Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.
Elihu is describing a storm as it breaks — snow, rain and cold — and he points to the animals taking cover. The question for Job is whether man will learn from the storm what the beasts already know by instinct.
The Season Belongs to God
One writer sets the beasts' retreat beside the weather that stops man's own work:
Leslie M. GrantWhatever man tries to do about it, God sends weather that seals the hand of every man. Then everyone knows His work is far greater than theirs (v. 7). The beasts take refuge in dens, whether to hide from the wind or the thunder and lightning (v. 8).
Beyond Man's Control
Elihu's closing argument stays on ground man cannot manage:
F. B. HoleHaving warned Job, Elihu turned again to the greatness of God as seen in creation, and the rest of his speech stays on that theme. He looked above all at the control the Creator holds over what lies wholly outside man's control — the clouds, the winds, the thunder, the lightning, the rain, the snow, the frost. As these things came before his mind, he had to confess that his heart trembled and was deeply moved.
Why the Argument Runs Through Creation
One writer explains why Elihu argues from earth and sky, not from the gospel:
William KellyJob 37 … finally turns our eyes to the wonderful works of God in the outward world… Here we can understand that we are in the infant days of even God's saints, when they spelled out the vast letters of heaven and earth, seen before anyone read the Scriptures… For that very reason, because Christ was not here, the outward world serves to show God's majesty, faithfulness, and gracious power in all that surrounded man.
More Sense Than Some Men
Elihu begins the chapter with his own heart trembling, and then turns to the beasts:
William Kelly"At this also my heart" — that is a very different thing from the mere instinct of the cattle — "my heart trembles," etc. (Job 37:1-8). Even the beasts have more sense than some men… He shows the absolute sovereignty of God. And if that is true about natural things, is it not still more necessary in spiritual things?
A Shelter for the Sufferer
One writer takes the animal's den as a lesson for the believer in trouble:
Samuel RidoutWhen snow covers the earth like a burial cloth, and winter lays its icy hand on man, all his activity stops. Yet it is His snow and His hand, teaching man His supreme power. The beast retires into its shelter; let us too enter into the "cleft of the rock," until these calamities have passed over. Whether the storm comes in the whirlwind of the south, or from the frozen north, it is only His breath. How good then to humble ourselves under His mighty hand!
Under Orders, Whether as Rod or as Kindness
The beast's retreat sits inside a storm where nothing acts on its own:
William KellyWhat can man do, in the presence of God's awful voice, but seek to learn? Even the wild beast retires to shelter and keeps to his home, while the whirlwind comes out of its chamber, and out of the north the cold. But God's breath also works wonderful change… Turn about as it may, it still carries out what He commands across the face of the earth. Whether it comes as a rod to correct, or is meant for His earth, or comes in kindness, it is God who causes it to come to them.
Summary
- His snow. The winter that drives animals into cover is His snow and His hand. He lays it on man to teach him who holds supreme power.
- His limit. Elihu argues from clouds, wind, frost and cold on purpose. They lie wholly outside man's control.
- Their instinct. The beast retires to shelter and stays there, and that reflex shows more sense than some men manage.
- Our shelter. Where the animal has a den, faith has the cleft of the rock — a place to wait until the trouble has passed over.
- His command. Every part of the storm carries out orders. God sends it as a rod to correct, or in kindness. So we humble ourselves under His mighty hand.