Giobbe 37:15 Commento

Elihu here goes on to extol the wonderful power of God in the meteors and all the changes of the weather: if, in those changes, we submit to the will of God, take the weather as it is and make the best of it, why should we not do so in other changes of our condition? Here he observes the hand of God, I. In the thunder and lightning (Job 37:1-5). II. In the frost and snow, the rains and wind (Job 37:6-13). III. He applies it to Job, and challenges him to solve the phenomena of these works of nature, that confessing his ignorance in them, he might own himself an incompetent judge in the proceedings of divine Providence, (Job 37:14-22). And then, IV. Concludes with his principle, which he undertook to make out, That God is great and greatly to be feared (Job 37:23, Job 37:24).

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 37 Elihu in this chapter proceeds to show the greatness of God as it appears in other of his works of nature, which greatly affected him, and to an attention to which he exhorts others, Job 37:1; particularly thunder and lightning, the direction, extent, and order of which he observes, Job 37:3; and then suggests that besides these there are other great things done by him, incomprehensible and unknown in various respects; as the snow, and rain, lesser and greater, which come on the earth at his command, and have such effect on men as to seal up their hands, and on the beasts of the field as to cause them to retire to their dens, and there remain, Job 37:5; and then he goes on to take notice of wind, and frost, and the clouds, and dispersion of them; their use and ends, whether in judgment or mercy, Job 37:9; and then calls on Job to consider these wondrous works of God, and remark how ignorant men are of the disposition of clouds for the rainbow; of the balancing of them; of the heat and quietness that come by the south wind, and of the firmness of the sky, Job 37:14; and from all this he concludes the terrible majesty, unsearchable nature of God, the excellency of his power and justice; and that men therefore should and do fear him, who is no respecter of persons, Job 37:21.

Dost thou know when God disposed them?.... The clouds, that part of the wondrous works of God he was speaking of; when he decreed concerning them that they should be, when he put into them and stored them with rain, hail, snow, &c. disposed of them here and there in the heavens, and gave them orders to fall on this and the other spot of ground; wast thou present at all this, and knew what God was doing secretly in the clouds, and before heard what would break out of them, or fall from them? and if thou art ignorant of these things, canst thou imagine that thou shouldest be made acquainted with the secret springs of God's providential dealings with the children of men? and caused the light of his cloud to shine; either the lightning to break through the cloud, or rather the light of the sun to shine upon his cloud, prepared to receive the light reflected on it, and form the rainbow; which, as it is called his bow, the cloud in which it is may be called his cloud; which is one of the wondrous works of God, and is called by the Heathens the daughter of wonder (u); formed in a semicircle, with various colours, and as a token that God will drown the earth no more; an emblem of the covenant of peace, and of Jesus Christ, said to be clothed with a cloud, and with a rainbow about his head, Rev 10:1. (u) Apollodorus, l. 1. p. 5.

Dost thou know when God commanded the rains to shew forth the light of His clouds? If 'clouds' are holy preachers, the rains from the clouds are the words of their preaching. But when clouds fly through the air, unless rain descends from above, we know not what an immensity of waters they carry. Unless the glittering sun breaks forth amidst the rain, we cannot understand, what brightness also is concealed within them. Because doubtless if holy preachers are silent, and shew not by their words, how great is the brightness of heavenly hope, which they bear in their hearts, they seem to be like other men, or far more despicable. But when they have begun to lay open by their preaching, what is the reward of the heavenly country, which they possess within; when, oppressed by persecution, they make known in what a height of virtue they have made progress; when, despised in outward appearance, they point out by their words what makes them feared; the rains themselves, which pour from the clouds, shew us the light of these very clouds. For we learn by the words of preachers to reverence in them, with great humility, the brightness of life which they seek after. Paul was doubtless displaying this light to his disciples, when he said, That ye may know, what is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe. [Eph. l, 18. 19.] This light the Corinthians had known by the words of his writings, as by drops of rain, when they said, His letters are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. [2 Cor. 10, 10] But holy preachers frequently desire to display themselves, in order to do good, but yet are unable: they frequently desire to be concealed, in order to be quiet, and are not permitted. No one therefore knows when the rains shew the light of the clouds, because no one comprehends when God grants the virtue of preaching, that the glory of the preachers may shine forth. He says therefore, Dost thou know, when God commanded the rains, to shew forth the light of His clouds? As if he said plainly, If thou now beholdest preachers about to come to the world, dost thou understand, when God urges them on to preach, by filling them with His Holy Spirit, or in what way He makes known their brightness to the world?

Among those wonderful things he begins with the rains. Men perceive them sensibly, but science still cannot understand their first origin by which God brought them into being and so he says, "Do you know when God commanded the rains," which falls upon the earth by divine decree? After it has fallen, the air, which was first dark from the density of the clouds becomes bright by rarefaction. So he says, "and they," i.e. the falling rains, "show the light of his clouds?" which means the light of the sun shining through the clouds which vanish and which the dense clouds hide.

Elihu continues to set forth the wisdom and omnipotence of God, as manifested in the thunder and lightning, Job 37:1-5; in the snows and frosts, Job 37:6-8; in various meteors; and shows the end for which they are sent, Job 37:9-13. Job is exhorted to consider the wondrous works of God in the light, in the clouds, in the winds, in heat and cold, in the formation of the heavens, and in the changes of the atmosphere, Job 37:14-22. The perfections of God, and how he should be reverenced by his creatures, Job 37:23, Job 37:24.

Dost thou know when God disposed them - Dost thou know the laws by which they are governed; and the causes which produce such and such phenomena? And caused the light of his cloud to shine? - Almost every critic of note understands this of the rainbow, which God gave as a sign that the earth should no more be destroyed by water. See Gen 9:13 (note), and the note there.

(Job 37:1-24) At this--when I hear the thundering of the Divine Majesty. Perhaps the storm already had begun, out of which God was to address Job (Job 38:1).

when--rather, "how." disposed them--lays His charge on these "wonders" (Job 37:14) to arise. light--lightning. shine--flash. How is it that light arises from the dark thundercloud?