The conversation was getting old. Very old. No one had really said anything new in quite some time. Points had been belabored. Arguments had been worn out. He was well and truly over it. Tired of being railed against. Weary of defending his innocence. Exhausted, both from physical suffering and the mental anguish of having more questions than answers. He would probably never have answers. Not before he met the Almighty face to face. An event that seemed closer now than ever before. The great culmination to the onslaught of disaster recently descended on his household. His earthly goods were gone. His servants were dead. His children were deceased. His body was painfully rotting before his eyes. His wife abhorred him. His friends had abandoned him. Except for the four silently sitting nearby.
Job had been surprised to see the men approaching. They were better described as fair-weather friends. Happy to visit in good times, scarce in the bad. The fact they had taken the time to visit at all should have made him wary. Their reaction to his current condition should have had his guard all the way up. Wailing. Throwing dust in the air. Sinking down in silence to stare. At him. For a week. Seven days. Seven nights. Silence broken only by the sound of the pottery piece scraping the sores on Job’s flesh.
It had been a very long seven days. And nights. No one spoke. No one could find words to begin the conversation. Job’s friends had no idea what to say to a man who had lost everything in one fell swoop. The enormity of the situation glued their tongues to the roofs of their mouths. Until Job had enough of the silent staring. In a move he may later have deeply regretted, Job tossed the conversational ball into the middle of the ring by cursing the day of his birth. Everything about it. He wishes his mother had never been pregnant, the day had never dawned, or his infant self had never drawn that first breath. It was apparently the winning penny in the slot machine, the diatribe that loosened everyone’s tongue. Suddenly, they all had things to say. Eliphas. Bildad. Zophar. Each man presenting his opinion on the cause of Job’s recent afflictions. Arguments that boiled down to one general idea. Job had sinned and not repented.
Well. Job knew that wasn’t true! Even God would back him up on that. He was a man of integrity. Righteous. Godly. Prayerful. Carefully offering sacrifices for even the supposed sins of his children. His unequivocally rejects their idea. Although Job had no idea why God is picking on him, he fully believes it is not his own fault. His friends remain unconvinced. They argue. Back and forth the conversation goes. Finally, realizing they will never convince Job to repent and move on with his life, the three eldest friends fall back into silence. Irritated silence. Annoyed silence. Silence weighed down with heavy disapproval. Arms folded, faces set, they waited for Job to relent in penitence and, finally, reconciliation. (Job 1-31)
He had been waiting for this moment. The time when the older men had finally come to the end of their words, so he could start at the beginning of his. Elihu had so many things to say. He was angry. Very angry. At the other mourners for their implication that unrepented sin is the only reason for suffering. At Job, for his adamant defense of his own character while allowing the character of God to be impugned. He had listened in amazement at the back and forth, wondering if the men actually heard what they were saying. And now, sitting in the silent space created by the stubbornness of Job’s older three friends, Elihu finds his platform and speaks his truth.
Verbally tugging Job’s hand, Elihu takes him on a word journey about God. With greater eloquence than one would expect, Elihu reminds Job of who God is. Older than time, God is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe. Nothing continues to live unless God chooses to breathe into it the breath of life. The world as we know it ceases to function without God’s vast knowledge and understanding. He creates dew and rain, feeding the earth with no help from mankind. With the words of His mouth, God sends the snow where He wills it. He gives the animals wisdom to care for themselves, leading them to food and water with no guide to lead them. He changes the seasons, moves the clouds, controls the sun and moon, all with the power of His voice. His glory and majesty strike awe in the hearts of mankind. His acts are amazing. His miracles are astounding. His person is clothed in incomparable splendor. Human words would exhaust before we could even scratch the surface of an explanation of God’s character. Yet still He chooses to speak to us. Simple humans. People who may or may not choose to listen. Still God, in justice and mercy and love, chooses to speak to us. Chooses to offer forgiveness and grace to those who come to Him in repentance and change. (Job 32-37)
Elihu stops for a breath, giving Job the perfect opportunity to respond. Except he doesn’t get the chance. It is God’s turn. He has patiently been silent, listening to the conversation, but no more. Picking up where Elihu left off, God thunders from the whirlwind, verbally pulling Job up to the window of time and walking him through creation. Could Job have done those things? Suspended the planets in midair. Thrown stars in the sky. Drawn borders for the sea. Created day and night. Filled storehouses with snow and hail. Imagined rain and lightning and thunder and ice. Taught animals to care for themselves in hunting, birthing, raising their young. Given them abilities to fly and flee, and fight. Allowed them to instinctively know how to maintain their lives with no help from a caretaker or guide. Could Job have done those things? Was he wise enough? Was he powerful enough? Would he have been as meticulous, not leaving out one tiny detail? Well, Job? Could you? Would you? Did you?
Having no response, Job chooses to shut his mouth. Finally. But God isn’t done. In even more articulate words and exact examples, God highlights His greatness, His power, His authority. Everything in Heaven and on earth belongs to Him. He has created every single thing. He has bestowed on each beast and being their abilities. He has provided for every part of their lives. And He didn’t need human input to do so. He didn’t need help or suggestions from any of us. Not one of us is in a position to question God’s wisdom. Because God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He always has been. He always will be. Before the dawn of Creation to the final echo of the last Amen, God is and will always be. His wisdom is unsearchable. His power is unfathomable. His love is infallible. His word is unbreakable. He owns everything and needs nothing, and He gives good gifts to His children. Come and see! (Job 38-41; Isaiah 40:26; Acts 17:24-25; Jeremiah 23: 23-24, 32:7; I John 3:20; Matthew 7:11; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 6:18-20; Lamentations 3:22)
It doesn’t always feel like it. Ask Job. It didn’t feel like it to him, either. As his carefully created world collapsed around him, Job began to question if God really is just and fair. Does He really give good gifts to His children? Is there truly a good reason to live an upright, honest life if God isn’t going to spare you the unpleasantness of suffering? In essence, Job started to measure the greatness of God by the goodness of His gifts. Maybe you are in that same space. Perhaps those questions are your own. Is God still doing something good for you in the middle of your illness, your furlough, your endless job hunt, your financial overload? If the physical gifts stop flowing, is it still worth obediently following God? I would speak to you the words of Psalm 66:5, “Come and see.”
Come and see the works of the Lord. Grab your Bible and read. Go back to the beginning of time and see how meticulously He worked to make the world a place where you could safely live. Follow the mind-boggling twists and turns of His imagination as He made day and night, land and sea, sky and stars. Consider the planning involved. Would you have thought to stop the oceans and create dry land? Would you have thought to make the plants produce oxygen to keep humans and animals alive? What about gravity? Involuntary movements? Blinking? Breathing? Heart beats? If you had tried to create this world on your own, what sorry state would it be in? So why do you question the work God is doing in your life? He clearly has this. Even if it is uncomfortable, unpleasant, undesirable, God is still working. He is working all things together for your good. Eventually, you will see it. In the interim, stop worrying. Choose instead to see all the things God has done. The things you take for granted. Go out of your way to find them. Stop in the middle of your day and think about them. Purposely consider the works of God from the beginning of time and know that you can trust Him with your life. The proof is all around you. Come and see. (Genesis 1; Philippians 2:13; Romans 1:20, 8:28; Psalm 8:3-6, 19:1, 100:4-5; Acts 14:17; Proverbs 3:19-20; Ecclesiastes 7:13)