Lecture 1 — Job answers the Lord

^42:1^ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

^42:2^ I know that you can do everything and no thought is hidden from you.

^42:3^ Who is the man who foolishly hides his plan? So I have spoken foolishly about things which far exceed my knowledge.

^42:4^ Listen, and I will speak, I will question you and answer me.

^42:5^ My ear heard you; now however my eye sees you.

^42:6^ See why I despise myself utterly and I do penance in dust and ashes.

567. Then Job answered the Lord and said. After the Lord reproved Job for his intemperate speech which seemed to have the flavor of pride because he asserted that he was just (which seemed to some people to lead to the derogation of divine justice), Job humbly answers that he is convinced.

First, he confesses the divine excellence with respect to power, and so the text says, Job answered the Lord and said: I know that you can do everything; also as to knowledge, and so he says, and no thought is hidden from you.

By the first of these, he confesses that God can remove the adversity brought on by the devil, whom God described using the image of Behemoth and Leviathan.

By the second, he recognizes that some proud thought did stir him interiorly, and that this was not hidden from God.

Therefore, in consequence, he assails those who deny divine providence, saying, who is the man who foolishly hides his plan? Who is so presumptuous and stupid to say that a human plan can be hidden from God without God knowing it?

568. From the consideration of the divine excellence, he proceeds to consider his own fault when he says, so I have spoken foolishly, in not showing due reverence to divine excellence in my words, about things which far exceed my knowledge, in discussing divine judgments. Because I have spoken foolishly, in what remains I will speak wisely, and so he says, listen and I will speak, and confess my fault. Because I have spoken about things which exceed my knowledge, from now on I do not dare to speak about those things, but only to ask you about them and so he says, I will ask you, by begging, praying and knocking (Matt 7:7), and answer me, by instructing me interiorly. He shows why he has so changed, saying, my ear heard you, once when I was speaking foolishly; now, however, my eye sees you, that is, I know you more fully than before. This is because things which are seen with the eyes are more certain than what is heard with the ear. He truly has grown, both from his suffering, and from God’s teaching. The more one considers the justice of God, the more he sees his own fault, and so he says, see why I despise myself utterly, when I consider my own fault. Since it does not suffice to confess one’s own fault unless one makes satisfaction, he continues, I do penance in dust and ashes, as a sign of the frailty of corporeal nature. For humble satisfaction befits the expiation of proud thoughts.