WHO CAN UNDERSTAND GOD'S POWER?

Job 25:1-26:14 / Keywords 26:14

And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?

 

Bildad

25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;

    he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

3 Can his forces be numbered?

    On whom does his light not rise?

4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?

    How can one born of woman be pure?

5 If even the moon is not bright

    and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—

    a human being, who is only a worm!”

Job

26:1 Then Job replied:

2 “How you have helped the powerless!

    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!

    And what great insight you have displayed!

4 Who has helped you utter these words?

    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

5 “The dead are in deep anguish,

    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

6 The realm of the dead is naked before God;

    Destruction[a] lies uncovered.

7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

    he suspends the earth over nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds,

    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

9 He covers the face of the full moon,

    spreading his clouds over it.

10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters

    for a boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars of the heavens quake,

    aghast at his rebuke.

12 By his power he churned up the sea;

    by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

13 By his breath the skies became fair;

    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.

14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;

    how faint the whisper we hear of him!

    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

Footnotes

a. Job 26:6 Hebrew Abaddon

1. Bildad's 1st and 2nd speeches were long (Chapters 8, 18). He was certain that Job's troubles were a direct result of his sin. This 3rd speech is short; it reemphasizes the same theme. What he says is basically true—no man can be righteous before God. But his "cause and effect" idea of God's justice shows that he does not understand God or Job. He is awed by God's majesty and repulsed by man's depravity to the point of having no hope; it is because he has no personal relationship with God.

 

2. Job's answer to Bildad begins with a sarcastic retort. Bildad's advice has not helped him. He then picks up the theme of Bildad's words and speaks about the greatness of God's power and wisdom, especially as it is displayed in nature. Bildad thinks he knows God, but Job, who knows him better, is deeply aware of the smallness of his own knowledge.

 

Prayer Lord, cleanse me from sin and help me to know you.

One Word Righteousness is God's gift