In Job, chapter thirty-eight, verse one, God’s words to his servant are remarkable for what they say and do not say. Amazingly, Job never got an explanation for why he suffered this kind of calamity. He never learned that his suffering involved such grave matters as integrity and vindication of God’s redemptive work among the fallen human race. God’s silence in this area indicates that the why of Job’s suffering was not the most significant issue at stake. Also, God did not refer to the careless and extreme statements Job uttered in his speeches. God did not severely rebuke or hold his foolishness against him. He understood and sympathized with Job’s suffering and weighed his words and feelings with compassion.
The most major section of this book of Job is chapters thirty-eight through the end of forty-one because this is where the Lord speaks. To summarize the book Of Job, chapter one starts with Job and his background. Satan permitted to tempt Job, Satan’s second request to God, the friends of Job, the speech of Job, the speech of Eliphaz, Job’s reply, the speech of Bildad, Job’s reply again, the speech of Zophar, Job’s reply the third time, Eliphaz responds, Job answers, Bildad reproves Job, Job’s response, Zophar’s speech, Job disagrees with his friends, Eliphaz accuses Job again, Job’s response to Eliphaz, Bildad answers, Job’s final speech, Elihu declares his opinion, and consider His wondrous works.
The Lord speaks at the beginning of this section and overrides all the others because this is what our life will come down to when the Father evaluates our living and asks believers or unbelievers when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Except for Job’s background and friends of Job, most of the book of Job is either conversation, opinion, or the perspective of what the person thinks.
When the Lord speaks, we have to take heed and listen. Isaiah fifty-five, verses eight through nine, sums our viewpoint in contrast to God’s. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Therefore, for anyone to question God concerning a personal situation, a trial, or suffering, what could a person possibly say to the maker of the universe?