Deeper Commentary
Job 26:1 Then Job answered- The speech of Job recorded in Job
26-31 is the longest in the book. The pattern of each of the three friends
giving a speech and Job replying, spread over three speeches, appears to
slightly break down in that Zophar doesn't give his third speech. We note
that Bildad's final speech was very brief, and was really only quoting
previous words from Eliphaz (Job 25). This could all create the intentional
impression in the drama that the friends were running out of steam in their
arguments. Job now makes a very long speech... but that is not his victory
nor justification. That is only provided by God's appearance at the end,
when Job repents of his words. It is usual for the genre of drama to play
with audience expectation and dash it to make a point. That is what is
happening here, with Bildad's final speech really a flop, and Zophar not
giving the speech which the structure of the drama requires him to make. And
we are also led to expect Job's final long speech to be his justification,
seeing most of what he says is true in itself. But this too is a dashed
expectation; for God appears and condemns them all, and then justifies Job
by grace. But see on Job 27:11.
Job 26:2 How have you helped him who is without power! How have you saved
the arm that has no strength!- The reference may again be to Cain, who
was cursed with the ground being "without power" to him (Gen. 4:12 s.w.), as
an apostate Israel were (s.w. Lev. 26:20). In this case Job would be saying
that even the condemned in this life could be helped to revival. That was
what he had learnt of God, and he expected men to act with a similar saving
grace. Elihu confirms the argument by saying that although God has all
power, He doesn't despise those who have none (Job 36:5). The exiles were
also without "power" (Lam. 1:6 s.w.), represented by Daniel in just that
position (s.w. Dan. 10:8,16,17), with "no strength" (Ez. 19:14), but would
"renew their strength / power" (Is. 40:31 s.w.). That revival would not be
by human power but by God's spirit (Zech. 4:6), after the pattern of Job's
revival. The Zion who had "no strength" would put on strength (s.w. Is.
51:9; 52:1).
Job 26:3 How have you counselled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully
declared sound knowledge!- Job felt he had been deprived of everything,
including wisdom and knowledge. But this was not because he was unwise; he
is presented as a perfect man (Job 1:1). God is able to give and take
wisdom, as is seen in the natural creation (Job 39:17 s.w.).
Job 26:4 To whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit came forth from you?-
To ask this question is to imply that they were false prophets (1 Kings
22:24). And God confirms this at the end, in saying that the friends had
not spoken rightly about Him (Job 42:7).
Job 26:5 Those who are deceased tremble, those beneath the waters and all
that live in them- AV "Dead things are formed from under the waters".
"Waters" are a clear figure for judgment. Job's great theme is that out of
death, there can be revival and restoration. Death itself is no barrier to
this revival. This was the lesson taught to the exiles by the vision of
the dry, dead bones of Israel reviving. The LXX therefore speaks of
"giants be born from under the water".
Job 26:6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering- This
is a deconstruction of Mot, the god of death; see on Job 10:8. He sees
God is the real attacker, not, therefore, Mot or any
other such being. Note too how Num. 16:31–35 describes God as
swallowing up Korah, Dathan and Abiram into death in the earth – as if to
deconstruct the idea that Mot did things like this.
Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth
upon nothing- This continues the ideas of :5,6; God can revive and
restore from death, He can create matter, and can hang great weights upon
nothing. Emptiness and deserted space can be used by Him. And this was the
challenge of faith to the exiles. To believe that the empty space of the
Jerusalem temple and the ruined land could again be stretched out by God
as a tabernacle is stretched out, and revived (s.w. Is. 54:2); just as
Job's ravaged body and life could be restored in a moment. Creation itself
had been brought about from that which was "without form" (Gen. 1:2, s.w.
"empty space"), and so the new creation of Job and Israel would be
likewise.
Job 26:8 He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is not
burst under them- Job likes to reason from the hints found within the
natural creation, and Elihu and God Himself will speak to him in these
very terms which he clearly so appreciated. Here, Job's point is that
great weight can be carried by that which is nothing, and will not be
broken by the great weight. This is in harmony with the preceding verses;
Job believed that God would and could revive from nothing, from death
itself.
Job 26:9 He encloses the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud upon
it- As so often in the drama of Job, truths are presented but without
context. This is indeed true; but Job and the exiles had to learn that the
cloud that came between God and themselves was that of human sin (Is.
44:22), even though God responded by bringing that cloud (Job 36:32). The
years of exile were the day of cloud (Ez. 34:12; Lam. 3:44). But through
that cloud, the light of God's saving glory was still visible (Job 37:15).
Job 26:10 He has defined a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the
confines of light and darkness- GNB "He divided light from darkness by
a circle drawn on the face of the sea".
Job understands that it is God who sends the good and evil, the
light and the darkness, into his life (Job 30:26). Significantly, he
states his faith that God even marks out the boundary between light and
darkness (Job 26:10) – a similar idea in essence to the reassurance of
Is. 45:5 that God creates both light and darkness.
The ‘darkness’, however we experience and understand it, is framed and
limited by God; it is not a power or being with independent existence
outside the realm of God’s power. God confirms Job’s understanding later,
when He says that it is He who can swaddle the sea [another figure for
uncontrollable evil] in bands of darkness (Job 38:9) – as if to say that
it is God who gives things like darkness and the sea their sinister
appearance and perception by men; but He is in control of them, using them
in His hand. See on Job 38:10.
Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His rebuke-
Job understood God to be in control in Heaven; he
rejects the idea of a cosmic conflict going on ‘up there’ which the
friends seem to allude to. More specifically, Job speaks of how God’s hand
forms and can pierce the “crooked serpent” and smite any monster (Job
26:11–14). It’s as if Job is mocking the idea that God has let him go into
the hands of the cosmic monsters which the friends believed in. For Job so
often stresses that it is the “hand of God” which has brought His
affliction (Job 19:21; 23:2). That Divine hand was far greater than any
mythical ‘Satan’ figure. The theme of his speech in Job 28 is that Yahweh
alone is to be feared throughout the entire cosmos. Nobody else – such as
the ‘Satan’ figures alluded to by the friends – needed to be feared.
Job 26:12 He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He
strikes through Rahab- Rahab is a term used for Babylon and so this
becomes all the more relevant to the restoration context. "The sea" was
understood by the contemporary people to be awfully mysterious, and a
radical power in its own right. Just as Babylon and the forces arraigned
against Job seemed invincible and a law to themselves. Just as we may
consider we are in the hands of forces which are mysterious and too great
for us to grapple with. But Job's simple faith was that God was in total
control of all those things. "He stirs up the sea..." is quoted in Is.
51:15 of God's power available for the exiles against Babylon.
Job 26:13 By His Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the
swift serpent- See on :11. Here the hand and Spirit of God are equated- both are Angelic phrases, and thus provides further evidence that the Angels actually performed the creation.
Many passages clearly
identify God’s spirit with His power. In order to create the earth, “the
spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there
be light: and there was light” (Gen. 1:2,3). God’s spirit was the power by
which all things, e.g. light, were made. “By His spirit He has created the
heavens; His hand has formed the crooked serpent” (Job 26:13). A
comparison of Mt. 12:28 and Lk. 11:20 shows that “the finger of God” and
“the spirit of God” are parallel - God in action is His spirit. “By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth” (Ps. 33:6).
Thus Job associates God's Spirit with His hand, which is Satan's hand. It seems far more fitting that this hand and spirit should be Angelic rather than human. Again, it was Angelic work that formed the Heavens. Job recognized that his trials came from the hand of God, but knew that His hand would not kill him- " with Thy strong hand Thou opposest Thyself against me... howbeit He will not stretch out His hand to (bring me to) the grave" (Job 30:21,24). This was exactly the brief given to satan- to try Job, but "preserve his life". The hand of God creating evil (Job 2:10,11) must surely refer to God's " Angels of evil" (Ps. 78:49) rather than to man- Cyrus had to be taught that no one except God (including human satans!) created evil (Is. 45:5-7).
Job 26:14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways. How small a
whisper do we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?-
There are only some things which God makes known to us about Himself; we
do not have the total truth about God, we see but parts of His ways and
hear only a little portion of Him (Job 26:14). Our perception and
definition of “the truth” needs to bear this in mind. Absolute truth
claims aren’t simply ignorant, they lead to all manner of relationship
breakdown, arrogance and deformation of spirituality both in ourselves and
others.
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