Job’s friends had reproached him.  And this righteous man was not pleased, nor was he  pleased with God’s apparent silence.  His three friends had brought no help, even though they had seen his great sufferings.  Job chided them for their false comforts, but with rugged devotion he upheld God and His divine control over the earth and heavens.

God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds.
He created the horizon when he separated the waters;he set the boundary between day and night.                        
The foundations of heaven tremble;they shudder at his rebuke.

Job rightly perceived that these only provided a small glimpse of the Great Power behind and beyond, and he concluded, “Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of Him!” 26:14.  Still, in Job’s mind, God had forgotten him, or worse, was persecuting him.  Loyal though he was, Job did not understand that God’s grace is given in the same perfect measure as his (Job’s) own need.

Eliphaz then spoke and declared that the loss of Job’s family, possessions, and health were for his ultimate deliverance.

God does all these things … that he [man] may be lighted with the light of life.
He [God] delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears by adversity.

In our own experiences, we can be assured that every trial given by God will be for our deliverance. When we consider all that God has given – like the Sabbath – we will have perceived only a glimpse of His full grace.

Finally, God Himself spoke, and Job heard the Living Voice of the Almighty.  He heard many wonders including God’s care for even the wild animals as they give birth.   We may recall Jesus assuring His disciples of God’s infinite love for His children, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” Matthew 10:29.

What a glorious and certain grace!  When we have sensed God’s presence most keenly, when we have wondered at His creation, when we have learned through the school of affliction, we have only caught a glimpse of His fullness and grace.

On this Sabbath day may we gain this “glimpse” and rejoice that He is far greater still!

In faith,

Dan