Job 40:1-5: a reflection

After Job has questioned God at length in his suffering, demanding answers, God finally speaks, confronting Job with the vastness of his greatness and wisdom, and then challenges him: Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God answer. And Job, who had so much to say, is silenced. Behold, I am of small account, he answers; what shall I reply to you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further. Confronted with God, Job falls silent.

Notice Job's response: he lays his hand on his mouth. Job had been full of questions and complaints, much of it understandable in his suffering; but confronted with the reality of God, he recognizes his own smallness and stops speaking. He does not receive answers to all his questions; he receives God himself, and before God's greatness, he humbly falls silent, putting his hand over his mouth. There is a time, Job learns, to stop arguing and simply humble oneself before God.

That is a needed lesson for us. In our suffering and confusion, we may have many questions and complaints to bring to God, and it is right to bring them honestly. But there also comes a point where the answer is not more explanation, but God himself, and where the right response is Job's: to recognize our smallness, lay our hand over our mouth, and humble ourselves before a God greater than our understanding. When you have questioned and argued and demanded answers, remember Job. There is a time to stop, to fall silent before God's greatness, and to humble yourself, trusting the God you cannot fully understand. Lay your hand on your mouth, and let God be God.