which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.
Elihu's last speech turns from God's dealings with people to the sky above them. The rain that falls on everyone becomes his final argument. The question it raises for Job — and for us — is what a shower can teach a suffering man about the God who sends it.
A Storm While He Spoke
One writer thinks a real storm was breaking while Elihu spoke:
Leslie M. GrantIt seems likely that as Elihu was speaking the clouds began to drop their load of rain on the earth, pouring "abundantly on men" (v.28). The formation of clouds clearly caught his special attention. Who understands why they spread out as they do? (v.29). And why was this joined by thunder, which happens so often in a rainstorm? Still, was it not the case that God was at this moment providing a suitable object lesson for Job?
The Making of a Raindrop
One writer marvels at the skill behind every single drop:
William KellyWhat skill and care in His production of every drop of water filtered into rain, in or with His mist! What generous provision, as the high clouds drop down, and distil it on the multitudes of men!
From the Smallest Drop to the Soul
Older translations render the verse just before this one, "He makes small the drops of water." One writer builds an argument on those words:
William KellyHe is infinitely above our thoughts. "For He makes small the drops of water." Elihu illustrates it by God's power with outward things. And if that is true of something as small as the rain, how much more of something as great as the soul of man? That soul comes from the inbreathing of God Himself. Elihu takes up the same line of argument that the LORD does when He speaks out of the whirlwind later in this book.
Measured, Not Dumped
Why does rain fall in drops and not all at once? One writer sees God's goodness in that, and the same goodness in suffering:
Samuel RidoutAnd how good He is! If He opened the windows of heaven all at once, a flood would sweep all life away. Instead, He makes the drops of rain small, and they come down as refreshment "upon the place beneath." It is the same with His afflictions. The suffering and the grief are, after all, only blessings in disguise for faith.
Further on, Elihu names what the weather is for:
F. B. HoleElihu recognised that God ordered the weather with wise purpose. What He sends may be "for correction," that is, discipline for wrongdoing. It may be "for His land," to keep the ordinary productivity of the earth. Or it may be "for mercy," to bring about some merciful rescue. This too had a bearing on Job's case.
Rain Falls on Everyone
Rain does not fall only on good people. One writer sees God's own pleasure in that:
W. W. FeredayGod is Creator and Governor of the universe. It delights Him to lavish His gifts on people, despite their unworthiness and ingratitude. "The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made" (Ps. 145:9). The Lord Jesus, when telling His disciples to love their enemies, said, "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45).
Explaining the Rain Without God
One writer sets Elihu's account of rain beside modern science:
Samuel RidoutMist and cloud, rain and storm return again and again, and their return declares His greatness and His eternity. From the great store of waters — above or below the sky — He sends the rain down in gentle and abundant showers on people. Could modern science state more exactly where rain comes from? Could poetry that leaves God out celebrate its beauty better?
His own answer turns on who gets left out:
Samuel RidoutBut both science and poetry leave God out, and when people do not see Him, what is all the rest worth? What use is it to speak of "gravity, expansion, condensation"? Not much, if we do not see the spreading of His clouds, the majestic crash of the thunder in His tabernacle.
Summary
- Drawn up. God lifts the water, holds it as mist, and turns it to rain — every drop the product of His skill and care.
- Broken small. He does not empty heaven at once. That would sweep life away. He sends rain in drops, and His afflictions come in the same measure.
- Poured wide. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, because it delights God to give to people who have not earned it.
- Aimed. The same weather serves correction, the land's fruitfulness, or mercy. Elihu wanted Job to read his own storm that way.
- Seen or missed. Explaining condensation is not the same as seeing God. The shower teaches nothing to someone who leaves Him out.