Job 37:19 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Job 37:19

Comments

Job has demanded an audience with God (Job 9:34-35; 13:3, 20-27; 23:3-7) and the opportunity to present his case to God. But Elihu says this is foolish thinking, for if we were given an audience he would be silent before God. We would be unable to set our words in order before him, and the reason is that we are in such darkness or ignorance. We know so little about why he acts as he does, and we can see such a short distance into the future. We can take such a meagre consideration of the consequences of any action, and do not know the outcome of even a small part of what we do, but God considers everything and knows all the effects of what he does. He considers this to all eternity and sees in every action what will be the consequences of it to the end of time (Matthew 26:13). How then can Job contend with God or succeed in bringing a case against him? Let us be given any amount of time to prepare deep words to speak in God’s presence and he would dismiss our case against him in a moment and we would be forced to admit that we have spoken rashly without knowing all of the facts, and that we have made fools of ourselves, for it was in presumption that we dared to question what he was doing in his world. ‘Should he be told I wish to speak?’ This sarcastic question highlights the great disparity between God and man. Should the Lord God who governs the entire universe and supervises all events in all places and at all times have his work interrupted to be told that there is a man on earth who wishes to speak to him, and should God be obliged to stop his work and listen? Such a question is laughable; indeed it is terrifying. Elihu’s intention is not to suggest that God does not hear the prayers of his people and is open to their requests, but that Job takes too much upon himself in requiring that God should give him a private explanation concerning the circumstances in his life. The sort of speech Job has in mind is dialogue between two equals, between someone who demands another equal to give an account of their behaviour.

Application

This is exactly what Job found to be the case when God gave him the opportunity to speak. He realised then that he had been in serious error in thinking he could open his mouth before God. The Lord gave him exactly what he asked for, and he had to bury his face in his shame. We have a way in our self-confidence of failing to understand in advance what it means to come before God. We think more of ourselves than we ought to think and make foolish evaluations so that we see ourselves as sharper than we are, more righteous than we are, and altogether more of a match for God than we are. The only proper response, when we realise how impulsively we have spoken, is to humble ourselves in dust and ashes with Job.

If any man attempts this in all seriousness, they are in danger of being swallowed up. All their imagined importance in projecting themselves into such a situation would evaporate as the true nature of the difference between them reasserted itself and they would find they had placed themselves in an interview with the Almighty which they were totally and utterly unready for. Their own presumption would swallow them up. The only right attitude of the man of God is to come with the utmost reverence to God so that whatever the circumstances we must confess that we are unfit to be in his presence. Part of Job understands this, for he has said, ‘If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice’ (Job 9:16), nevertheless he has still demanded such an audience with God and asked him to temporarily hide his glory that such an interview might go ahead.

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Job 37:19 Commentary and Bible Study