Job 37:14 - Meaning and Application

Elihu here speaks directly to Job and wants him to take what has been said to heart. He asks Job to listen carefully and pause for a moment: “Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14). What we hear will not help us unless we think about it. And we usually do not think well unless we stop, settle our minds, and pay close attention.

God’s works are wonderful, so they deserve our careful thought. The more we consider them, the more they help us trust God’s rule, even when we do not understand his ways. Elihu then humbles Job by showing him that he does not understand the causes behind nature, nor can he see how they lead to their results (Job 37:15-17). He asks, “Do you know this, do you know the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?” This reminds us of two things: God’s perfect knowledge and our own limits.

God’s knowledge is complete and flawless. He sees things directly, not by report. He knows things fully, not partly. Nothing is far from him, nothing is future to him, and nothing is hidden from him. When we cannot understand one of God’s works, it is enough to know that it comes from the one who knows exactly what he is doing.

Our own knowledge is very limited. Even the greatest thinkers still understand much less than they think. We are full of puzzles, even to ourselves. The force that holds bodies together, and the way matter sticks together, are certain, but still hard to explain. It is good for us to feel our ignorance. Some people admit it honestly; others reveal it by their attempts to hide it. From this, we should learn how unfit we are to judge God’s rule over the world when we understand so little about the world itself.

We do not know what commands God has given to the clouds, or what he will command them to do (Job 37:15). We know that everything happens by his decision and with his purpose, but we do not know what he has planned or when he planned it. God sometimes makes the brightness of his cloud shine, whether in the rainbow or in lightning. But could we predict when he will do that? We may be able to guess the weather a little from common observation, or from instruments once changes have already begun. Still, that tells us very little about God’s own purpose in those changes.

We also do not know how the clouds are held in the air, which is one of God’s wondrous works. They are balanced and spread out so that they do not take away the sun’s light. Even a cloudy day is still day. They are balanced so they do not all fall at once, or burst into violent downpours or waterspouts. The rainbow is a sign of God’s favor in this balance, keeping the clouds from flooding the world. The clouds are also arranged so that their rain falls fairly on the earth, so that every place gets its share in due time.

We do not know how the pleasant change comes when winter is over (Job 37:17). We do not fully understand how the air becomes warm again after cold weather. We know how our clothing can feel warm because the air around us is warm. Without God’s blessing, we may dress ourselves and still not be warm (Haggai 1:6). But when God orders it so, our clothes are warm on us, even when severe cold would otherwise defeat them.

We also do not know how weather becomes calm after stormy days. God quiets the earth by the south wind when spring comes. He has a rough, freezing north wind, and he also has a soft, warming south wind. In that way, the Spirit is compared with both, because he both convicts and comforts (Song of Songs 4:16).

Elihu then says that Job had no part in the making of the world (Job 37:18). “Have you, with him, spread out the sky?” he asks. Job could not claim to have stretched out the heavens without God, and not even alongside him. God needed no help in planning or making them. The wide expanse of the visible heavens, which God made at the beginning (Genesis 1:6-8), still stands before us as a great display of divine power.

This heavens are a wonderful thing because they are both firm and vast. They are like something fluid, yet they remain steady. They are strong, and their very name points to their firmness. They remain what they were, without decay, and the order of heaven will not change until time itself comes to an end. They are also bright and finely made. They are like a polished mirror, smooth and without flaw or crack. In them we see the glory of God and the wisdom of his work (Psalm 19:1). When we look up, we should remember that heaven is not given to show us our own faces, but to give us a faint picture of the purity, honor, and brightness of the world above and its glorious inhabitants.

Elihu also says that neither he nor Job can speak about God’s glory in a way that matches the greatness of the subject (Job 37:19-20). He challenges Job, with some irony, to be their teacher if he is able: “Teach us what we shall say to him” (Job 37:19). Job had wanted to reason with God, and wanted others to argue his case. So Elihu says, in effect, if Job has better insight, let him instruct them. Can Job see farther into these deep matters than they can? If so, let him share what he knows.

Elihu admits his own weakness in speaking to God and speaking about him. “We cannot order our speech because of darkness.” Even the best people understand only a little of God’s glorious nature and his rule over the world. Those who know much of God by grace still know very little compared with what is still to be known. When the perfect comes and the veil is removed, more will be seen. When we speak of God, we often speak with confusion and uncertainty. We soon run out of clarity, not because the subject is small, but because our words are weak.

So we should always begin carefully, with fear and trembling, so that we do not speak wrongly. Even to say true things about God can be dangerous if we handle them carelessly. And we should end with shame and humility, because we have not spoken as well as we should have. Elihu says that he had spoken well for God, yet he does not think God owes him anything for it, or that he is fit to serve as God’s legal adviser. He is even ashamed of what he has said, not because the cause was wrong, but because his own handling of it was so weak: “Shall it be told him that I speak?” (Job 37:20)

Should this be reported to God as a worthy service, something that deserves his notice? Certainly not. The speaker fears that the cause has actually suffered in his hands, as a beautiful face is harmed by a bad painter. His work is so far from earning thanks that it needs pardon.

When we have done all we can for God, we must still admit that we are unprofitable servants and have nothing to boast about. He is even afraid to say more: if a person speaks, if he tries to defend God, and much more if he tries to argue against him, he will surely be swallowed up. If he speaks boldly and wrongly, God’s anger will soon consume him. But even if he speaks as well as he can, he will soon lose himself in the mystery and be overwhelmed by God’s glory. Astonishment will leave him speechless and unable to act.