Job 37:21

37:21-24 Elihu concludes his discourse with some great sayings concerning the glory of God. Light always is, but is not always to be seen. When clouds come between, the sun is darkened in the clear day. The light of God's favour shines ever towards his faithful servants, though it be not always seen. Sins are clouds, and often hinder us from seeing that bright light which is in the face of God. Also, as to those thick clouds of sorrow which often darken our minds, the Lord hath a wind which passes and clears them away. What is that wind? It is his Holy Spirit. As the wind dispels and sweeps away the clouds which are gathered in the air, so the Spirit of God clears our souls from the clouds and fogs of ignorance and unbelief, of sin and lust. From all these clouds the Holy Spirit of God frees us in the work of regeneration. And from all the clouds which trouble our consciences, the Holy Spirit sets us free in the work of consolation. Now that God is about to speak, Elihu delivers a few words, as the sum of all his discourse. With God is terrible majesty. Sooner or later all men shall fear him.

And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds,.... Here Elihu returns to his subject, it may be, occasioned by black clouds gathering in the heavens, as a preparation for the whirlwind, storm, and tempest, out of which the Lord is said to speak in the next chapter. And this is to be understood, not of the lightning in the cloud, which is not to be seen until it breaks out of it; nor the rainbow in the cloud, formed by the rays of light from the sun, which disappears when the wind passes and clears the sky of the cloud in which it is; nor of the Galaxy, or Milky Way, as Sephorno, which is not to be seen in a cloudy night; but of the sun, which is the great light and a bright one, and shines brightly; yet sometimes not to be seen by men, because of interposing clouds, until they are cleared away by winds. Though rather this respects the sun shining in its brightness, and in its full strength, in the skies or ethereal regions, in a clear day, when men are not able to look full at it: and how much less then are they able to behold him who is light itself, and in whom is no darkness at all, nor shadow of turning; who dwells in light, which no mortal can approach unto; into whose nature and perfections none can fully look, or behold the secret springs of his actions, and the reasons of his dispensations towards men?

(21) And now men see not the bright light — i.e., the sun. “But he is bright behind the clouds, and when the wind has passed over them and cleared them away, even the north wind, he will come forth like gold; but upon God there is terrible majesty. Though the sun is hidden, we shall see him again, but who shall ever find out God?” It is manifest that this rendering adds great sublimity, and points to the opening of the next chapter.

Job 37:21 . And now — Or, for now, as the particle ו , vau, is often rendered; the following words containing a reason of those which precede; men see not the bright light, &c. — Men are not able to look upon the brightness of the sun when it shines in the heavens, after the winds have swept away the clouds which before obscured the clear sky. And therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, or discern his counsels and ways.

21 . The natural meaning of this verse is, And now men cannot look upon the light, When it is bright in the skies, And the wind hath passed and cleansed them. The “light,” here the sunlight, is too great to look upon, it dazzles the beholder, when the wind has passed over and cleared the heavens. Others render, as A.V. in the main, and now men see not the light , though it is bright in the clouds (i. e. behind the clouds); but the wind passeth over and cleareth them . It is difficult to reconcile this translation of the third clause with grammar. The idea supposed to be suggested by this rendering is, that just as behind the clouds there is light, which will by and by appear, so the darkness around God’s face and ways will speedily clear away. But such a thought remains altogether unexpressed; and besides, the whole passage refers to the unsearchableness of God and the terrible majesty that surrounds Him and makes Him unapproachable ( Job 37:22-23 ). The verse is evidently incomplete in sense, expressing but half the idea; the other half is given in Job 37:22 .

And now men see not the bright light {s} which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. (s) The cloud stops the shining of the sun, that man cannot see it till the wind has chased away the cloud: and if man is not able to attain to the knowledge of these things, how much less God's judgments?

Verse 21. - And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds; rather, and now men cannot behold the light which is bright in the skies. Now, i.e. , here in this world, men cannot look straight at the sun, since he dazzles them. How much less, then, would they be able to face God on his throne in heaven! Yet this is what Job had proposed to do ( Job 9:32-35 ; Job 13:18-22 ; Job 22:3-7 , etc.). But the wind passeth, and cleanseth them ; rather, when the wind passeth and cleareth them ; i.e. when, the wind having swept away the clouds and cleared the sky the sun shines forth in all its splendour. Job 37:21

21. cleanseth—that is, cleareth the air of clouds. When the "bright light" of the sun, previously not seen through "clouds," suddenly shines out from behind them, owing to the wind clearing them away, the effect is dazzling to the eye; so if God's majesty, now hidden, were suddenly revealed in all its brightness, it would spread darkness over Job's eyes, anxious as he is for it (compare, see on [544]Job 37:19) [Umbreit]. It is because now man sees not the bright sunlight (God's dazzling majesty), owing to the intervening "clouds" (Job 26:9), that they dare to wish to "speak" before God (Job 37:20). Prelude to God's appearance (Job 38:1). The words also hold true in a sense not intended by Elihu, but perhaps included by the Holy Ghost. Job and other sufferers cannot see the light of God's countenance through the clouds of trial: but the wind will soon clear them off, and God shall appear again: let them but wait patiently, for He still shines, though for a time they see Him not (see on [545]Job 37:23).

And; or, for , as this particle is oft rendered; the following words containing a reason of those which go before. Now: this particle is either, 1. A note of time, and so it intimates a sudden change which then was in the weather, which having been very dark, began now to clear up; or rather, 2. A note of inference to usher in the argument. Men see not ; either, 1. Do not observe (as seeing is oft used) nor consider these glorious works of God; or, 2. Cannot behold, or at least not gaze upon it. In the clouds; or, in the skies ; for the Hebrew word signifies both clouds and skies. This is to be understood, either, 1. Of bright and lightsome clouds; or rather, 2. Of the sun, which is oft and emphatically called light, as was noted before, and here the bright light; which men ofttimes cannot behold, either when it is covered with a black and thick cloud; or when, as it follows, the sky is very clear, and consequently the sunshine is very bright. And therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, who dwelleth in darkness, 1 Kings 8:12 , nor discern his counsels and ways, which are covered with great obscurity; and if we dare not approach to him, with whom is, as it here follows, terrible majesty; and if we presume to do so, we must needs be swallowed up, as was said, Job 37:20 . But the wind passeth; or rather, when (as this particle is used) the wind passeth.

And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds - Either the lightning that plays on the clouds in an approaching tempest, or a glorious light spread over the sky on the approach of God. There is reason to believe that as Elihu delivered the sentiments recorded in the close of this chapter, he meant to describe God as if he were seen to be approaching, and that the symbols of his presence were discovered in the gathering tempest and storm. He is introduced in the following chapter with amazing sublimity and grandeur to speak to Job and his friends, and to close the argument. He comes in a whirlwind, and speaks in tones of vast sublimity. The tokens of his coming were now seen, and as Elihu discerned them he was agitated, and his language became abrupt and confused. His language is just such as one would use when the mind was overawed with the approach of God - solemn, and full of reverence, but not connected, and much less calm than in his ordinary discourse. The close of this chapter, it seems to me, therefore, is to be regarded as spoken when the tempest was seen to be gathering, and when in awful majesty God was approaching, the lightnings playing around him, the clouds piled on clouds attending him, the thunder reverberating along the sky, and an unusual brightness evincing his approach; Notes, Job 37:22 . The idea here is, that people could not steadfastly behold that bright light. It was so dazzling and so overpowering that they could not gaze on it intently

. The coming of such a Being strayed in so much grandeur, and clothed in such a light, was fitted to overcome the human powers. But the wind passeth, and cleanseth them - The wind passes along and makes them clear. The idea seems to be, that the wind appeared to sweep along over the clouds as the tempest was rising, and they seemed to open or disperse in one part of the heavens, and to reveal in the opening a glory so bright and dazzling that the eye could not rest upon it. That light or splendor made in the opening cloud was the symbol of God, approaching to wind up this great controversy, and to address Job and his friends in the sublime language which is found in the closing chapters of the book, The word rendered "cleanseth" (טהר ṭâhêr) means properly to shine, to be bright; and then to be pure or clean. Here the notion of shining or brightness is to be retained; and the idea is, that a wind appeared to pass along, removing the cloud which seemed to be a veil on the throne of God, and suffering the visible symbol of his majesty to be seen through the opening; see the notes at Job 26:9, "He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it."