Behold, God is Great! Job 35-36

 Job 36:26-33 (ESV)

Behold, God is great, and we know him not;

the number of his years is unsearchable.

For he draws up the drops of water;

they distill his mist in rain,

which the skies pour down

and drop on mankind abundantly.

Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,

the thunderings of his pavilion?

Behold, he scatters his lightning about him

and covers the roots of the sea.

For by these he judges peoples;

he gives food in abundance.

He covers his hands with the lightning

and commands it to strike the mark.

Its crashing declares his presence;

the cattle also declare that he rises.

Behold, God is Great!!    There are times in God’s Word where the author of the text simply wants to extol and magnify God for the purpose of taking the eyes of the reader off one thing and onto a great thing.  This is one of those times.    Job has his eyes firmly fixed on the boils of his skin and the destruction of his life and family.   Most of us, if not all of us, would.   In times of great despair where else would the average person look.   Job’s three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) were not much better.  They came to him and, also, looked that the sores on his body and the destitute on his face and not only didn’t change his perspective, but blamed him for the cause.  This new friend, Elihu, comes along and speaks a different truth to Job.  He is younger, admits he is not wiser, but offers Job a perspective the others simply missed.  Job is in a bad place and no fault of his own.  But, the others are pushing him to look at himself as cause and he, naturally, defends.   Elihu does not address Job’s challenges.  Elihu, especially in the above passage, simply tells Job about the greatness of God.  This will actually usher in to Job’s world the actual voice of God in the following chapters.   When men of God speak truth about God it allows the voice of God to be heard in the darkest of night.   Elihu will be used by God to change everything for Job.  He didn’t focus on Job, he brought Job’s eyes to the greatness and power and majesty of God.