Job 36: Behold, God

And Elihu continued, and said:
2     “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,
for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.
3     I will get my knowledge from afar
and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4     For truly my words are not false;
one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5     “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;
he is mighty in strength of understanding.
6     He does not keep the wicked alive,
but gives the afflicted their right.
7     He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
but with kings on the throne
he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
8     And if they are bound in chains
and caught in the cords of affliction,
9     then he declares to them their work
and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10    He opens their ears to instruction
and commands that they return from iniquity.
11    If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
12    But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword
and die without knowledge.
13    “The godless in heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14    They die in youth,
and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.
15    He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
and opens their ear by adversity.
16    He also allured you out of distress
into a broad place where there was no cramping,
and what was set on your table was full of fatness.
17    “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;
judgment and justice seize you.
18    Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,
and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
19    Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress,
or all the force of your strength?
20    Do not long for the night,
when peoples vanish in their place.
21    Take care; do not turn to iniquity,
for this you have chosen rather than affliction.
22    Behold, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
23    Who has prescribed for him his way,
or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?
24    “Remember to extol his work,
of which men have sung.
25    All mankind has looked on it;
man beholds it from afar.
26    Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
27    For he draws up the drops of water;
they distill his mist in rain,
28    which the skies pour down
and drop on mankind abundantly.
29    Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?
30    Behold, he scatters his lightning about him
and covers the roots of the sea.
31    For by these he judges peoples;
he gives food in abundance.
32    He covers his hands with the lightning
and commands it to strike the mark.
33    Its crashing declares his presence;
the cattle also declare that he rises.
 
Meditation
God is faithful to reveal Himself in the midst of heartache and hard times.
 
Elihu speaks for God, imploring Job to bear with his message in the midst of his broken world (1-4). God speaks through suffering. God reveals Himself in our suffering.
 
“Behold, God…” is a marker (5, 22, 26) grabbing our attention to reveal more of God’s greatness. The repetition emphasizes the unhindered power of a just God. Along with Job, all humanity should bow in humility, trusting God will achieve justice in the end.
 
“Behold, God…” is mighty in justice and discipline (5-10). Humanity can embrace this in humility, (11) or hard heartedly reject God (12). Suffering reveals our deepest knowledge of God (11-15).
 
“Behold, God…” is a powerful teacher, and through suffering the pupil must learn not to arrogantly protest. Faith remembers God’s work in the most frustrating seasons of life, trusting the Teacher (22-25).
 
“Behold, God…” is great, incomprehensible and knowable at the same time. God exists beyond our human categories but reveals Himself to human hearts. God’s mysterious creation reveals both his inscrutability and intimacy, a mystery extolling His greatness (26-33).
 
Jesus is the faithful revelation of God’s greatness and justice. Jesus is the powerful teacher who not only modeled humility by learning through suffering (Hebrews 5:8) but died in the place of sinners like you and me. Jesus is the infinite God who intimately loves, softening hearts with His grace so we can “Behold, God…!”
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about what Elihu calls Job to “Behold” about God?
 
-Why is it difficult in suffering to believe God is both all mighty AND just? Why is it significant that God seeks to reveal Himself in suffering?
 
-How does Jesus embody what Elihu is calling us to behold, and what are the implications for your life? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
5 “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.