Most, if not all scholarship, will tell us that Elihu is still speaking of the same subject in Job 37:1 that he was speaking of in Job 36:27-33, and I fail to understand how that could be refuted. Most scholars say the thought probably ends in Job 37:5, while others conclude it goes to verse-13, showing there is no clear separation for the two chapters. That said, Elihu continues to extol God’s greatness through describing weather patterns, especially a great storm, which some conclude was probably brewing at the time of Elihu’s discourses, and through which the Lord, himself, was about to announce his presence (Job 38:1). So, just as Jesus took advantage of his surroundings, when teaching his disciples (cp. Matthew 6:28), presumably Elihu does the same.
Elihu continues his discourse about weather patterns by speaking about the loud thunder in the heavens: “…my heart trembles and is moved out of its place” (Job 37:1; cp. 36:27-33). In the last chapter Elihu said inferred that one is able to observe cattle and know a storm is coming. The smell of the storm unsettles them. Years ago, we had a small dog, who would bark in fear and run to one of us and then the other at the sound of the crack of thunder during a storm. He never became used to it. We were able to teach our children to not fear the sound of thunder, but animals that are afraid of a sound, cannot be appeased.
I believe that the point Elihu was making is that all of God’s creatures both welcome and tremble at his works. Many animals are unsettled by a storm, yet men aren’t so disturbed at the presence of God. Elihu claimed that his heart pounded within him and felt like it would leap out of his chest (Job 37:1), when he considered God’s greatness, inferring: where was Job’s fear or respect for his Creator?
Keep in mind that the Book of Job isn’t prose; it’s poetry. Therefore, when Elihu mentions thunder as being the voice of God or the “sound that goes out of his mouth” (Job 37:2), one needs to ask, if that should be taken literally. Poetry doesn’t often speak in literal terms. Nevertheless, even if Elihu was speaking literally, we need to keep in mind that such an idea is wrong, and both Elihu and the friends have many things wrong in what they say both about Job and about God. In the previous chapter Elihu described thunder as coming from the tabernacle of God, which the Psalmist describes as the atmosphere above the earth (Psalm 104:1-3; cp. Isaiah 40:22).
I doubt that Job could miss hearing the thunder blasts that shook both heaven and earth, so I believe Elihu is speaking poetically, saying, while he (Elihu) trembles before the Lord, Job manages to live without such fear, to the point that he even disputes with the Lord over how he’s been treated.
Then Elihu describes how the Lord has directed lightening to light up the whole heaven, as far as the eye could see, and afterward the thunder blasts roar in such magnificence that they point to the excellency of the greatness of God (who created these phenomena). Nevertheless, though we see the lightning and hear the blasts of the thunder and witness the storm with all our senses, yet we cannot find God or wholly understand his works (Job 37:5). We cannot even physically see where the thunder and lightning come from or where they go (Job 37:3-4). So, how would it be possible to see or wholly understand the Creator who made this phenomenon possible?
Elihu’s point, as I understand it, is to say no one is able to wholly know the Lord, so why should we argue with him about what he does, vis-à-vis Job’s destruction. Simply accept what has happened, know that the Lord is greater than we are and repent of your wickedness (cp. Job 34:8, 36; 36:17). Nevertheless, Elihu has this wrong. The Lord has not brought Job’s calamities upon him because of his wickedness. Rather, he was a morally perfect man who feared God and lived an upright life (Job 1:8; 2:3). Therefore, to question the Lord’s works is like a prayer for clarity. Questioning, vis-à-vis wanting to know, is not the same as rebelling.
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