Job 36:24 - Meaning and Application

Elihu is trying to fill Job’s mind with great thoughts of God, so that he will submit gladly to God’s rule. He begins by describing God’s work in general as glorious and plain to see, Job 36:24. God never does anything small or base. That is one reason we should accept all his providence, even when it deals with us personally.

We already admire God’s visible works in nature. We see wisdom, power, and goodness in the world around us. So why should we complain about his dealings with our own lives, or about the plans of his will for us? We are told to think carefully about the work of God, Ecc 7:13. It is right in front of us, open to every eye. Anyone with even a little sight can notice it, even from far away.

Wherever we look, we see the results of God’s wisdom and power. We can say, “This is God’s work, the finger of God, the Lord’s doing.” We see the heavens and their lights, the earth and its fruits, and we know they are the work of Almighty power. Even closer up, the smallest things in nature are wonderful if we study them closely. God’s eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in the things he has made, Rom 1:20. Even people who do not have special revelation can see this, because the voice of creation is heard everywhere, Psa 19:3.

This work should also seem amazing to us. We should remember the beauty of God’s work and the harmony of all its parts. We should not only admit that it is right and good, and cannot be blamed. We should also praise it as wise and glorious, beyond anything any creature could design or make. Human beings can see God’s works and recognize his hand in them, unlike animals. So we should praise his works and give him the honor.

Elihu then lifts up God himself as endless and beyond our understanding, Job 36:26. The streams of life, power, and perfection should lead us back to their source. God is great beyond measure. He is great in power, because he is all-powerful and depends on no one. He is great in wealth, because he is fully sufficient in himself and for all things. He is great in himself, and great in all his works. He is great, and therefore worthy of great praise. He is also great, and therefore we do not truly know him.

We know that God exists, but not fully what he is. We know what he is not, but not all that he is. We know only in part, not perfectly. That is why we must not accuse him of wrongdoing or complain about what he does. To do that would be to speak against things we do not understand, or answer before we have heard the matter. We do not know the length of his life, because it has no end. The number of his years cannot be searched out, because he is eternal. He has no beginning, no change from one stage to another, and no end. He always was and always will be, always the same, the great I AM. This is another reason not to set rules for him or argue with him, because his ways are far beyond our reach.

Elihu then gives examples of God’s wisdom, power, and rule in nature and in ordinary providence, beginning with the clouds and the rain that comes from them. We do not need to be overly strict about the wording or the science of this noble speech. Its main point is clear. God is infinitely great and Lord over all. He is the first cause and supreme ruler of all creatures. He has all power in heaven and on earth, so we should worship him with humility and reverence, speak well of him, and honor him.

It is pride for us to demand that he follow our rules in his special providence toward people, or to require him to explain his ways. Even the workings of common providence in the weather are varied, mysterious, and hard to explain. Elihu had told Job to look at the clouds, Job 35:5. Now he shows what we can learn from them about the glory of their Maker.

Consider the clouds as the springs of this lower world, the source and storehouse of its moisture. They are like the great channel through which that moisture moves. This is a necessary gift, because if it stopped moving, the damage would be as serious as blood standing still in the human body. There are several things worth noticing in this common gift. The clouds above pour down on the earth below. If the heavens become like brass, the earth becomes like iron. So the promise of plenty says, “I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth.” This teaches us that every good gift comes from above, from the Father of lights and the giver of rain, and it teaches us to pray and look upward.

The rain is said to fall on man, Job 36:28. God does send rain into the wilderness where no one lives, Job 38:26 and Psa 104:11, but he gives special care to human beings. The lower creatures are made to serve us, and we are called to return praise to God. Among people, he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, Mat 5:45. The clouds also send down water in small drops, not in a sudden flood, as when the windows of heaven were opened, Gen 7:11. God waters the earth with the very waters that once drowned it, only now he gives them in a different way, so we can see how much we depend on him and how kind he is. By giving rain in drops, he spreads the blessing farther and more evenly, like water from a watering pot.

Sometimes the rain comes in very small drops, and at other times it falls in heavy showers. That difference between one rain and another must be traced to God’s providence. Even though it falls in drops, it still comes down abundantly upon man, Job 36:28. That is why it is called the river of God, full of water, Psa 65:9. The clouds also pour out what they first draw up, Job 36:27. In that way, heaven is faithful to earth, but the earth does not always return the same faithfulness in gratitude.

The clouds can also bring fear or blessing to the earth, Job 36:31. When God chooses, he uses them to judge the peoples he is angry with. Storms, tempests, and too much rain can ruin crops and cause floods. Yet from the same clouds he usually gives food in abundance. They drop richness on the pastures where flocks lie, and on the valleys covered with grain, Psa 65:11-13.

Notice is sometimes given that rain is coming, as in Job 36:33. The sound itself can warn us, and 1 Kings 18:41 speaks of “the sound of abundant rain,” or, in the margin, “a sound of rain,” before it came. When that happened, it was a welcome sign. In the same way, the look of the sky can also tell us what is coming (Luke 12:56). Even the animals, by a kind of natural instinct, sense a change in the weather and look for shelter. That puts people to shame when we refuse to notice danger and protect ourselves.

The clouds are like shadows over the upper world (Job 36:29). They are spread across the earth like a curtain or canopy, yet we cannot explain how they are formed, stretched out, or held in place, even though we see them every day. If we cannot understand the spread of the clouds, which hide the light (Job 36:32), how can we claim to understand God’s judgments on human beings, whose lives and cases are so different? It is a cloud that comes between, as Job 36:32 and Job 26:9 say. We can feel the effect of clouds when they stand between us and the sun.

Sometimes they are a blessing, because they protect us from the sun’s harsh heat, which would otherwise beat down on us. A cloud of dew in harvest time is described as a great refreshment (Isaiah 18:4). At other times they seem to frown on us, because they darken the earth at midday and block the sun’s light. Sin is compared to a cloud (Isaiah 44:22), because it comes between us and the light of God’s face and keeps that light from shining on us. But even though clouds hide the sun for a time and pour down rain, the sun shines again afterward, after it has worn out the cloud. There is a clear shining after rain (2 Samuel 23:4). Sunlight reaches down even to the bottom of the sea, drawing up fresh vapors and raising new clouds (Job 36:30). In all of this, we must remember to honor the greatness of God’s work.