by Bill Robinson<\/p>\n
“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?<\/em>” (Job 26:14 NASB).<\/p>\n The book of Job is poetry, and this line closes Job’s hymn on God’s power over the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the forces of nature (Job 26:5-13). The text as it stands puts the words in Job’s mouth, and the sentiment matches his own confession at the end, “things too wonderful for me, which I did not know<\/em>” (Job 42:3). Some interpreters, working from the disordered feel of Job 24-27, assign parts of Job 26 to Bildad, but that’s a proposal about arrangement, not a change in meaning. Either way, the verse says the same thing: the most magnificent things we can observe about God are the outer edge of him, a whisper of a voice whose full thunder no one can take in.<\/p>\n That is the point of this summary. Scripture does not give us a complete explanation of suffering. It gives us something else: enough knowledge of God’s character to trust him where explanation runs out.<\/p>\n The book’s own structure teaches this. In Job 1 and 2, the reader is shown the heavenly scene. Job never is. He suffers without the information we hold, and when God finally speaks from the whirlwind (Job 38-41), he answers with questions about creation, not with the explanation from Job 1. Job’s response is not “now I understand” but “I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes<\/em>” (Job 42:6). And then God says of Job, and against the three friends who had explained everything, “you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has<\/em>” (Job 42:7). The men with the tidy theology of suffering were wrong. The man who wept, protested, and refused to accuse God was right. That is a direct statement of the text, and it should shape everything we say to the grieving.<\/p>\n The rest of Scripture agrees. “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 29:29). “My thoughts are not your thoughts<\/em>” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Jesus was asked about the Galileans Pilate killed and the eighteen crushed by the tower in Siloam, and he refused the inference that the dead were worse sinners than the living (Luke 13:1-5). Asked whether a man was born blind because of his sin or his parents’, he rejected both options (John 9:1-3). So when tragedy spares one and takes another, we don’t conclude that God valued one life more. The Lord himself forbids that reading.<\/p>\n What we do know is considerable. God is good, and He works for good in those who love Him even through what is not itself good (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20). He is not distant from pain. Christ “tasted death for everyone<\/em>” and was “made perfect through sufferings<\/em>” (Hebrews 2:9-10). Present affliction is real, but it is “momentary<\/em>” against the weight of glory (II Corinthians 4:17), and creation itself groans toward redemption (Romans 8:18-23). Job’s endurance is held up as the example, and “the outcome of the Lord’s dealings<\/em>” shows him “full of compassion and merciful<\/em>” (James 5:11).<\/p>\n Scripture does not treat suffering as a puzzle God owes us the solution to. It treats it as the place where faith is tested and where God’s character, not his reasons, is what holds us. Where the Bible is silent on the particular “why,” we should be silent too. Silence there is a finding, not a gap to fill.<\/p>\n The humility Job 26:14 teaches keeps us from two errors. We won’t accuse God, and we won’t accuse the sufferer. We can say plainly, “I may not understand everything God is doing or allowing, but I know enough about him to trust him.” And with the grieving, the text calls us not to explain but to sit down in the ashes with them (Job 2:13; Romans 12:15), to comfort with the comfort we’ve received (II Corinthians 1:3-4), and to point them to promises that don’t depend on our having the answer. What we see of God is the fringe. What we’ve seen is enough.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bill Robinson A Summary from Job 26:14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” (Job 26:14 NASB). The book of Job is poetry, and this line closes Job’s hymn on God’s power over the heavens, the earth,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[182,188],"class_list":["post-98042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10942,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":0},"title":"The Book of Job","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Job 1:6-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If someone asked you what the book of Job was about, how would you answer? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of us would point out that it deals with the question of human suffering. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book tells the story of a man who loses everything \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He suffers greatly and wrestles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-elihu-tell-job-that-his-suffering-was-a-chastisement-from-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":1},"title":"Why did Elihu tell Job that his suffering was a chastisement from God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Job 33:19 Elihu tells Job that his pain and suffering are a chastisement from God. What did Job do to cause God to put this sickness upon him to start with? Thank you. Answer: Elihu scolds Job for complaining that God has caused him to suffer without explaining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60876,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/compassionate-and-merciful\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":2},"title":"Compassionate and Merciful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford There are many different opinions about the point of the Book of Job. Some say that it proves that man will serve God for nothing. Others posit that it is about the incomprehensible nature of suffering. Personally, I am partial to the explanation provided in James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23295,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-long-did-job-suffer\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":3},"title":"How long did Job suffer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: During our midweek services the question was asked; \"How long did Job suffer?\" According to Job 2:13, it lasted for 7 days and 7 nights.\u00a0 But then I read Job 7:3 and the implication is months. What are your thoughts? Answer: We don't know. Job 7:3 says, \"So I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-physician-assisted-suicide-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":4},"title":"Is physician-assisted suicide a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is physician-assisted suicide, otherwise known as medical aid in dying or death with dignity, a sin? What if the person is severely suffering from a terminal illness? If I was suffering I would want to eliminate my suffering. Answer: Throughout mankind's history, God has demanded that life be respected.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56057,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/elihus-discipline-and-correction-of-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":98042,"position":5},"title":"Elihu’s Discipline and Correction of Job","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Pat Gates via\u00a0Our Hope Online Job 34 Elihu's Charge Against Job Speaks without knowledge Words without wisdom Answers like a wicked man Is rebellious and multiplies his words against God \"Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom. Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost, Because his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Interpretation<\/h2>\n
Application<\/h2>\n