Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the theophany.
I. THE LORD'S APPEARANCE TO JOB.
1. The time of this appearance. At the close of Elihu's address. Not too soon, when neither had Elihu finished his expositions nor had Job's heart been suitably prepared for such an interview as he was on the eve of obtaining, but precisely at the moment when the purpose of his coming was most likely to be effected. God never mistimes any of his visits to his people, whether he comes for judgment or for mercy. In this case the preaching of Elihu had begun to tell upon the turbulent spirit of the patriarch. The thunderstorm had helped to solemnize his mind, and lay him prostrate before the majesty of that Worker who had hitherto remained invisible. Then, amid the crashing of the thunder and the lurid gleams of the lightning, while the fierce whirlwind swept up from the southern desert—then was the moment God selected for making his presence known to his afflicted servant.
2. The mode of this appearance. Whether there was a visible form presented to the patriarch's eye it is impossible to say. Probably there was only a voice, like that which spoke to Adam in the garden (Genesis 3:9,Genesis 3:10), to Abraham on Moriah (Genesis 22:11), to Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19:19; Exodus 20:1; Deuteronomy 4:12), and to Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19:12); like that which spoke to Christ at the Jordan (Matthew 3:17), on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and in the city of Jerusalem (John 12:30); like that which arrested Saul (Acts 9:4), and afterwards St. John (Revelation 1:10). That this voice should have issued from the midst of a whirlwind (by the way, an indirect confirmation of the authenticity of the Elihu section) was doubtless designed
3. The reality of this appearance. It has been suggested that there was no objective appearance presented to any of Job's senses except what was afforded by the phenomena of the thunderstorm; that the voice was purely subjective—the inner voice of Job's own spirit, as it were, rising up within him to proclaim the overpowering sense of the Divine majesty under which it lay. "As the storm passes away with a vehement wind, clearing the heavens and presenting a lively symbol of the terrible majesty of God, Job feels the near presence of his Maker; the word rings through his heart, it brings back all that he had ever ]earned of his works; creation arises before him to witness for its Maker, the Spirit of God moulds his thoughts and completes his knowledge," and leads him to pour forth the sentiments here recorded in that "methodical and artistic form which pertains to the highest order of Hebrew poetry" (Canon Cook). To such an interpretation of the dramatist's language there is no very serious objection; but, on the other hand, it is permissible to hold that the entire phenomenon was objective.
4. The object of this appearance.
"A good man, in the darkness and dismay
Of powers that fail, and purposes o'erthrown,
May still be conscious of the proper way;"
(Goethe's 'Faust,' Prologue.)
that a man through the grace of God may become possessor of a piety against which even the gates of hell shall not prevail.
II. THE LORD'S REPROOF OF JOB.
1. Sin charged. Jehovah begins the interview by distinctly specifying Job's offence. He had "darkened counsel" (verse 2); that is, he had obscured and misrepresented the prearranged plan and underlying principles of the Divine administration. The language reminds us:
2. Ignorance affirmed. Exactly this was the case with Job, for the challenge is not addressed to the friends, and still less to Elihu. Job had asserted more than once that the Divine government of the world was not in accordance (at any rate, not in visible accordance) with the eternal principles of equity, adducing instances, as he supposed, which no amount of ingenuity could harmonize with absolutely impartial justice. "But God pronounces that these words were 'without knowledge.' The instances that Job had appealed to as being obvious to the sight of all men of God's giving prosperity to the wicked, and causing the innocent to suffer wrongfully, and without redress, are pronounced to be untrue" (Fry).
3. Astonishment expressed. "Who is this?" The words carry in them
III. THE LORD'S DEMAND FROM JOB.
1. To display the courage he had previously vaunted. "Gird up thy loins now like a man," i.e. like a valiant hero (a geber), as you frequently affected to be. Job had formerly professed to be ready for an interview with God (Job 13:18, Job 13:22); had complained that God acted towards him like an invisible assailant (Job 19:7), whom he knew not how to meet or where to find (Job 23:3, Job 23:8, Job 23:9); nay, had declared that nothing would rejoice him more than to hear that his unseen adversary had opened a tribunal for the hearing of his case and prepared an indictment for the exposition of his guilt—that such an indictment he would wind around his brow like a regal crown, and march into God's presence with the stately steps of a prince (Job 31:35-37). Brave words, O Job! But most men, like Falstaff, are valiant in the absence of the foe. Jehovah had now come to ask Job to evince the sincerity of his boast. So will God one day come, upon the clouds of heaven, with great power and glory, to afford all the presumptuous ungodly an opportunity of showing whether they can meet without fear him whom they now despise without shame.
2. To recite the answers he had formerly professed to have prepared. Job had declared his perfect indifference as to whether the Almighty when he came should assume the position of assailant or defendant. If he preferred that Job should open the case, Job was ready; if he elected to assume the initiative, Job had his defences at hand. "Well," exclaims Jehovah, "as you gave me the choice, I decide upon the latter. I am ready to begin the hearing of your cause. Therefore stand forth. I will demand of thee, and answer thou me ]" "I will come shortly," wrote Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:19), "if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power" In the like spirit had Jehovah come to Job, to see whether the reality corresponded in any degree with the loud-sounding profession he had made.
Learn:
1. That God keeps the times and seasons of all things connected with his kingdom in his own hand.
2. That nature with all its phenomena is under service to God.
3. That God's voice in nature, much more in the Word, and most of all in the conscience, is full of majesty.
4. That for God to answer any of his creatures, much more sinful dust and ashes, is an act of amazing condescension.
5. That God will not hide the faults of any of his people when he enters into judgment with them.
6. That ignorance lies at the root of much, if not all, of man's misunderstanding of, and murmuring against, God's ways.