He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud.
Bildad had just closed his case by insisting on the crushing majesty of God. Job answers on a far larger scale, and this verse sits at the centre of it: the seat of God's rule is shut off from sight, curtained by cloud.
Job's Answer to Bildad
Job opens with sharp questions. Bildad's grand words had touched nothing of his actual pain.
Samuel RidoutHe first replies to Bildad's argument as it refers to himself. Admitting that he is the one "without power," what good are Bildad's lofty words? Do they help to solve the dark riddle of present suffering? Has he given any counsel to Job, or unravelled the tormenting mystery of God's treatment of him?
The Face of the Throne
Translations differ here. The ESV reads "the face of the full moon"; older versions, including Darby's, read "the face of his throne," and the writers quoted here follow that older reading. On it, the sky is the outward side of God's throne, the surface turned toward us — and God shuts it.
William KellyGod is spoken of as tying up the waters in thick clouds, so that their contents cannot escape until He pleases. Meanwhile He encloses the face of the throne (the outside of the heavens towards the earth), spreading His clouds over it.
Righteousness Behind the Cloud
What the cloud hides is not an empty seat. Ridout sets this verse beside Psalm 97:2.
Samuel RidoutBeyond those clouds is His throne, hidden from the view of our eyes. "Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne" (Ps. 97:2). But with all his knowledge and skill, man fails to see through those clouds and behold Him who sits on that throne. Faith alone sees Him there — the face of Him who rides on to victory.
Job's case rests before a throne he cannot look at, and its foundation is justice.
Why God Works Behind Cloud
A settled darkness lies over the way God orders events. That is why we walk by faith and not by explanation.
J. G. BellettThere is another darkness in which God still dwells. I mean the darkness that broods or settles over the whole scene around us — our circumstances, and the way God orders events. In that place God works unseen, at least as a rule. In that place He says, as I might put it, "What I am doing you do not understand now." We must still walk by faith, where God still dwells in darkness. We shall know later. We shall see face to face then, though now we see dimly.
Bildad had tried to read that throne through the cloud, and he solved nothing.
The Cloud and the Veil
The same covered throne pictures the older way of coming to God. Under it the tabernacle — the tent where Israel worshipped — kept the way in shut.
A. PridhamIf righteousness and justice are the foundation of Jehovah's throne, the face of that throne was still kept back from the gaze of men. It stayed inside the thick darkness where God said He would dwell. "The way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing" (Heb. 9:8). All the ministry of that tabernacle was imperfect, and appointed for change.
So there are two coverings, and they do not lift at the same time. Christ has taken away the veil over God's person. The cloud over the way He orders events stays until the day He chooses.
Frederick W. GrantThe day when all is made plain is coming, and God is not in a hurry to justify Himself. The darkness is the discipline of faith, but in the face of Christ there is glory without a veil.
Summary
- Cloud. God spreads His own cloud over the face of His throne. The sky is the outward side of His rule, and He keeps it shut.
- Throne. Behind the cloud is no empty mystery. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of that hidden throne.
- Faith. No human skill can see through the covering. Faith alone sees Him there — the One who rides on to victory.
- Discipline. The darkness over the way God orders events is not neglect. It is the training of faith, and God is in no hurry to justify Himself before the day He has set.
- Unveiling. One covering has already gone. The face once hidden in thick darkness is now seen in the face of Christ — glory without a veil.