The Deafening Silence of Heaven

When Heaven is Silent and God is Hidden
Job 22-24
“Behold, I go forward but He (God is not there, and backwards but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold him; He turns to the right, I cannot see him.”

There is no sound more deafening than the silence of heaven. We can understand that suffering is a part of life. We can endure hardships when circumstances turn against us. But what we cannot understand and what we cannot endure is the silence of heaven, when God seems distant, unreachable, and uncaring in our suffering.

Eliphaz loses patience with Job. In his last speech, he reaches his final, unyielding conclusion that Job is suffering because of his sin. He now takes the gloves off. Until this point, he has been cordial in his treatment of Job, but now his anger and frustration come to a head as he sees Job attacking his theology. If Job is right, if Job is innocent of any wrong, then Eliphaz has a crisis of faith, and so he reacts with a vengeance. But here is where he makes his mistake. In his quest to defend God, he unjustly judges and accuses Job of wrong. In the mind of Eliphaz, since God only judges the wicked, Job must be the worst of the lot. So Eliphaz goes on the attack and accuses Job of sin. Job’s troubles were proof of God’s rebuke. As we observe the suffering of others, the danger is that we become judgmental and accusatory. It is easy to misread people’s actions and criticize them for their responses to a given situation that does not align with what we perceive as an appropriate response. Not only does he accuse Job of mistreating people, but he also accuses Job of rejecting God. In his final appeal, Eliphaz tries to convince Job that what he really needs is not vindication before God, but repentance and forgiveness.

In response, Job does not try to give a rebuttal to Eliphaz’s accusations; instead, he expresses his despair that God has abandoned him and heaven has remained silent in response to Job’s cry. What Job longs for most in an audience with God, an opportunity to speak with God to present his case and receive instruction and clarity from God. When we are overwhelmed by our suffering, when we cannot understand, and there is no clarity for why we are suffering, what we long for most is answers from God. However, not only is heaven silent, but it seems that God is deliberately hiding from him. In verses 8-9, we find the words that we often feel. Job is actively pursuing God, but the way of God is unknowable. But even more perplexing is that it seems as if God Himself is hiding from Job. The overwhelming frustration we feel in suffering is not from the suffering itself, but the fact that God is silent in response (see also Ps. 10:1; 13:1; 22:1; 30:7, 44:23; 88:14; 89:46).However, once again, just when it seems that Job is on the brink of breaking under the strain, the depth of his faith kicks in, and he affirms his faith in God. Even though he cannot perceive God’s activities and God seems hidden from him, he still rests in the knowledge that God still knows him and his circumstances. Faith does not prevent doubts, fears, and struggles. Rather, faith keeps us from completely abandoning God. It enables us to see God when He is silent and trust in Him when He seems to be indifferent. While Job’s circumstances caused him to question God, his faith prevents him from abandoning God.  

When we are facing trials in our lives, we identify with the frustration of Job. There is nothing more terrifying than the feeling of abandonment by God. There are times when it seems that heaven is not only silent in the face of our suffering, but silent in the face of evil (chapter 24).   What we know from the start, and what Job did not know, is that the silence of heaven does not mean that God is inactive. The silence of heaven does not mean that God does not care for us. In our trials, we often do not understand why God does not act, but we do not see what God sees, and we do not know what He knows. When heaven seems silent, we have the assurance that God is still active. Therefore, we can rest in the sovereign God who will be our deliverance in His time and according to His purpose.