Shall it be told him that I would speak? Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?
A storm is gathering while Elihu speaks, and he has been pointing Job to thunder, cloud and lightning. Now he asks whether any man would want his case carried up to God, and whether he could survive the answer.
The Words Of The Verse
Elihu has just asked Job about the clouds and the sky. If Job cannot explain a cloud, he is in no position to brief God on his complaint:
William KellyMan can feel, but can he explain? Had Job, with God, spread out the skies, strong as a molten mirror? If so, he could tell us what we should say to Him. Otherwise we have no ability to set anything in order because of darkness. Shall it be told Him that I would speak? or did one say that he would be swallowed up? as Elihu hinted, because of his presumption... He who does not gaze on the Son cannot face God.
The Darkness That Silences Us
Why can no one draft a speech for God? One writer gives the reason, and the rule that follows from it:
Leslie M. GrantCould Job teach his friends (including Elihu) what to say to God? Elihu himself admits that he can prepare nothing to say "because of the darkness" (19). For God's ways are wrapped in darkness until He reveals Himself. In other words, let God speak first before I dare to lift my voice.
Elihu Includes Himself
Elihu does not stand over Job here. He says "we", and he ends not with a lecture but with a hush:
Samuel RidoutAnd so we pass on to "the conclusion of the whole matter." Who or what is Job, but a frail man whose garments oppress him in the hot desert wind? Can he spread out the expanse which arches over our heads like a shining mirror? As he goes on, Elihu himself becomes spokesman for all the lowly. We have undertaken to speak, who are only dust and ashes. "We cannot put our words in order because of darkness." Let us quiet our voices and listen to Him!
The Case Job Had Prepared
Elihu's question is not hypothetical. Job had already asked for the meeting, and the book records what he did when it came:
Leslie M. Grant"Should He be told that I wish to speak?" (v.20). Job had indicated this in chapter 23:3-4, saying he would present his case to God, filling his mouth with arguments. Did he do so when God finally spoke to him? No indeed! Rather, he said, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth" (ch.40:3-4).
The Fault Being Corrected
Elihu would be frightened to have his own words carried up to God. One writer renders the verse's second half as a warning — speak, and a man is swallowed up — and finds Job's mistake right there:
William Kelly"Shall it be told him that I speak?" "Oh," he says, "I should be frightened if such a thing were to be. I speak in the presence of God." "If a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up," and so on (verses 20-24). That was exactly where Job had gone wrong. He was wise of heart, and he admired the fruits of grace, and none of that fitted with what was due to God. And here ends Elihu. At once we find the Lord stepping in.
The same writer names the two faults plainly in an earlier stretch of Elihu's speech: Job "thought too well of himself, and he found fault with God," having "entirely forgotten the infinite distance between God and man."
What Comes After The Silence
The warning is not the last word. Job had made a wild request in his pain, and the end of the book answers it:
William KellyThis was the incomparable favour that Job had also begged for in his desperation. He asked that a man rather than He might meet him; but he asked that he might find God too. And so he does. God appears... this is the special value of the close of the book of Job: God does not wait till the day of judgment to decide where there is faith to look for Him.
Summary
- Darkness first. Elihu cannot put one sentence together for God. God's ways stay hidden until He reveals Himself, so let Him speak first.
- Darkness humbles. Elihu counts himself dust and ashes too. The answer to darkness is not better arguments but quieter voices.
- Darkness exposes. Job planned to fill his mouth with arguments. That, one writer says, is exactly where he had gone wrong.
- Darkness ends in a hand over the mouth. When God finally spoke, Job dropped his case and put his hand over his mouth.
- Darkness is not the end. God does not make faith wait for the day of judgment. Job longed to find Him, and God appeared.