At first glance, the Lord’s response to Job may be misunderstood. Since the Lord speaks with many rhetorical questions and does not answer Job’s inquiries directly, it may appear to us that the Lord is fussing at Job. Actually there appears to be another purpose in how the Lord responds to Job. What may seem to be an angry response from God is actually a very loving one. It may appear that Job’s life and suffering are meaningless since the Lord doesn’t explain everything to Job. That is not the case. It’s not that Job’s suffering and questions are inconsequential; it’s that they are secondary! The Lord responds in a way that proves to be much more meaningful for Job than if He just answered a few questions! The Lord responds by doing for Job what every soul longs for, revealing Himself!
He speaks of His eternal presence, His might in Creation, His providential care of Creation, His omniscience, His omnipotence, and His glory. In His closing words, the Lord describes the mighty, fearless, glorious Behemoth and Leviathan. The point is simple. If these creatures of mine are so glorious as to strike fear in the heart and move about as they please, their glory pales in comparison to that of their Creator!
Job finds himself taken back and blown away! He is like Moses, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul. He has been in the presence of the Lord and experienced “things too wonderful.” He understands now how holy the Lord is and how sinful he is, and thus, his questions are answered! The Lord is not finished with him yet though. Job lives a full life and enjoys again the material blessings of God and the joy of family! For sure he would say that the 140 years of abundance outweigh the time of suffering. But most importantly, it was worth it all to see the Lord!
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