The argument from all sources now being in, it was time for the artist to prepare a fitting scene for the approach of the Almighty. Consequently, the storm clouds gather and begin to drop rain. The lightning suddenly flashes to the ends of the earth. The quick crash of thunder makes the heart quake. It is such a time as when old leviathan churns the deep into white foam. And at last out of the awful whirlwind God speaks: "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"
Stand up, Job, and I will speak with you. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Have you walked in the recesses of the deep, have you seen the gates of death, does the morning come at your bidding, do you know the way of the lightning, do you cause the east wind to scatter over the earth? With all your wisdom, surely, you can answer. Job, "Canst thou bind the cluster of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" Can you thunder, Job? Can you send forth the lightning, can you draw out old leviathan with a fish hook? Gird up your loins like a man and answer me.
Very meekly Job replies, "Lord, I have heard of you before with the hearing of the ears, but now that I see you with my eyes, I abhor myself in dust and ashes." He frankly admits that he has spoken concerning things too wonderful for him. That Job has talked like a fool, God concedes. Yet He assures Job that in his main contention, he is right. Suffering is not a proof of guilt. Then turning to Job's miserable comforters, God informs them that He is angry because of all the falsehoods they have spoken. Go, therefore, and take seven bullocks and seven rams and offer a sacrifice, and my servant Job shall pray for you. And look sharp, "that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."
After all this, how pitiful it was to see my old friend, the minister, building up a weird religion on hit-or-miss passages from Job.
We all know that the wicked must suffer sooner or later, but the lesson of Job is that the innocent may suffer also. From this beautiful dramatic poem we learn that when the cause of suffering lies too deep for our knowledge, we should trust the goodness of Him who is All-wise. The false belief, argued so vehemently by Job's comforters, still persisted in the days of Jesus; because they asked Him, "Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" And Jesus vindicated the position of Job by saying, "Neither did this man nor his parents sin." The greater pity is, that this false belief still persists to crush the hearts of many innocent sufferers. A saintly parishioner of mine once said to me while wringing her hands:
"Oh, what awful thing can I have done, that God has brought this affliction upon me?" I told her that she had done nothing, that she was a Dorcas among us, and that God loved her as we all did. And thus I comforted her from the teachings of Job, and from the words of Jesus. For three months, until she went home, she lay on a bed of pain in peace and trust.