Job 36:22-26
Behold, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed for him his way,
or who can say, You have done wrong’?
“Remember to extol his work,
of which men have sung.
All mankind has looked on it;
man beholds it from afar.
Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
Tag: The Power of God
Job, up until now, has sought an answer from God concerning the suffering he has experienced. His three friends have come to him and simply tried to explain his "suffering" is a result of his sin. Elihu, the speaker of the above verses, is attempting to tell Job and his three friends that they are focused on the wrong thing (and, in our suffering, we too focus on the wrong thing). Elihu is focused on God. In the above passage he is focused on the "power of God." God is exalted when we see Him as omnipotent ... all powerful. When we diminish God and believe He CAN'T solve a problem, we cease to exalt Him and confess openly that He is ALL powerful. Elihu also puts our focus on the omniscience of God ... all knowing. He asks in the above verse, "... who is a teacher like Him?" The answer is, NO ONE. God is all powerful and all knowing. This suffering of Job is not a mystery to God, even though it is to everyone else in this scene. Elihu also highlights God's holiness. He states, "... who can say, You have done wrong?" Job is accusing God of wrong. He believes he doesn't deserve this suffering and God is wrong for allowing it. Elihu wants Job to know that God sets the standard for what is wrong and right. God cannot do "wrong." Elihu also states that in the midst of suffering we need to see the Greatness of God expressed in the fact that God is beyond our knowledge; He is a mystery we are simply to extol. He says, "... Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar. Behold, God is great, and we know him not." God is beyond our understanding and yet has reached out so that many "extol his work." We may not understand Him, but we are to extol Him. Lastly Elihu highlights and puts our focus on God's Eternality. Referring to God, Elihu states, "... the number of His years are unsearchable." He means by this phrase that God is not limited to the confines of our existence. He is before us and after us in existence and, therefore, in understanding and in planning. God is not limited to our time frame. He does not live in a hurried state having to be confined by minutes and hours, or weeks and months and years. God's timing is never confined to our schedule. Confusing? Yes! A reason to celebrate and trust God? Yes!! Our suffering is in the hands of a God is so beyond our comprehension that this statement alone is difficult to comprehend. But, because He is bigger than we can wrap our brain around we can trust Him. Who wants to trust a God we can manipulate with our prayers and understand with our less than five-pound brains? God is awesome and Elihu wants Job and his friends to know that in this suffering they are focused on the wrong thing. They should be focused on an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Holy, Great and Eternal God who deserves our praise for whatever He is doing, in anyway He wants to do it.
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