Discussing the weather is generally considered a safe subject.
But severe weather is another matter entirely.
Severe weather requires both humans and wildlife to seek protective shelter.
Sometimes severe weather takes us by surprise, giving us little time to find protection.
At other times, we can prepare a refuge ahead of the severe weather.
What is the purpose of severe weather, according to Job 37:5-8?
He Stops All People | Job 37:5-8 | Reading the Passage
5 God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor. q
8 The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens. [1]
He Stops All People | Job 37:5-8 | Study Questions
Who controls the snow and rain?
How bad must the weather be to stop people from their labor and cause animals to take cover?
What is the purpose of severe weather, according to Job 37:7?
Keeping verse seven above in mind, read Isaiah 55:10-11.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. [2]
What is the general purpose of rain and snow, according to Isaiah 55:10-11?
Read Amos 4:7-8.
7 “I also withheld rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water
but did not get enough to drink,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord. [3]
Why does the Lord withhold rain (or snow) according to Amos 4:7-8?
Read Ezekiel 13:11-16.
13 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’ [4]
Why is the Lord using severe weather in Ezekiel 13:11-16?
He Stops All People | Job 37:5-8 |Personal Application
Describe a time in your life when you had to stop and take cover from the elements of nature.
How did surviving that situation grow your faith in the Lord?
How does God’s sovereign control over all circumstances of your life encourage you?
In the Book of Job, Elihu is accurately arguing that God has sovereign control of nature. As a result, this should cause us to acknowledge God’s control over our entire life experience.
With the Isaiah, Amos, and Ezekiel passages, we see Elihu is not alone in his understanding of God’s sovereign control of nature. These additional passages also teach us that God controls nature to both bless us when we are obedient and draw us back to Himself when we go astray.
Yet Elihu, like Job’s other friends in the book, is attempting to force a false confession of sin from Job with this line of argument.
The opening chapters of Job revealed that Job’s horrible experiences would prove to Satan that Job would remain faithful to the Lord no matter what. (See Job 1:6-2:10.)
Consider part of God’s response to Job’s questions and the comments made by Elihu and others.
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass?
28 “Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen. [5]
Further, the Lord tells three of Job’s friends that they were wrong to accuse Job of sin. Interestingly, though, Elihu’s name is missing. (See Job 42:7-9.)
Although Job questioned God through his stormy experiences, he never abandoned his faith in God.
May we, too, turn to God with every question and concern, trusting that He is in control even when we or those around us are facing great suffering.
Blessings,
Barbara Lynn
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Job 37:5–8.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 55:10–11.
[3] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Am 4:7–8.
[4] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eze 13:13–16.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Job 38:22–30.