“Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable” (Job 36:26 ESV).
Elihu spoke these words to Job as he called him to consider the greatness of God. When he said, “we know him not,” he did not mean that God could not be known at all. Rather, he meant that God could never be known completely. Human beings could know God truly because God has revealed Himself, but finite creatures could never fully comprehend the infinite Creator. We could say it this way: we can know God truly without knowing Him completely.
Elihu also declared that “the number of his years is unsearchable.” God is not merely very old. He is eternal. He exists beyond the boundaries of human life and time. His years cannot be counted because He has no beginning and no end.
Therefore, Elihu’s declaration, “Behold, God is great,” was more than a theological statement about God’s attributes. It was an argument for humility. Job had struggled to understand why God had allowed such suffering in his life. Elihu reminded him that God’s wisdom, power, and eternal perspective infinitely exceeded his own. What Job could not understand about God was meant to lead him toward humility, not unbelief.
We often want God to explain Himself before we will trust Him. When His ways confuse us, we may be tempted to measure His wisdom by the limits of our own understanding. Yet the greatness of God calls us to trust His wisdom above our own.
Still, the gospel gives us something Job could only anticipate. The God we can never fully comprehend has graciously made Himself known in Jesus Christ. The apostle John wrote, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18).
We cannot know God completely, but through Christ we can know Him truly and personally as Father. We may not understand everything God is doing, but we can know the One who is doing it. In Jesus, we are invited into the wonder of knowing the unknowable God. And we shall have the rest of eternity to plumb the depths of His infinite glory, forever knowing Him more, yet never exhausting the wonder of who He is.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we praise You for Your infinite greatness, eternal wisdom, and unsearchable ways. Forgive us when our lack of understanding causes us to doubt. Thank You for making Yourself known to us through Your Son, Jesus. Help us to know You more fully. In Jesus’ name, amen.