Chapter Summary
Core Passages from Job 37
Job 37:5God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
This verse captures the heart of Elihu's message: God's actions in the world are wonderful and mysterious, operating on a scale that we cannot comprehend.Job 37:14“Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
Elihu directly challenges Job to pause his complaints and instead reflect on the awesome power God displays in the natural world as a path to humility.Job 37:23-24The Almighty - we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”
Here, Elihu concludes that God is both unsearchably great and perfectly just, meaning our right response is reverent fear, not intellectual pride.
Historical & Cultural Context
Elihu's Final Appeal to Job
This chapter is the climax of the speeches given by Elihu, a younger man who waited to speak after Job's three older friends failed to provide a satisfactory answer. Having addressed the others, Elihu now turns his full attention to Job. He isn't trying to accuse Job of secret sin like the others did. Instead, he aims to correct Job's perspective by shifting his gaze from his own suffering to God's infinite majesty, setting the stage for God Himself to speak in the next chapter.
A Sermon in the Thunderstorm
The immediate backdrop for this speech appears to be a gathering storm. Elihu uses the sensory experience - the trembling of the heart at the sound of thunder, the flash of lightning, the coming wind and cold - as a real-time illustration of his point. He essentially points to the sky and uses the storm as a sermon, demonstrating a power that Job cannot control, predict, or fully understand. This makes his argument about God's greatness immediate and tangible.
Elihu's Portrait of God's Power
As a storm builds, Elihu delivers his final, powerful speech to Job. He uses the thunder, lightning, and changing weather as living proof of a God whose ways are far beyond human understanding. In these verses, Elihu challenges Job to look up from his pain and consider the awesome, untamable power of the Creator who commands the elements with a word.
The Voice of God in the Storm (Job 37:1-5)
37 At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place.
2 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He sends it out under the whole heaven, his lightning to the corners of the earth.
4 After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
Commentary:
Elihu describes the awe-inspiring thunder of a storm as the majestic and incomprehensible voice of God.
God's Command Over Every Season (Job 37:6-13)
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
7 He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it.
8 Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.
9 From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.
10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.
11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.
12 and it is turned round about by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the face of the habitable world,
13 Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.
Commentary:
God purposefully controls all weather, from snow to rain, for His purposes of love, correction, or provision.
A Challenge to Human Knowledge (Job 37:14-20)
14 “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know how God lays his command upon them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
18 Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him that I would speak? If a man would speak, surely he would be swallowed up.
Commentary:
Elihu directly questions Job, emphasizing that man's inability to understand nature proves his inability to question God.
The Unapproachable Glory of God (Job 37:21-24)
21 And now no one looks on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty - we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
24 Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”
Commentary:
God's majesty is as blinding as the sun, and because His great power is matched by perfect justice, He deserves our humble reverence.
God's Majesty, Man's Humility
God's Sovereignty Over Creation
This chapter powerfully illustrates that God is in complete control of the natural world. The weather is not a chaotic force. It is guided by His hand for His purposes, whether for judgment or for love. Every cloud and every drop of rain moves at His command.
The Limits of Human Understanding
Elihu repeatedly emphasizes how little humans know. By asking Job if he can explain the balancing of the clouds or the spreading of the skies, he shows that our wisdom is insignificant compared to God's. This theme serves as a call to humility in the face of divine mystery.
Reverence as the Proper Response to God
Faced with a God of such awesome power and unsearchable wisdom, the right response is not to demand answers but to fear Him. This isn't a cowering terror, but a deep, respectful awe that acknowledges our place as creatures before the Creator.
Living in Awe of the Creator
Job 37 reveals that God is immensely powerful, intimately involved in His creation, and operates on a level far beyond our understanding. His power isn't chaotic. It is purposeful, used for 'correction or for his land or for love' (Job 37:13). This shows us a God who is not distant but actively governing the world with both might and intention.
This chapter encourages you to shift your perspective during times of confusion or suffering. Instead of demanding to know 'why,' you can 'stop and consider the wondrous works of God' (Job 37:14). Remembering His power over a thunderstorm can help you trust His power over the storms in your life, even when His reasons are hidden.
It means intentionally pausing to notice God's handiwork and power, both in nature and in your life. It's about cultivating a sense of awe that leads to humility. When you feel wise in your 'own conceit' (Job 37:24), taking a moment to watch a sunset or listen to the rain can remind you of your place before an infinitely greater and wiser Creator.
Look Up and See God
Elihu's speech is a powerful call to lift our eyes from our circumstances to the Creator. He uses the raw, untamable power of a storm to demonstrate that God's greatness is beyond our control and full comprehension. The message is that true wisdom is found not in having all the answers, but in humbly acknowledging the One who commands the lightning and whispers to the snow.
What This Means for Us Today
Elihu's challenge to Job, 'stop and consider the wondrous works of God,' is also an invitation to us. This chapter calls us to pause our arguments, our anxieties, and our frantic search for answers. It invites us to look at the world around us and find our proper place in the presence of an awesome, majestic, and just God.
- When was the last time you were truly in awe of something in God's creation?
- In what area of your life do you need to stop demanding answers and start trusting God's incomprehensible wisdom?
- How can you intentionally 'consider the wondrous works of God' this week?
Further Reading
Immediate Context
This chapter contains the beginning of Elihu's final speech, where he starts to build his case for God's greatness and justice.
Immediately following Elihu's speech, God Himself speaks from a whirlwind, echoing and amplifying many of the same themes about creation and human limitation.
Connections Across Scripture
This psalm describes the 'voice of the Lord' in terms of a powerful storm, mirroring the imagery Elihu uses to depict God's majesty.
Isaiah asks similar rhetorical questions about who can measure the heavens or counsel God, reinforcing the theme of God's incomparable wisdom.
Paul states that God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen through what has been made, which is the core of Elihu's argument.
Discussion Questions
- Elihu says God uses weather for 'correction... or for love' (Job 37:13). How can the same event, like a rainstorm, be seen as both a blessing and a hardship, and what does this teach us about God's purposes?
- In an age of science where we can explain weather patterns, how can we still cultivate the sense of awe and mystery that Elihu describes in Job 37?
- Elihu's final point is that God 'does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit' (Job 37:24). In what areas of your life are you most tempted to rely on your own wisdom instead of humbly trusting God's?