Behold, GOD is….

Job 36:1-33

Saturday, 04 July 2026

Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one;He is mighty in strength  of understanding. – Job 36:5

Considered in the category of Wisdom books, the Book of Job has lots to ponder on. The discourses between the suffering Job and his three friends fill a great part of the book. His friends couldn’t comprehend the depth of Job’s suffering or even empathize with him but only played the role of advisers, which in no way helped to alleviate his pain. Yet there are nuggets of wisdom in many of these discourses of which Elihu’s speech is studied today.

Dr Constable, the Bible expositor points to 4 “Beholds”* in our text today in relation to revealing a few of God’s attributes. 

1. God is mighty and merciful (v.5)

In His perfect understanding, God allows afflictions on both godly and ungodly. The godly are willing to submit to Him so that they can hear from Him and learn; while the ungodly are unwilling to yield or listen to His instruction and turn from sin. The wicked then perish in their wickedness while the godly prosper and live as they listen and obey the Lord. Lessons from afflictions are learnt while trusting God and yielding to Him. The Psalmist echoes a similar thought in Ps.66:10-12- You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. (Ps.66:12)

2. God is powerful and supreme wise Teacher (v.22)

God who is powerful and wise in all He does; no one can say He is wrong! All that man can do is to marvel at His work and worship Him in reverence. Man is ill fitted to complain or grumble about how He does things; instead worship of God helps to turn man’s attention to God’s power and helps him learn lessons. Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:34: “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” It reinforces that God is perfect in knowledge and knows what He does! That should just prompt praise and worship from within us to the Almighty!

3. God, infinite in wisdom (vs.26-29)

V.26 says: “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be discovered.” God’s activities in nature described in vs.27-29 are incomprehensible to the finite mind of man. How He brings forth rain to bless humankind on earth, the spreading of the clouds, etc. cannot be fathomed by man. Jeremiah 10:13 describes it beautifully:“When He utters His voice,There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.He makes lightning for the rain,He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

How infinite God’s wisdom!

4. God is sovereign (vs.30-33)

Elihu goes on to describe thunder and lightning that do the bidding of the Lord, how and what it does, man has no restraint over them. Ps.97:4 says: His lightnings light the world;The earth sees and trembles. Some of these powerful natural phenomena are beneficial while others wreak fury and destruction—while man cannot understand them, God does it in His sovereignty. God’s control over nature demonstrates His sovereign control over everything! 

Elihu continued his speech to Job even on to chapt.37. In all of it, he was exhorting Job to humble himself to the Almighty One in reverence. But we know that Job needed no such reproof. The Lord brought him through all the testing and blessed him doubly in his later years.

The attributes of God mentioned above helps us reflect on the greatness, goodness and sovereignty of God. How best it would be if every human being, would acknowledge Him through Christ whom He has provided as a ransom for every sinful life so that he/she may be made right and ultimately live in the purpose of the Creator!!

Listen: 'How great'