“Behold, God is mighty” (Job 36:5). “Behold, God exalteth by his power” (v. 22). “Behold, God is great” (v. 26). In these two chapters, Elihu magnifies the greatness of God in His merciful purpose for man (vv. 1–25) and in His mighty power in nature (36:26— 37:13). He concludes his speech by making one last appeal to Job to fear the Lord and repent (vv. 14–24).
God’s merciful purpose for man (Job 36:1–25). Elihu’s self-importance reaches new heights as he introduces the last third of his speech (vv. 1–4). His listeners must have been getting restless; otherwise, why did he have to say, “Bear with me a little [longer]” (v. 2)? The statement “I will fetch my knowledge from afar” (v. 3) suggests that either he is boasting of wide knowledge or of getting his knowledge right from heaven. And to call himself “one perfect in knowledge” (v. 4 niv) is hardly an evidence of humility!
(1) Explanation (vv. 5–15). The fact that God is great and mighty does not mean that He ignores man or has no concern for individuals. “God is mighty, but does not despise men; he is mighty and firm in His purpose” (v. 5 niv). What is that purpose? To punish the wicked and help the afflicted (“poor,” vv. 6, 15). Elihu contrasts God’s dealings with the arrogant wicked and the afflicted righteous. “He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives justice to the afflicted” (v. 6 nasb).
Job thought that God was ignoring him, but God keeps His eyes on the righteous (v. 7; 1 Peter 3:12) and eventually transforms their circumstances. He lifts them from the ash heap to the throne (Luke 1:52–53) and sets them free from their chains (Job 36:7–8). He chastens us that He might correct us and teach us the right way to live. If we learn our lesson and obey, He will bless us once again. But if we rebel, He will destroy us (vv. 9–12).
The response of the heart is the key. The hypocrites (“godless in heart,” niv) only heap up wrath as they harden themselves against God. No matter how much God disciplines them, they refuse to cry out for help. But the humble in heart get God’s message (“He speaks to them in their affliction,” v. 15 niv) and turn from their sins. The phrase “the unclean” in verse 14 refers to the male prostitutes at the various idolatrous shrines (Deut. 23:17). Elihu chose this image as a picture of the very depths of shame and sin. The wicked not only die young (Job 36:14; 20:5, 11), but they die in disgrace.
(2) Application (vv. 16–25). Job must make a decision. “He [God] is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place” (v. 16 niv; Ps. 18:19). Job’s table was laden with suffering when it could be laden with the choicest of foods. How would Job respond?
Elihu saw several dangers ahead for Job and tried to warn him. The first was that Job might look for some shortcut for getting out of trouble and thereby miss the message God had for him. Job might agree to let somebody “buy his way out,” but no amount of money could do that (Job 36:18–19). The Wall Street Journal said it best: “Money is an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except happiness.”
The second danger was that Job might consider taking his own life (v. 20). “The night” and “darkness” are images of death, and Job often expressed a longing to die (3:1–9, 20–23; 7:21; 10:18–22). Many sufferers have committed suicide in order to escape their hopeless situations, but there was not much danger that Job would take this route. Job was a man of faith and was not about to go into God’s presence uninvited.
Elihu saw a third danger, that Job might give up all hope and turn to a life of sin (36:21). In my own pastoral ministry, I have counseled people who were so bitter against God that they abandoned their professions of faith and went back into the world. “If life is going to be this tough,” they say, “then we might just as well enjoy ourselves while we can.” They forget that there can be no true enjoyment without God, and that sin eventually brings its own harvest of suffering and sorrow.
Finally, Elihu urged Job to catch a new vision of the greatness of God and start praising Him (vv. 22–25). God wants to teach us through our sufferings (v. 22), and one evidence that we are learning our lessons is that we praise and thank Him, even for trials. “Glorify him for his mighty works for which he is so famous” (v. 24 tlb). “Praise changes things” just as much as “prayer changes things.”
God’s mighty power in nature (Job 36:26— 37:24). “Behold, God is great, and we know him not” (36:26). This is the theme of the last part of Elihu’s speech; and he illustrated it with the works of God in nature, specifically, God’s control of His world during the seasons of the year.
(1) Autumn (36:27—37:5). In the East, after the heat and drought of summer, both the land and the people welcome the autumn rains. It is interesting to discover Elihu’s insight into the “water cycle” of nature (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) and the need for electricity (lightning) to help the “system” work.
With the mind of a scientist but the heart of a poet, Elihu describes the storm. He begins with the formation of the clouds (36:26–29), then the release of power by the lightning (vv. 30–32), and then the sound of the thunder (36:33—37:5). To Elihu, the lightning is the weapon of God (36:32), and the thunder is the voice of God (37:2, 4–5). In the East, you can see a storm brewing miles away and with fascination watch as it approaches.
What was Elihu’s response to the drama of the storm? For one thing, the storm reminded him of God’s sovereignty and God’s goodness. “This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance” (36: niv). It also aroused in him a sense of awe at the mighty power of God (37:1). David recorded a similar experience in Psalm 29.
(2) Winter (vv. 6–10). At some point, the autumn rains become winter ice and snow. Workers must stop their labor, and wild animals retreat to the protection of their dens. God breathes on the waters, and they freeze. What the weatherman calls “meteorological phenomena,” Elihu calls the miracle work of Almighty God. Isaac Watts agreed with Elihu when he wrote, I sing the goodness of the Lord That filled the earth with food; He formed the creatures with His word, And then pronounced them good. There’s not a plant or flower below But makes Thy glories known; And clouds arise and tempests blow By order from Thy throne.
(3) Spring (vv. 11–13). Eventually the warmer winds start to blow, the snow and ice melt, and the rain clouds appear once again. Elihu knew that the wind plays a most important part in the world’s weather. Nobody can predict exactly what the wind will do (John 3:8), but God is in complete control (Ps. 148:8). The “water cycle” operates effectively: the clouds are full of water, the lightning flashes, and the rain falls. Sometimes God sends the storms for discipline (Job 37:13; Gen. 6–8; Ex. 9:13–26; 1 Sam. 12:16–19); but for the most part, the rain is the gift of His love and mercy (Job 37:13).
(4) Summer (vv. 14–18). Now the clouds “hang poised” (v. 16 niv), and everything is still. The summer sun heats the air, the south wind (the “sirocco”) blows from the desert, and people start to “swelter in [their] clothes” (v. 17 niv). The sky is like a brass mirror, and nobody feels like doing anything but resting.
But Elihu was doing much more than delivering a poetical, scientific lecture on the four seasons. He wanted Job to consider the greatness of God and the wonders of nature and realize how little Job really knew about God and His working in this world. Elihu asked Job three rhetorical questions—about the clouds, the lightning, the wind, and the rainless skies. “Can you explain these things?” he asked. “Can you control them?”
This led to Elihu’s final thrust: “If you can’t explain to us the everyday things of nature, then how will you ever prepare a court case to defend yourself before God?” He then warned Job that to challenge God might lead to Job’s being swallowed up by God’s judgment (v. 20). Verses 21–22 describe the “clear shining after rain” (2 Sam. 23:4), the blue sky, the bright sun, the “golden splendor” and “awesome majesty” of God (niv). “You can’t even look at the sun,” says Elihu, “and yet you want to meet God face to face!”
Elihu’s closing words remind us that, even though we can’t fully understand God, we know that He is great and just and does not afflict men to no purpose. What should our personal response be? “Therefore, fear him”! Job had come to that same conclusion after pondering the works of God in the world (Job 28:24–28).
It is possible that while Elihu was speaking, an actual storm was in the making in the distance; and when he finished, the storm broke—and God was in the storm!
Job will now get what he’d been asking for: a personal meeting with God. Was he ready? Are we ready?