Job 37

After reading chapter 37:

*Elihu is still speaking. This chapter is a continuation of the poetic description of God (el)as a weather God. His voice is the thunder. He sends the lightening. He tells the snow and the rain what to do. His breath produces ice. He directs the swirling of the clouds and uses them to punish men or show his love by watering the earth. Elihu then asks Job if he knows how God does all these things. Job would not have known, but today we do know how and why weather phenomena occur. Plus, we have satellites that are far above the weather looking down at earth. They can show us the weather as it is happening. They've never shown us any gods messing with the clouds.

*The last few verses compare or equate God to the sun. He comes in golden splendor and awesome majesty, beyond our reach, exalted in power, just and righteous. He does not oppress, therefore men revere him.  This God seems very much like other ancient gods. Natural events are ascribed to him. Reasons for those events are assumed to exist in the nature of the God, who is assumed to be just. What we have is a picture of ancient man trying to make some sense out of what was clearly confusing, because he was ignorant of the mechanisms of nature. I feel sorry for those people who believed, and those who still believe, they were being punished when there were droughts or floods.
It would seem to be impossible to keep a weather God happy.

*As hurricane Matthew approaches the eastern seaboard of the United States, how many people do you suppose will be praying to the God of the Bible to protect them from its power? How many people will thank  God after it passes them, for sparing them (not necessarily their neighbors) a worse fate than what they recieved? How many will add bread, water, and flash light batteries to their prayers, trusting God to provide them if they need them? How many will evacuate from their homes because "God", not fear of natural consequences or the authorities, is prompting them? I wonder who they will say their God has punished with this hurricane.