The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For
Job 38-40:2
Job 38:1: And now, finally, GOD answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. (The Message)
And now, finally, we get to hear from God. Job gets the moment he’s been waiting for. But why now? It’s been a full 6 chapters since we’ve heard Job’s voice, the longest span without it since he first opened his mouth. If God is answering Job, why does God speak after Elihu finishes instead of after Job finishes? Why now?
And this storm? What’s that about? Had it been bad weather? Were people sitting out in a violent storm listening to these ash-heapers carry on? Did it blow up suddenly, marking God’s grand entrance? Was God meeting Job’s need for drama? Was it the same kind of storm that killed Job’s kids?
I have questions.
Job 38:1: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind. (NRSV)
Did God want everyone, even young Elihu, to have a chance to speak his mind before making an appearance? Was God hoping they could figure this out on their own and God wouldn’t have to get involved?
Why do we have to process so much, and why does so much processing still sometimes leave us unfulfilled?
Why do we need answers so badly, especially for things that don’t have answers?
Maybe we have to run out of words before we can hear. When the human pretenses are spent, God shows up, as God always does, in a way only God can. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that God makes God’s self known. I think God hangs out at ash heaps, quiet until not quiet. A not quiet storm with a quiet eye. All we need bring is a quiet ear.
God says much of the same things that have been said before. There are a limited number of words available in our language to describe power, even fewer to describe God’s power. As much as it pains me to admit it, words do fail us. It is possible to understand them but not feel them. We can know that we are going to be okay, but still hurt from not being okay yet.
God says the same words, but God’s ineffable power pushes feeling into them, too. When we tell each other of God’s works, we are reminded. When God tells us of God’s works, we feel them like a strong wind pushing the skin off our bones. God moves us in a way we can’t move ourselves or each other. We feel the thunder in our teeth, and we know it is God. We see the stars reflected in our friend’s eyes, and we know it is God. God makes all things new, even our perspective.
Especially our perspective.
This is OT God in all of OT God’s glory. There is no gentleness. There is vastness, accountability, and charge. Job talked a big game when God wasn’t visible, but when God actually shows up, it’s God asking the questions, not Job. God takes 2 chapters, 70 verses, to remind Job who God really is, to remind Job not in his mind but in his body and his soul. God fills the world and the words with barely controlled mayhem. God shifts the perspective.
And then God calls Job to account for himself:
Job 40:1-2: GOD then confronted Job directly: “Now what do you have to say for yourself? Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?” (The Message)
Job 40:1-2: And the LORD said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond.” (NRSV)
Oh, snap. Be careful what you ask for, Job; you just might get it.