Elihu seems to indicate that Job’s inability to realize that God is indifferent is the reason that God is punishing him now. I do not agree with Elihu, but he does have a point. Job’s continual search for finding the answer demands enormous mental coin. He expends so much time and energy focused on the search that his bad health and ill being could well result. As in most cases, God does not need to punish. We are quite capable of punishing ourselves. And, what does Job want the answer to be? Does he want peace and happiness to always be the consequence of good deeds? Or is he willing to accept that success, happiness, wealth and fame are just temporary stages along the way? In chapter 37 we have a lesson on the weather. Weather is kept enclosed in a chamber. “Out of its chamber comes forth the tempest.” Furthermore, the sky is a ceiling above which are the “upper waters”. When this ceiling becomes hard like metal, the rain fails to fall to earth. At last, the Lord speaks! He speaks of his wisdom and power which is beyond Job’s capacity to understand. Hence, how dare he demand a reason for divine actions. Thus is illustrated the failure of natural wisdom. We are left to wrestle with mystery.
Elihu seems to indicate that Job’s inability to realize that God is indifferent is the reason that God is punishing him now. I do not agree with Elihu, but he does have a point. Job’s continual search for finding the answer demands enormous mental coin. He expends so much time and energy focused on the search that his bad health and ill being could well result. As in most cases, God does not need to punish. We are quite capable of punishing ourselves. And, what does Job want the answer to be? Does he want peace and happiness to always be the consequence of good deeds? Or is he willing to accept that success, happiness, wealth and fame are just temporary stages along the way? In chapter 37 we have a lesson on the weather. Weather is kept enclosed in a chamber. “Out of its chamber comes forth the tempest.” Furthermore, the sky is a ceiling above which are the “upper waters”. When this ceiling becomes hard like metal, the rain fails to fall to earth. At last, the Lord speaks! He speaks of his wisdom and power which is beyond Job’s capacity to understand. Hence, how dare he demand a reason for divine actions. Thus is illustrated the failure of natural wisdom. We are left to wrestle with mystery.
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