THEOSISGregory the Great
Look up to the skies and consider the vastness of the heavens that stretch above you. If you have sinned, can you bring harm to Him? If your transgressions are numerous, what impact will they have on Him? And likewise, if your actions are just, what can you offer Him, or what can He gain from your hands? Job 35:5-7. Though these words should not have been spoken to the blessed Job, who understood the deeper truths, they still reflect the reality that neither our sins can affect God nor can our good deeds benefit Him. He continued, stating, "Your iniquity will harm a person like yourself, but your righteousness will benefit a human being" (Job 35:8). It is important to take note of his instruction to look to the heavens and see their glory.
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By doing so, he effectively illustrates how little Job can either aid or harm God through his actions, for he cannot benefit or detract from the height of the heavens. The terms 'heaven' and 'sky' remind us of the celestial beings that continually behold the gaze of the Almighty, serving as a reminder of our own insignificance compared to the Creator. While we can’t see God directly, we seek His presence through admiration of His creation, which we regard as His footprints guiding us toward Him. As Paul writes, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made" (Romans 1:20). Similarly, the Book of Wisdom notes, "For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator" (Wisdom 13:5). Our perception of God is obscured when sin overtakes us, yet He reveals hints of His true essence amidst the beauty of His creation, drawing us inward through external wonders. This notion is captured in the Book of Wisdom: "For He meets those who long for Him with insight" (Wisdom 6:16).
Creation serves as a pathway to the Creator; when we observe the marvels of His handiwork, we are awed by His power displayed in everything. This prompts us to encounter Wisdom with keen insight, as God's might is made evident in all that surrounds us. Wherever the soul looks with attentiveness, it will discover the presence of God in the very things that once distracted it from Him, allowing it to recognize His power through the love that initially led it astray. After conversion, the soul recalls those objects that contributed to its downfall, striving to rise from where it fell and reaching out to the same ground that caused its stumble due to misguided affection. Since we experience visible falls influenced by the unseen, it becomes imperative to again pursue the invisible through the visible, that the depths to which the soul has descended may become a stepping stone toward the heights, enabling it to ascend above its previous downfall. Thus, rightly considered, those objects beckon us back to God, while poorly chosen ones keep us further from Him. Elihu, in aiming to convey the vastness of divine understanding compared to human comprehension, rightly observes: "Look to the heavens and behold the expanse above you." From everything created, we learn of our distance from our Maker’s grandeur, serving as a reminder to approach Him with humility, with creation itself being a lesson for our minds. Therefore, let him declare, "Look to the heavens and see the vastness above you. If you have sinned, can you hurt Him? If your sins increase, what can you do that affects Him? And if your actions are righteous, what can you give Him, or what can He gain from your hands?" Essentially, he is asserting that all the visible creations show how infinitely higher they are than we are, underscoring our own inability to benefit God through a life of righteousness or to harm Him through our wrongdoing.
Moreover, should we understand 'heavens' as encompassing higher powers, Elihu reminds us that even the angelic beings, though exalted beyond us, still cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the Divine. This invites contemplation of our own lowliness in comparison to these heavenly beings. He essentially says: "Behold how distant you are from the divine heights, the very might from which even these celestial powers shrink in humility, positioned far above you." Thus, he directs our gaze to the highest realms, establishing a perspective of equality and urging reflection on our place in relation to the Creator.