A time to be silent

This was a lesson Job learned. He talked too much. Not that anyone could blame him. Calamity pounced on the man. Enemies had slaughtered Job’s cattle, and lightning had destroyed his sheep. Strong winds had left his kids buried in rubble.
Job 2:11-13
7 days and nights Job’s friends sit with him. No one saying a word. Just sitting there. Silence. Which is what God wanted….. to sit and be silent… to appear to them maybe like he did with Moses.
Then starts the ping-pong conversation. Chapter 3- job; 4- eliphaz; 6- job; 8- bildad; 9- Job; 11 –Zophar; 12- job; 15-Eliphaz; 16- Job; 18- Bildad. So on and so forth. FOR 23 chapters they do this, back and forth- then he doesn’t want anymore “answering” from his friends. For 6 chapters Job gives his opinions on God. He defines God, explains God, and reviews God, then in Job 31:40 “The words of Job are ended.” Job stops to take a breath.
Then this Elihu guy, who’s eavesdropping, thinks he knows something about God. And he talks for a couple chapters. And then he finishes.
Then the Lord answered Job. Then the Lord answered Job. 38 Chapters later???
38:3-6 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38:22-24 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
Job 39:26-27 "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?
We wait “patiently” for God to work and then think that he somehow needs our help.
What do you know Job??? Answer me! Job has to respond. Job 40:1-4 The LORD said to Job: Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" Then Job answered the LORD : "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. “ and then my foot.
Before he heard God, Job couldn’t speak enough. After he heard God, he couldn’t speak at all. Silence was the only proper response.There was a time in the life of Thomas a Kempis when he too covered his mouth. He had written profusely about the character of God. But one day God confronted him with such holy grace that from that moment on all his words “seemed like Straw”. He put down his pen and never wrote another line. He put his hand over his mouth. The word for such moments is reverence. Being still. Find peace in the pain. Cover your mouth and sit still. Be still. Bend your knees. Close the door. Stay awhile. and “know that I am God.”
Job 42:4-5 job says"You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
The Power of silence. The power in being still in His presence. The reason for silence is reverence. The deep respect and awe that comes from being in his presence demands the silence.
We are quick to demand answers from God. But if he were to respond to your questions what would he say? Could it be that in the silence he wants us to learn something?