Context No. 3560 of 4322 · Job
Context · Reflection
Job 37:1-16: in context
1“Yes, at this my heart trembles, and is moved out of its place. 2Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth. 3He sends it out under the whole sky, and his lightning to the ends of the earth. 4After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty. He doesn’t hold back anything when his voice is heard. 5God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can’t comprehend. 6For he says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his mighty rain. 7He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he has made may know it. 8Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens. 9Out of its room comes the storm, and cold out of the north. 10By the breath of God, ice is given, and the width of the waters is frozen. 11Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning. 12It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world, 13whether it is for correction, or for his land, or for loving kindness, that he causes it to come. 14“Listen to this, Job. Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. 15Do you know how God controls them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? 16Do you know the workings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
Elihu points Job to the sheer majesty of God displayed in the storm. God thunders wondrously with his voice; he commands the snow to fall and the rain to pour; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. And Elihu's summons is simple and searching: stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
Do you know how God does these things, he asks, how he balances the clouds and makes the lightning shine? In the face of a God who governs the storm and is perfect in knowledge, the fitting response is not to demand explanations but to stand still in awe. There is a needed correction here for Job, and for us. When we are tempted to challenge God, or to think we could manage the world more justly than he does, we do well to stop and consider his works, the storm, the snow, the vast processes we can neither control nor fully understand, and to be humbled. To contemplate the greatness of God is to be put rightly in our place, and to learn again to trust rather than to demand.
When I am tempted to challenge God or think I understand better, do I stop and consider his wondrous works, letting his greatness humble me into trust and awe?