Job 26

Job 26 is a response from Job to Bildad's speech in the previous chapter. Bildad had offered a very brief and simplistic view of God’s majesty, essentially implying that Job should acknowledge God’s greatness and accept his fate. Job sarcastically questions the value of Bildad’s advice, then proceeds to describe God’s power and majesty more fully, emphasizing His control over creation and the unseen forces of the universe. The chapter highlights Job’s profound understanding of God’s omnipotence, even as he wrestles with his suffering.

Job 26:1-4 (NKJV)
1 But Job answered and said:
2 “How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength?
3 How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? Or how have you declared sound advice to many?
4 To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?"

Job begins by sarcastically criticizing Bildad. He questions how Bildad's words have been of any help to him in his suffering. Job implies that Bildad’s advice has been neither supportive nor enlightening. He suggests that Bildad's counsel lacks depth, and that his words may have been driven by a misguided or shallow understanding of God.

Job 26:5-6 (NKJV)
5 “The dead tremble, those under the waters and those inhabiting them.
6 Sheol is naked before Him, and Destruction has no covering."

Job begins to describe God’s immense power over the unseen world. He mentions that even the dead, and those beneath the sea, tremble before God. Sheol, the realm of the dead, is exposed before God’s eyes. Nothing is hidden from God, not even the forces of destruction. Job emphasizes God's complete sovereignty over life and death.

Job 26:7-10 (NKJV)
7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it.
9 He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it.
10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.

Job marvels at God’s control over creation. He describes how God stretches out the heavens over the emptiness and suspends the earth in space. Job notes the miracle of clouds that carry water without collapsing and how God’s throne is hidden behind clouds. He also refers to God establishing the horizon, the boundary between light and darkness, showcasing God's orderly design of the natural world.

Job 26:11-13 (NKJV)
11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Job magnifies God’s sovereign power over creation. The heavens tremble at His rebuke; the seas respond to His command. In verse 13, His Spirit and His hand are both credited with creation—His Spirit adorned the heavens, and His hand struck down the fleeing serpent. This parallel shows that God’s Spirit is not separate from Him, just as His hand is not a separate person. The Spirit is God Himself in action—His personal presence and power at work in creation. To treat the Spirit as a third being apart from God contradicts the clear language of Scripture.

Job 26:14 (NKJV)
14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

Job concludes by acknowledging that all the grandeur and power he has just described are only the "edges" of God’s ways. In other words, what humans perceive of God’s power is only a small glimpse of His full majesty. Job humbly admits that even though we hear only a whisper of God's power, its full extent is beyond human comprehension. This final verse encapsulates Job's deep reverence for God’s unfathomable might.