I used to think I was at least of average smartness - but I no longer hold that illusion. I now know I can be really slow on the uptake. One of the books of the Bible that has always left me not wanting to dig too deep is the book of Job. It's always left me uncomfortable - it's part of God's Word so must be "true" - but still doesn't feel right.
In 2015 after starting to talk with God directly rather than vaguely, I learned the traditional ways I had been thinking were quite superficial. In reading Job the following year, it was almost like reading a different book.
I used to think the "good" guys in the Bible spoke the truth as God saw it - but that was a bit simplistic. Rather they spoke as they saw it - and while Job was certainly a "good" man, he was a man and not God. That means he saw things from a human perspective and not God's.
That all seems basic - but simple as it is, that is something I'd never contemplated. Job's friends were well-intentioned - buy their words were meaningless. They sounded good - but didn't help - a bit like the platitudes we were given by well-meaning friends when our first daughter died.
But Job too was limited in his thinking. Until God spoke he too could only speak as he saw it - from a human perspective. Just a glimpse of the reality. When God spoke he realised how far he'd fallen short. He might have been nearer the truth - but still far short of reality.