The Power of God's Silence

The most powerful part of the Book of Job comes when God finally breaks his silence. The speeches of Yahweh are all the more grand and sublime for the fact that he has been a conspicuous absence in the universe. In verse 41 we get one of the most sublime rhetorical questions in all of biblical wisdom literature. Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a hook or his tongue with a cord which thou let us down? Canst thou put a hook into his nose or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee? will he make a covenant with thee? Wilt thou take him for a servant forever?