Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.
Elihu, the man answering Job in these chapters, has just told him what his complaint really says: that Job is more righteous than God, and that being clean of sin gains him nothing. His answer is not an argument but a direction for the eyes: look up, and measure yourself against what is above you.
The claim Elihu is answering
Job never said this outright. His reasoning led there anyway, and one writer traces the steps:
Samuel RidoutElihu quotes Job's thoughts again, if not his exact words, and draws the right conclusion from them. He points out the monstrous result — "My righteousness is more than God's." Had Job not brought himself to exactly that conclusion? "I have not sinned to deserve such treatment; my life is blameless before man and God; He has no reason to afflict me unless I have sinned openly, so He is unjust!" It is good for us to face where our conclusions lead, and to learn how foolish our reasoning is.
Why the clouds are named
The heavens show greatness. The clouds add something else — they hide.
Leslie M. GrantElihu answers this by turning Job's eyes to heaven. Just looking at the sky should make anyone bow in awe at the greatness of God's glory. Both the heavens and the clouds are "higher than you." The clouds block our view, and that should make us realise something: no mere man can work out why God deals with him as He does. His ways lie beyond our sight.
A creature who cannot even face the sun
If the sky itself is beyond us, the One above the sky is further still. The verse is therefore a rebuke aimed at the tone of Job's speech.
William Kelly"Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you." After that, can you bear to speak against Him who is above them all? Man cannot even look the sun in the face. Who is he, then, to look God in the face?
The sky Job had treated as an enemy
Job had felt that heaven had shut him out. Elihu sends him back to the same sky with a different question.
Samuel RidoutAs he usually does, Elihu dwells on God's side. For the moment he does not speak of God's relations with man, or of His close care and divine interest in how man walks. He wants Job to look up into the very heavens Job thought were against him, and to think about the character of One who is perfect in every way. The small activities of men on earth do not touch Him; in His sight they are like grasshoppers. How could such a One, holy and complete in Himself, treat a man unjustly? That man's conduct can and does affect himself and his neighbours, but it cannot reach those calm heights. This is only one side of the truth — a side that both Job (Job 7:20) and Eliphaz (Job 22:2) had already seen in part.
Out of God's reach, not your neighbour's
The next verses spell out what the height in verse 5 implies. Sin cannot damage God; obedience cannot enrich Him.
James BoydHe is greater in every way than His creature. His enemies never give in, but their efforts are powerless and cannot hurry Him along. How could the restless activity of a mere creature disturb the calm of that place of unapproachable light where God dwells? A man's wickedness may hurt his neighbour, and his righteousness may help his neighbour; but how could God be hurt or helped by the wickedness or righteousness of a lump of dust? (Job 35:5-8).
Which way the profit runs
Job asked what he gained by being clean of sin. The answer turns his question around.
William KellySo he shows that the question is not whether man profits God, but how God profits man. Besides what is due to Him — will, love, and glory — man cannot walk in His ways without the richest reward of blessing. In every possible sense it is God who gives the increase… So the wickedness of man does not lower the majesty of God; it ruins the man who walks in it. In the same way, the obedience of man brings no profit to God, but it secures a very real and rich blessing for the man who is led that way.
Summary
- Look. Elihu answers a complaint with one command: look up. The heavens and the clouds measure the distance between Job and God.
- Higher. The clouds hide as well as tower — a reminder that we cannot see the reasons behind God's dealings.
- Untouchable. Nothing a creature does reaches that height. Sin cannot harm God. Righteousness cannot enrich Him.
- Neighbour. Our conduct touches the people around us. Wickedness harms them; righteousness helps them.
- Gain. So the profit Job asked about flows the other way. Obedience adds nothing to God, but it brings rich blessing to the one who walks in it. Wickedness ruins the one who lives in it.