seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Job 37:1 “At this my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
4 After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
5 God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.[a]
8 The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
9 The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
13 He brings the clouds to punish people,
or to water his earth and show his love.
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
4 After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
5 God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.[a]
8 The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
9 The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
13 He brings the clouds to punish people,
or to water his earth and show his love.
14 “Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
17 You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?
stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
17 You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?
19 “Tell us what we should say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
20 Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?
21 Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?[b]”
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
20 Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?
21 Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?[b]”
a. Job 37:7 Or work, / he fills all people with fear by his power
b. Job 37:24 Or for he does not have regard for any who think they are wise
Now it looks like Elihu is saying God's too big to listen to the wining of a stupid human. This is from the enduringword site.
Elihu felt that Job needed a good dose of the greatness of God. It was good advice wrongly applied to Job’s situation. Elihu did rightly understand that the mighty sound of thunder seems to man to be the voice of God.
This is a repetition of Elihu’s theme that Job had transgressed the line that separates God and man, and that Job presumed to know more than he could or should know from God. In this, Elihu was partially correct.
Elihu previously spoke of God’s voice as being like mighty thunder. Now, he considered that the voice of God commanded the snow, the gentle rain, and the heavy rain; His breath makes ice and freezes the broad waters.
The idea is that when God sends the cold and the snow, the farmer cannot do his work. His hand is sealed from further effort, and the time away from work makes him reflect on the work of God.
Significantly, God will address Job among similar lines when God begins to speak starting at Job 38 (Do you know… Do you know). Though Elihu here had many of the right ideas, he presented them with a wrong premise, the premise that Job’s whole crisis came from his sin.
Elihu returned to his theme of God’s distance and transcendence. He wanted to discourage Job from insisting that God owed him (or anyone else) an audience or an explanation.
Elihu has a really sad but awesome view of God. It's sad that Elihu seems to think that God is too big to be concerned about the daily lives of stupid humans. His view of God is awe. That's impressive. God gives Elihu a sense of awe. Sunrises, heat waves, snow storms, thunderstorms, meteor showers, and earthquakes.... they are all God's work.... too big and too awesome for stupid humans to comprehend.
Yesterday there was a earthquake in California. The earth is still quivering from the quake. There were 100 after-quakes according to the nightly news. People at the epicenter have been warned that there should be one more shake that should reach at least 5.1. Meanwhile.... down south.... where stupid humans are known to sit under a shade tree with a mint julep to enjoy the warm summer afternoon.... they were suffering with 110 degrees..... it's so hot and humid....stupid humans have to go hide in their houses to sit by the air conditioning. In Maryland and DC.... thunderstorms and downpours were in the forecast..... while stupid humans traveled to fireworks parties, rain poured down in buckets. Here, in Arizona.... it was beautiful yesterday..... we had a dry 107 and sunny..... God did all that and didn't leave His throne.
Elihu claims God is too big to be bothered with each and every one of us every second of every day.... so bad stuff can happen when God is busy elsewhere. IMHO that just not so.... and here's why..... God knows how the story ends..... God controls time..... God even gave satan a chance to prove his story that Job would hate God if God allowed satan to take his kids, flocks, and financial security. Since God knows what's going to happen.... and He can pinpoint the issue.... God can and does interfere when things get too complicated for stupid humans to handle.
Back when Job was going through all this.... there was no prayer.... Jesus hadn't taught us how to pray yet. God was not a "Father" figure because Jesus hadn't been here yet so God wasn't adopting these stupid humans. In Job's day it was clean and simple.... if you do x you sacrifice this animal.... if you do y you sacrifice this animal.... and you sacrifice this animal "just in case". Job had done his "x and y" sacrifices.... and he had done his "just in case". Job was doing everything right when it came to the Lord because Job loved doing what is right. No one but Job, God and satan knew that.
