Job 38:23

Against the day of battle and war.

War from heaven

In some parts of Scripture Jehovah is represented descending in clouds and tempests, and fixing for Himself in the air a tent or pavilion, where the elementary forces attend and receive commissions and arms for the service in which each meteor, or element, is to be employed (Psalms 18:1).

I. The treasures in the armoury of Jehovah.

1. Treasures of snow and hail. That vapour, ascending from the earth, and floating over our heads in the air, descends in small white flakes, is a sensible truth; but how the particles of vapour condense and adhere, how they assume the shape, and colour, and quality of snow, are questions too high for us, and must be resolved into the will and power of God. Hail, as a body of condensed vapour, is well known. Dreadful is the execution which it has done among the enemies of the Lord (Exodus 9:25; Joshua 10:11).

2. The air is the storehouse where snow and hail are collected and laid up. This magnificent fabric, the dimensions of which are unknown, is a glorious effect of the wisdom and power of the great Builder. Storey is founded upon storey, and sphere raised over sphere. At God’s command every exhalation appears, and without resisting His will, assumes the shape and fills the place which He hath appointed.

3. The treasures of snow and hail are under the care and direction of the Lord of heaven and earth. Over these His power is unlimited, and in and by these He doth whatsoever pleaseth Him.

4. These treasures are inaccessible to man. Are there secrets in the air which we cannot discover, and operations in that storehouse of vapour which we are not able to explain; then why do men of penetration stumble at mysteries in religion, or reject truths which God has revealed, because these are not comprehensible by reason? “Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?”

II. The time of trouble and the day of battle and war. There may indeed be trouble when there is not war, but a day of war is always a time of trouble.

1. Rebellion is the cause of these operations. The existence of rebellion “against the Lord, the God of the whole earth, cannot be denied. Enemies and rebels are the real characters of multitudes in this generation.

2. These operations are penal operations, or punishments of rebellion against the laws of His kingdom.

3. These operations of Divine wrath and power are just and holy proceedings against the rebellious.

III. The reservation of the snow and the hail in the treasures of the Lord. In the expression there is a greatness becoming the majesty of the Speaker, and the state and grandeur of the Sovereign. The following particulars will help us to understand the sublime expression which the Lord of all uses concerning His operations.

1. The vapour, which fills the treasures of the snow and the hail, is raised, collected, condensed, and stored by the power of God.

2. The treasures, which are filled and stored by the power of God, are poised and balanced by His wisdom. These wondrous works are executed according to a determined and preconceived plan.

3. The snow and the hail are detained in the treasures until the time of trouble, and the day of battle and war. Inferences--

(1) In war from heaven the inhabitants of the earth are the aggressors.

(2) Provoking the Lord of hosts to battle is the folly of wickedness.

(3) “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”

(4) Humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of the Lord, and taking hold of the covenant of peace, is present duty and true wisdom. (A. Shanks.)