Job 38:25-28 | KingComments | STEP | God points out to Job “the storehouses of the snow” and “the storehouses of the hail” ( ). The storehouses are the clouds. There are no supplies of snow and hail in them, but there is the water vapor to form them. God only has to direct the weather conditions to create snow and hail in the clouds. Has Job taken a look at them to see how they are made? We now know physically how snow and hail originate, but do we know why the weather conditions are such that they can originate? Man already knows a lot about weather phenomena, but is still far from understanding all phenomena, let alone causing or preventing them. God’s use of natural forces is explained for Job in His use of hail. He informs him of the purpose He has with it ( ). That aspect is certainly not what a person thinks about. God says here that He reserves them in order to bring a “time of distress” over His people and thereby call them to repentance. Then He uses the hail as a disciplinary rod. He will also use the hail on “a day of war and battle” to judge the enemies of His people and deliver them. We have some examples of this in Scripture ( ; ; ; ; ; ). Can Job also say where the way is that the light is divided ( )? When the day comes, the light will spread on earth. It seems to come from a gathering place in the east and then suddenly spreads over the earth. Can Job say anything about how this works? Does he know why in one season on one hemisphere of the earth the day is increasingly longer and in the same season on the other hemisphere the day is increasingly shorter? In fact, at the North Pole and the South Pole, it is alternately six months of day and six months of night. Man can observe this and, by studying the laws of nature, also indicate how the process proceeds, but the cause of this process is known only to God. What applies to daylight also applies to the east wind. The east wind blows from the direction where the sun rises. It takes the sun’s heat and spreads it across the earth. What causes the wind to blow can also be explained physically. This makes it reasonably predictable from which angle the wind will blow and with what force. The fact that this wind comes from the east says something about the direction of the wind, but not which way the wind takes. It remains a mystery how the wind will spread. No one knows of the wind “where it comes from and where it is going” ( ). In God speaks of cleaving a channel for the flood. This is also beautiful imagery, in keeping with God’s customary use of speech among men. People dig trenches to direct a large amount of water to places where it is needed. But who digs that channel in the air to disperse the mass of water of the flood? No human can do that. But to God, that’s a small thing. He “cleaves” the clouds, causing them to break. That’s how He makes the flood come down in various places. Does Job have any idea who cleaves a way for the light of thunder? God suggests that a path in the dark cloud is opened for lightning. Lightning suddenly seems to break through the dark cloud. As if the path has been cleared of obstacles, it follows a zigzag course down through the sky. The question is, who gives it freedom and has prepared its way, which it then goes. Who else could that be but the Almighty? The breaking open of the clouds has a purpose. It is “to bring rain on a land without people, [on] a desert without a man in it” ( ). This may in our eyes be a senseless action, a waste of precious rain that is so desperately needed elsewhere. But such an assessment proves our short-sightedness. Then, like Job, we judge God. Like Job, we then speak “words without knowledge”. In God explains why He does this. The realm where there is no man is a “waste and desolate land”. This description indicates that it is an exceptionally desolate area, desolate of people, but not of God. If there are no people to cultivate that desolate area, He Himself takes care of it. He saturates it with water, for there is greenery rising up there. That greenery serves as food for the animals that are there (cf. ). God not only cares for the people, but also for the animals in the desert. God asks Job whether the rain has a father ( ). By this He means if Job knows what the origin of the rain is, who will make it rain. And does Job know who brings forth the countless drops of dew? Neither one nor the other is the work of man. Nor can people explain how they come into being. For faith it is simple. The God-fearing confesses as follows: “Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we hope in You, for You are the one who has done all these things” ( ). God is the Father or Progenitor of the rain, and He is also the mother of the drops of dew. In the same sense God also speaks of the origin of the natural phenomena “ice” and “frost” ( ). Both are the counterparts of rain and dew. The hailstones are rain frozen in the air which fall to the ground. The frost comes from the freezing of dew, which causes the formation of ice crystals. This is a beautiful sight and produces beautiful pictures. But is anyone able to lay the frost on all the trees? It is the work of God alone. He presents it as if He were its mother. The ice comes out of His womb and He gives birth to the frost of heaven. The result is that “the water becomes hard like stone” and “the surface of the deep is imprisoned” ( ; ). We are so accustomed to the idea that ice comes on the water when the temperature falls below freezing, that the wonder of it escapes us, and even more so that we don’t think about Who does it. But isn’t it a great wonder that a liquid mass of water is hidden, “imprisoned”, under a layer of ice in a short time? What created power is capable of making such a big change without making any noise? This can only be done by an almighty Creator Who shows His power in an inaudible way. The water through which ships used to pass now becomes as hard as a stone allowing one to walk on it, even with heavy loads.

‏ Job 38:25-28

The Weather

God points out to Job “the storehouses of the snow” and “the storehouses of the hail” (Job 38:22). The storehouses are the clouds. There are no supplies of snow and hail in them, but there is the water vapor to form them. God only has to direct the weather conditions to create snow and hail in the clouds. Has Job taken a look at them to see how they are made?

We now know physically how snow and hail originate, but do we know why the weather conditions are such that they can originate? Man already knows a lot about weather phenomena, but is still far from understanding all phenomena, let alone causing or preventing them.

God’s use of natural forces is explained for Job in His use of hail. He informs him of the purpose He has with it (Job 38:23). That aspect is certainly not what a person thinks about. God says here that He reserves them in order to bring a “time of distress” over His people and thereby call them to repentance. Then He uses the hail as a disciplinary rod. He will also use the hail on “a day of war and battle” to judge the enemies of His people and deliver them. We have some examples of this in Scripture (Exo 9:23; Jos 10:11; Psa 18:12-13; Isa 28:17; Eze 13:13; Rev 16:21).

Can Job also say where the way is that the light is divided (Job 38:24)? When the day comes, the light will spread on earth. It seems to come from a gathering place in the east and then suddenly spreads over the earth. Can Job say anything about how this works? Does he know why in one season on one hemisphere of the earth the day is increasingly longer and in the same season on the other hemisphere the day is increasingly shorter? In fact, at the North Pole and the South Pole, it is alternately six months of day and six months of night. Man can observe this and, by studying the laws of nature, also indicate how the process proceeds, but the cause of this process is known only to God.

What applies to daylight also applies to the east wind. The east wind blows from the direction where the sun rises. It takes the sun’s heat and spreads it across the earth. What causes the wind to blow can also be explained physically. This makes it reasonably predictable from which angle the wind will blow and with what force. The fact that this wind comes from the east says something about the direction of the wind, but not which way the wind takes. It remains a mystery how the wind will spread. No one knows of the wind “where it comes from and where it is going” (Jn 3:8).

In Job 38:25 God speaks of cleaving a channel for the flood. This is also beautiful imagery, in keeping with God’s customary use of speech among men. People dig trenches to direct a large amount of water to places where it is needed. But who digs that channel in the air to disperse the mass of water of the flood? No human can do that. But to God, that’s a small thing. He “cleaves” the clouds, causing them to break. That’s how He makes the flood come down in various places.

Does Job have any idea who cleaves a way for the light of thunder? God suggests that a path in the dark cloud is opened for lightning. Lightning suddenly seems to break through the dark cloud. As if the path has been cleared of obstacles, it follows a zigzag course down through the sky. The question is, who gives it freedom and has prepared its way, which it then goes. Who else could that be but the Almighty?

The breaking open of the clouds has a purpose. It is “to bring rain on a land without people, [on] a desert without a man in it” (Job 38:26). This may in our eyes be a senseless action, a waste of precious rain that is so desperately needed elsewhere. But such an assessment proves our short-sightedness. Then, like Job, we judge God. Like Job, we then speak “words without knowledge”.

In Job 38:27 God explains why He does this. The realm where there is no man is a “waste and desolate land”. This description indicates that it is an exceptionally desolate area, desolate of people, but not of God. If there are no people to cultivate that desolate area, He Himself takes care of it. He saturates it with water, for there is greenery rising up there. That greenery serves as food for the animals that are there (cf. Psa 104:13-14). God not only cares for the people, but also for the animals in the desert.

God asks Job whether the rain has a father (Job 38:28). By this He means if Job knows what the origin of the rain is, who will make it rain. And does Job know who brings forth the countless drops of dew? Neither one nor the other is the work of man. Nor can people explain how they come into being. For faith it is simple. The God-fearing confesses as follows: “Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we hope in You, for You are the one who has done all these things” (Jer 14:22).

God is the Father or Progenitor of the rain, and He is also the mother of the drops of dew. In the same sense God also speaks of the origin of the natural phenomena “ice” and “frost” (Job 38:29). Both are the counterparts of rain and dew. The hailstones are rain frozen in the air which fall to the ground. The frost comes from the freezing of dew, which causes the formation of ice crystals. This is a beautiful sight and produces beautiful pictures. But is anyone able to lay the frost on all the trees? It is the work of God alone. He presents it as if He were its mother. The ice comes out of His womb and He gives birth to the frost of heaven. The result is that “the water becomes hard like stone” and “the surface of the deep is imprisoned” (Job 38:30; Job 37:10).

We are so accustomed to the idea that ice comes on the water when the temperature falls below freezing, that the wonder of it escapes us, and even more so that we don’t think about Who does it. But isn’t it a great wonder that a liquid mass of water is hidden, “imprisoned”, under a layer of ice in a short time? What created power is capable of making such a big change without making any noise? This can only be done by an almighty Creator Who shows His power in an inaudible way. The water through which ships used to pass now becomes as hard as a stone allowing one to walk on it, even with heavy loads.