Elihu prepared the way for God’s arrival on the stage with his vivid description of the impending storm, followed by a doxology: “From the north, golden, He is coming. Upon God is terrible majesty. The Almighty – we have not found Him; He is exalted in strength. In His justice and great righteousness, He does not oppress. Therefore, humans fear Him, for He does not have regard for those who think themselves wise” (37:22-24).
“Then the LORD (Yahweh) answered Job out of the storm” (38:1). God’s covenant Name reappears at this point. In the preceding poetic dialogue and monologues, with the exception of
12:9, the divine Person was “God” or “the Almighty,” transcendent and powerful – and, as far as Job was concerned, absent. Here, however, the …show more content…
Characteristically, the LORD of the covenant revealed Himself in the stormy power of clouds, thunder, and lightning (Exodus 19-20; Judges 5:4-5; and II Kings 2:1), demonstrating His transcendence above and control over all of these phenomena which so terrify humans in their destructive might. The Hebrew word for storm (sa’arah) also figures in Ezekiel 1:4 in a context that vibrates with power: “I looked and behold a wind storm (ru’ah sa’arah) was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing and streaking about it and in the middle of the fire was a source of brilliant light.” The LORD’s stormy approach to Job was wild, uncontrollably wild; so was the universe that God described. There was no gentle voice here. We have to ask ourselves, after all Job had been through, why this approach? It hardly seems a comforting or heartening response to a broken person.
From the forceful intensity of the storm, the LORD taunted Job: “Who is this who …show more content…
And God challenged Job to “be God” if he could. “Assume God’s voice and majestic splendor; pour out anger against the proud and the wicked; bring them all down to dust – and below“ (40:9-14 – an abbreviated paraphrase). At first glance, this is a cutting rebuke. God knew Job could not do these things and this was one more way to reduce him to utter submission.
On the other hand, it could also be an invitation to Job to step up to the plate and take on the high calling of being God’s “regent” (Balentine, 682). In that case, God was subtly restoring Job to his place of lost honor, in fact, raising him far above where he had been before. Job was now privy to the faint traces of God’s design of the cosmos and, just as Adam before him, Job was instated as God’s image-bearing representative in the earthly realm. This task would not be easy. The summons was a prelude to lengthy portrayals of Behemoth’s strength and the untamable might of Leviathan, two most proud and fearsome creatures. They represented the epitome of the pride that Job was challenged to confront. “Look at every proud one and humble him and trample the evil ones under them. Hide them together in the dust; cover
“Then the LORD (Yahweh) answered Job out of the storm” (38:1). God’s covenant Name reappears at this point. In the preceding poetic dialogue and monologues, with the exception of
12:9, the divine Person was “God” or “the Almighty,” transcendent and powerful – and, as far as Job was concerned, absent. Here, however, the …show more content…
Characteristically, the LORD of the covenant revealed Himself in the stormy power of clouds, thunder, and lightning (Exodus 19-20; Judges 5:4-5; and II Kings 2:1), demonstrating His transcendence above and control over all of these phenomena which so terrify humans in their destructive might. The Hebrew word for storm (sa’arah) also figures in Ezekiel 1:4 in a context that vibrates with power: “I looked and behold a wind storm (ru’ah sa’arah) was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing and streaking about it and in the middle of the fire was a source of brilliant light.” The LORD’s stormy approach to Job was wild, uncontrollably wild; so was the universe that God described. There was no gentle voice here. We have to ask ourselves, after all Job had been through, why this approach? It hardly seems a comforting or heartening response to a broken person.
From the forceful intensity of the storm, the LORD taunted Job: “Who is this who …show more content…
And God challenged Job to “be God” if he could. “Assume God’s voice and majestic splendor; pour out anger against the proud and the wicked; bring them all down to dust – and below“ (40:9-14 – an abbreviated paraphrase). At first glance, this is a cutting rebuke. God knew Job could not do these things and this was one more way to reduce him to utter submission.
On the other hand, it could also be an invitation to Job to step up to the plate and take on the high calling of being God’s “regent” (Balentine, 682). In that case, God was subtly restoring Job to his place of lost honor, in fact, raising him far above where he had been before. Job was now privy to the faint traces of God’s design of the cosmos and, just as Adam before him, Job was instated as God’s image-bearing representative in the earthly realm. This task would not be easy. The summons was a prelude to lengthy portrayals of Behemoth’s strength and the untamable might of Leviathan, two most proud and fearsome creatures. They represented the epitome of the pride that Job was challenged to confront. “Look at every proud one and humble him and trample the evil ones under them. Hide them together in the dust; cover