Bible Reader

Job 26

¹But Job answered and said,

²How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

³How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

⁴To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

⁵Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

⁶Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

⁷He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

⁸He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

⁹He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.

¹⁰He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

¹²He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

¹³By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

¹⁴Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

on Job 26

How Faint A Whisper!

“Every year makes me tremble at the daring with which people speak of spiritual things.” —B B F. W

Bildad’s speech in Job 25 is the shortest in the book and focuses on God’s power (vv. 1–3) and justice

(vv. 4–6). It is disturbing to see how Job’s friends speak so knowingly about God when, in the end, God revealed that they really didn’t know what they were talking about. Too often, those who say the most about God know the least about God.

God’s power is inherent in His nature (vv. 1–3): He has all dominion and fear (“awe”) and reigns sovereignly in the heavens. He has everything under control and sees what is going on in all places. His army of angels is at His command and ready to obey His will. Who can resist Him?

God’s justice is the outworking of His holy nature (vv. 4–6), for “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Since God is holy and just, how can mere man claim to be righteous before Him? (Remember, Job was holding fast to his integrity and refusing to confess that his sins had brought God’s judgment on him.) Since man is born of woman, he is born with a sinful nature (Ps. 51:5). In the East, the moon and stars shine with great brilliance; but even they are not pure in God’s sight. How can a mere man claim to be righteous before God, man who is nothing but a maggot and a worm? (See Job 4:17–18; 8:20; 9:2.) Now, we listen to Job’s reply.

Job Acknowledges God’s Power

Before magnifying God’s great power in the universe, Job first rebuked Bildad for giving him no help (Job 26:1–4). Job had no power, but Bildad didn’t make him stronger. According to his friends, Job lacked wisdom; yet Bildad didn’t share one piece of wisdom or insight. “Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?” (v. 4 niv). If Bildad’s words had come from God, then they would have done Job good; for Job had been crying out for God to speak to him. The conclusion is that Bildad’s words came from Bildad, and that’s why they did Job no good.

Then Job extolled the greatness of God (vv. 5–13). God sees everything, even the realm of the dead (vv. 5–6). Job used three different names for the place of the dead: the waters, Sheol, and “destruction” (“Abaddon,” Rev. 9:11). If God sees what’s going on in the world of the dead, then surely He knows what is happening in the world of the living!

God not only sees everything, but He made everything and controls it (Job 26:7–13). Job began his hymn of praise with a statement about God’s power in the heavens (vv. 7–9), and he described the earth with remarkable scientific accuracy (v. 7). God also controls the clouds and the rain.

Job then moved his attention to the earth (vv. 10–11) and praised God for marking out the horizon where the sun rises and sets. He is the God who controls day and night, land and water. The “pillars of heaven” is a poetic phrase for the mountains; they rest on earth, but they seem to hold up the heavens. All God has to do is speak, and the mountains tremble (9:6).

The last stanza of Job’s hymn centers on God’s power in the waters (26:12–13). God can stir up the sea or still it as He desires, and He has power over sea creatures (“Rahab” and “the gliding serpent,” niv). He can blow the storm clouds away and clear the sky after the storm.

The three friends must have listened impatiently because they already knew the things Job was talking about; but they hadn’t drawn the right conclusion from them. Because they saw God’s handiwork in nature, they thought they knew all about God; therefore, they could explain God to Job.

Job said that just the opposite was true. “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” (v. 14 nasb). What we see of God in creation is but the fringes of His ways, and what we hear is but a whisper of His power! You may read The Book of Nature carefully and still have a great deal more to learn about God. Knowing a few facts about the creation of God is not the same as knowing truths about the God of creation.

The fourteenth-century British spiritual writer Richard Rolle said, “He truly knows God perfectly that finds Him incomprehensible and unable to be known.” The more we learn about God, the more we discover how much more there is to know! Beware of people who claim to know all about God, for their claim is proof they know neither God nor themselves.