perhaps Elihu was convicted by his own words of challenge, because after waiting a respectable time and getting no reply from either Job or his friends, he began to speak in a different tone of voice, and with a much loftier understanding of God.
The Spirit of God had taught him from his own words. This is not an uncommon experience from an exercised soul when they are preparing to speak or teach. In the reading of the scriptures and the assimilation of truth into one's own soul, one becomes convicted themselves about the message they are going to pass on to others. A Sunday School teacher becomes almost overwhelmed by the grandeur of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and pauses in prayerful thought. "How can I transmit what my Lord by the Holy Spirit just gave to me, to children?" Another who is seeking to connect with young people who spend most of their time looking at a screen in their hands, wonders, "Is there some way I can communicate across this barrier of grunts and glass?"
Elihu managed to do that admirably as the Spirit of God seemed to give him a new attitude of mind and heart, and a new tone of voice that was suited to the majestic subject he was called speak about. Words like, "Suffer me (bear with me)," "Behold," Remember," all lifted his spiritual eyes, and ours, above normal human experience to One who is so great and transcendent that we draw a great breath in awe. As we consider Him, observe evidence of Him, we are reminded of His power and universal authority by considering all He has made. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handywork." The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory."
Elihu seemed to realize he had been somewhat arrogant and self-confidence in his earlier speeches, but had paid attention to his own admonition to look and wait before speaking again. Now there seems to be an underlying humility when he said, "Bear with me a little (longer)." He knew God is incomprehensible. He knew God is sovereign and can bless or discipline as He chooses. He knew there is no way to search out or describe God, and His knowledge is far beyond man's ability to describe.
The greatness of God had been impressed upon this young man. He knew any knowledge he had came from God, and that knowledge will honor God who is the "Maker" of everything. God's might and His authority in administering justice, seems to have subdued this man to where he goes to a higher plane of communication in which he is quietly confident in what he said.
If I heard a person say he speaks for God, I would probably first think he has an awfully high opinion of himself, and may tune him right out. But there are a couple of other things that could make me not reject him right off, and would make me stop and listen for a few minutes before walking away. His body language including his facial expression; his tone of voice and audible expressions by which I can sense his attitude, and what he thinks of his subject and of me a listener would all make me pay attention to him.
Also, the fact that a person has thought through a subject enough that they are speaking logically and reasonably would make me listen. If I recognized they were speaking profound truths in a poetic form, I would really be impressed that what is being said is definitely not "off-the-cuff" words this man isgiving. I would definitely be inclined to listen to what was saying this time around.
At the beginning of this dissertation. he acknowledges that his knowledge come "from afar," that is from his observations of the vastness and order of the universe around him. This implies that he was finally impressed with his own insignificance, and was passing on "felt truth," not some theology of man's invention. The living God is mighty, is just, and knows who is righteous and He does reward the righteous. But He also disciplines them if they act in defiance toward Him. When God does something, there is always a reason behind it. He does not take action without some sovereign purpose. When we respond appropriately to what He does, then our "ear" is opened to the instruction He gives, and the wise person obeys that instruction. To refuse is to die like the one who doesn't have the knowledge, even though they should have known and obeyed God's instructions.
God gets our attention by allowing difficult circumstances. The hypocrites may ignore what God is teaching, but the wise person who is afflicted, opens his ears and pays attention to what God wants. When this positive response takes place, we breathe a sigh of relief and step out into the fresh, pure air of divine acceptance. What joy and confidence comes when we learn to accept whatever comes, because our faith is in our gracious God who we worship with full hearts.
The opposite effect takes place when we set ourselves up to complain to God because we don't like the way things are going. That is the same thing sinners do. The "ransom" that God will need to bring us back into fellowship with Him, is whatever He chooses. In Job's case he will be brought to the place where he has nothing at all to say against God, and is subdued into the silence of humble acceptance of God's divine will. We can certainly learn the lesson of our own salvation and the ransom price that was paid by our Lord for us when He was like "a sheep before her shearers is dumb." Job had been complaining about injustice. Now Elihu's exhortation is for him to bow in worship.
Instead of asking to die, Job should have asked what he could learn from all he was going through. Elihu's words were good advice but he was pretty rough around the edges when he spoke to Job. We learn through difficulties as well as from the Bible and the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was here, "found in fashion as a man." It is important that we "magnify" the Lord and His work in our praise rather then challenge His justice and judgments in our frustrations. We will never know the answers to all of our questions or be able to predict what will happen down the road. Nor can we manipulate God in any way to suit our own perceived needs and wishes.
How much wiser it is when we learn from observation of looking up and seeing the power and authority of God in and over His creation, and realize it is this Awesome God in whom "we live and move and have our being." We gain some common sense about ourselves and our weakness when we watch the heavens gradually release rain a little at a time to gently water the earth rather than dump millions of tons of water on the earth at one time. The marvelous ways of evaporation and hydration testify to the wisdom of our Creator- God.
Storms that comes, and lightning that is continually striking the earth hundreds of thousands of times a day, help keep us alive by bringing the oxygen and hydrogen to earth that we need for survival. The on-going work of divine providence should focus our attention on our God, not on ourselves no matter what the situation is in which we are found. In this part of his monologue Elihu fixes his attention on how God has arranged the remarkable cycle of evaporation and rainfall to maintain life on earth. This creatorial plan has an effect on earth, sea, animals, plants and people - all in a positive way that defies human description. We know what happens, and from a purely scientific way how it sustains life. When we understand the fact of the Creator looking up at the greatness of God, we can see from the divine perspective, and hopefully from our human perspective, how important it is to make and maintain fellowship between us and God.