Job 37:1 - Meaning and Application

Thunder and lightning usually go together, and both give a clear sign of God’s glory and majesty, his power and the fear he deserves. One reaches the ear, the other the eye. In them, God does not leave himself without a witness of his greatness, just as he does not leave himself without a witness of his goodness in rain from heaven and fruitful seasons (Acts 14:17), even to people who are dull and careless.

There are natural causes for thunder and lightning, and useful effects from them, which philosophers try to explain. Still, the main purpose seems to be that the Creator uses them to startle a sleeping world and turn people to think about God above them. The eye and the ear are the two main learning senses, and by God’s word he teaches the mind through the ear, and by his works through the eye. But since ordinary sights and sounds do not move people as they should, God sometimes amazes them with lightning to the eye and thunder to the ear.

It is very likely that it was thundering and lightning at the time Elihu was speaking, because he talks about these things as present events. And since God was about to speak (Job 38:1), these were fitting signs to prepare for attention and awe, just as they were later at Mount Sinai. Elihu himself was deeply affected by the display of God’s glory, and he wanted Job to feel it too (Job 37:1-2). He says, in effect, that his heart trembles, that he has often heard thunder and seen lightning, yet they still fill him with fear, making his whole body shake.

Thunder and lightning have often terrified wicked people. The emperor Caligula would run to a corner or hide under a bed when he heard them. When something shocks us badly, we say it has thunderstruck us. Even good people find thunder and lightning very solemn, and they are made more frightening by the harm lightning often does, since many have been killed by it. Sodom and Gomorrah were ruined by fire from heaven. So thunder and lightning are a clear sign of what God could do to this sinful world, and what he will finally do by fire, since the world is reserved for that judgment. Our hearts, like Elihu’s, should tremble with fear of God’s judgments (Psalm 119:120).

Elihu also calls Job to listen closely to the sound of God’s voice (Job 37:2). Perhaps the thunder was still far off and could not be heard well without careful listening. Or perhaps, even though thunder will catch our attention, we still need to listen with focused minds if we want to understand the lesson God is giving through it. Thunder is called the voice of the Lord (Psalm 29:3), because through it God speaks to people and calls them to fear him. It should also remind us of the mighty word by which the world was made, which is described as thunder-like power (Psalm 104:7).

Those who are moved by God’s greatness should try to move others too. Elihu then describes thunder and lightning. First, he points to their source, not their secondary causes, but their first cause. God directs the thunder, and the lightning belongs to him, Job 37:3. Their coming and moving are not accidents. They are under God’s plan and rule, even if they seem random and uncontrolled to us.

He also shows how far they reach. The thunderclaps roll under the whole sky and are heard near and far. The lightning flashes to the ends of the earth, coming from one part of heaven and shining to the other (Luke 17:24). The same flash and clap do not reach every place at once, but they can reach very distant places in a moment. There is no place that does not, at some time, receive these warnings from heaven.

He then speaks of their order. The lightning comes first, and afterward the voice roars, Job 37:4. In reality, the flash and the sound happen at the same time inside the cloud. But since light travels much faster than sound, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder, just as we see the flash of a cannon before we hear the report. The thunder is called the voice of God’s majesty, because it announces his great power and glory. He sends out his voice, a mighty voice (Psalm 68:33).

Elihu also speaks of their force. God does not hold them back because he needs to restrain them before they get out of control. Rather, he lets them go their way. He says to them, “Go,” and they go; “Come,” and they come; “Do this,” and they do it. He does not hold back the rains and showers that often follow thunder, as he had already mentioned (Job 36:27, Job 36:29). Some understand this to mean thunder-showers, those sweeping rains that follow his lightning (Psalm 135:7).

From all this, Elihu draws a simple conclusion (Job 37:5). If God thunders so wonderfully with his voice, then we must conclude that his other works are great too, and beyond our understanding. From this one example, we can reason about all of God’s works. In his providence, his wise rule over all things, there is much that is too great for us to oppose, too strong for us to fight against, and too high or too deep for us to criticize or dispute.