Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto you, Here we are?
All Commentaries on Job 38:35 Go To Job 38
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Up to this point God divides the heavenly realities in terms of those through which he punishes us, as distinguished from those through which he benefits us. Notice how the lightnings answer. They do not really mean, “What do you want?” The text wants to signify that all creatures, as though they were living creatures, bend their ear to God. Every time he wants to show the difference in their formation, God talks about “begetting” and “maternal womb.” Every time, on the other hand, he wants to show their docility and perfection, he depicts them as if they bent their ear to his call. Why did he present himself not only as a craftsman but as a father as well? This is because the art that presides over nature is quite superior to any manual art, for it is, so to speak, divine.
