38:1-2
Now it is the turn of God to speak.
“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” v2 NIV.
Job’s demands on God have been based on ignorance of God and the first thing God does is remind him of that. So Job is like all of us. We try to put God into a secure little box where we dictate terms to God and tell Him how to meet our needs. But God is not like that. He is not ‘safe’. He is good. He requires us to step outside our comfort zone frequently. And we refuse to surrender ourselves to Him and follow where He wants us to go.
Job loved God devoutly but even he was guilty of trying to put God into a box. He was guilty of believing that if he was good, bad things would never happen to him. But life does not work that way. God loves us too much to let us suffocate in safe mediocrity. He wants us to fulfil His plan for our lives. And if that involves Him dragging us kicking and screaming out of our comfort zone then so be it.
We try to make life secure by deciding we have total control over our lives and destiny and kidding ourselves that this is what God wants for us. But secure is not living in our comfort zones. Secure is accepting the white knuckle ride of faith and keeping our focus on Jesus and our trust in Him, no. matter. what.
 

37:1-24
In the first thirteen verses of this chapter, Elihu continues the praise he started towards the end of 36. He praises God’s majesty as revealed in His creation. None of us can fail to understand that. I have just been watching an amazingly beautiful sunset. A reward for a day of wild weather. God reveals His majesty in so many wonderful, awe inspiring, worshipful ways. In his praise, Elihu is describing God’s control over the world. He commands. Things happen. It is God’s will and He will act. And his actions, according to Elihu, will punish or show love.
When Elihu is finished, he asks Job to consider God’s wonders and asks him if he knows how God does them. It may seem patronising pointing this out to Job, when he has worshipped God so fully In the past. And maybe it is. But I think sometimes we get so caught up in our pain, we need reminding to stop, breath, look around and see God. We need to be reminded to just sit with God. With everything in our lives. To just be. We want to dictate terms, but we don’t understand what is happening. We want God to give us what we have decided we need. But it may not be part of His plan. Sometimes God says NO. He doesn’t explain, and we have to sit in patience and faith with the discomfort of things that are unresolved. We have to sit with the uncertainty and pain and trust God. And that can be such a hard thing to do.
 

36:1-33
I admire Elihu’s zeal for God. He has been deeply offended at what he perceives as Job’s condemnation of God. He assures Job his ability to communicate God’s goodness is exceptional and continues extolling God’s greatness. He proclaims that God is mighty but He does not despise men. Then I get to the next part and I find little fondness for Elihu’s legalistic, ignorant view of God. He continues with his belief that God punishes only the wicked and rewards only the righteous. Therefore Job has to be wicked. As long as he persists in that belief he will be unable to address Job’s pain. But that is not going to stop him from giving a very long speech. One that will continue over a few chapters. There is nothing like the person who is fond of their own brilliance to inflict pain on others. Elihu’s understanding is that people suffer because of their hardness of heart. They do not submit to God and in their distress they do not turn to Him. So therefore they do not receive help. Certainly we all need to submit to God and remember to turn to Him in times of trouble. And it is true we often fail to do that. But my reading of Job and the type of man he was suggests he did turn to God, but he did not hear God answer and his despair that led him to God turned to hopelessness. Elihu failed to understand the horror of Job’s situation. The horror of his terrible, devastating losses and suffering. Can any of us understand another’s suffering? No. but we can acknowledge their suffering and support them. No judging. No trying to shut their despair down. Just sit with them and pray for them. Listen if they want to talk, empathise and pray. I still wonder if Job would have become so upset and outspoken in his demands to God if his friends had supported him in this way. If Elihu had spoken kindly and with empathy to Job, would Job have instead turned to God and begged Him for help?
How many people do the harsh, judgemental legalists push away from God? That is not what God wants and that is not what Jesus did when He was on earth.