Moreover Elihu answered,
“Do you think this to be your right, or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
that you ask, ‘What advantage will it be to you? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
I will answer you, and your companions with you.
Look to the skies, and see. See the skies, which are higher than you.
If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
There they cry, but no one answers, because of the pride of evil men.
Surely God will not hear an empty cry, neither will the Almighty regard it.
How much less when you say you don’t see him. The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
But now, because he has not visited in his anger, neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
Therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk, and he multiplies words without knowledge.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16 Job never spake these words: but because he maintained…
Job never spake these words: but because he maintained his innocence, it seemed as though he would say, that God tormented him without just cause.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–16 Job 35:1 Elihu spake moreover, and said,
Job 35:1 Elihu spake moreover, and said,
Ver. 1. Elihu spake moreover, and said] His speech was for God, as before; and therefore he spake moreover. For, as Austin saith of the feast of Pentecost, Gaudet produci haec solennitas; so we may say of a discourse of this nature, Gaudet produci haec sermocinatio; the longer it is the better; since of God and his righteous dealing, Non saris unquam dici potest, as Lavater here hath it, never can enough be spoken. For although we all yield that God is just, yet if any cross befall us we are apt to question it, and to think ourselves hardly dealt with.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–16 Canst thou in thy conscience, upon second thoughts, approve…
Canst thou in thy conscience, upon second thoughts, approve of what thou hast said? Not that Job said this in express terms, but he said those things from which this might seem to follow, as that God punished him more than he deserved or expected, all things considered; and that if he might be admitted to debate his cause with or before God, he did not doubt to carry it, and to obtain that ease and favour from God, which otherwise God would not afford him. But this charge against Job he proves in the next verse.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 14 We have here,
We have here,
I. The bad words which Elihu charges upon Job, Job 35:2, Job 35:3. To evince the badness of them he appeals to Job himself, and his own sober thoughts, in the reflection: Thinkest thou this to be right? This intimates Elihu's confidence that the reproof he now gave was just, for he could refer the judgment of it even to Job himself. Those that have truth and equity on their side sooner or later will have every man's conscience on their side. It also intimates his good opinion of Job, that he thought better than he spoke, and that, though he had spoken amiss, yet, when he perceived his mistake, he would not stand to it. When we have said, in our haste, that which was not right, it becomes us to own that our second thoughts convince us that it was wrong. Two things Elihu here reproves Job for: - 1. For justifying himself more than God, which was the thing that first provoked him, Job 32:2. "Thou hast, in effect, said, My righteousness is more than God's," that is, "I have done more for God than ever he did for me; so that, when the accounts are balanced, he will be brought in debtor to me." As if Job thought his services had been paid less than they deserved and his sins punished more than they deserved, which is a most unjust and wicked thought for any man to harbour and especially to utter. When Job insisted so much upon his own integrity, and the severity of God's dealings with him, he did in effect say, My righteousness is more than God's; whereas, though we be ever so good and our afflictions ever so great, we are chargeable with unrighteousness and God is not. 2. For disowning the benefits and advantages of religion because he suffered these things: What profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin? Job 35:3. This is gathered from Job 9:30, Job 9:31. Though I make my hands ever so clean, what the nearer am I? Thou shalt plunge me in the ditch. And Job 10:15, If I be wicked, woe to me; but, if I be righteous, it is all the same. The psalmist, when he compared his own afflictions with the prosperity of the wicked, was tempted to say, Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, Psa 73:13. And, if Job said so, he did in effect say, My righteousness is more than God's (Job 35:9); for, if he got nothing by his religion, God was more beholden to him than he was to God. But, though there might be some colour for it, yet it was not fair to charge these words upon Job, when he himself had made them the wicked words of prospering sinners (Job 21:15, What profit shall we have if we pray to him?) and had immediately disclaimed them. The counsel of the wicked is far from me, Job 21:16. It is not a fair way of disputing to charge men with those consequences of their opinions which they expressly renounce.
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II. The good answer which Elihu gives to this (Job 35:4): "I will undertake to answer thee, and thy companions with thee," that is, "all those that approve thy sayings and are ready to justify thee in them, and all others that say as thou sayest: "I have that to offer which will silence them all." To do this he has recourse to his old maxim (Job 33:12), that God is greater than man. This is a truth which, if duly improved, will serve many good purposes, and particularly this to prove that God is debtor to no man. The greatest of men may be a debtor to the meanest; but such is the infinite disproportion between God and man that the great God cannot possibly receive any benefit by man, and therefore cannot be supposed to lie under any obligation to man; for, if he be obliged by his purpose and promise, it is only to himself. That is a challenge which no man can take up (Rom 11:35), Who hath first given to God, let him prove it, and it shall be recompensed to him again. Why should we demand it, as a just debt, to gain by our religion (as Job seemed to do), when the God we serve does not gain by it? 1. Elihu needs not prove that God is above man; it is agreed by all; but he endeavours to affect Job and us with it, by an ocular demonstration of the height of the heavens and the clouds, Job 35:5. They are far above us, and God is far above them; how much then is he set out of the reach either of our sins or of our services! Look unto the heavens, and behold the clouds. God made man erect, coelumque tueri jussit - and bade him look up to heaven. Idolaters looked up, and worshipped the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; but we must look up to heaven, and worship the Lord of those hosts. They are higher than we, but God is infinitely above them. His glory is above the heavens (Psa 8:1) and the knowledge of him higher than heaven, Job 11:8. 2. But hence he infers that God is not affected, either one way or other, by any thing that we do. (1.) He owns that men may be either bettered or damaged by what we do (Job 35:8): Thy wickedness, perhaps, may hurt a man as thou art, may occasion him trouble in his outward concerns. A wicked man may wound, or rob, or slander his neighbour, or may draw him into sin and so prejudice his soul. Thy righteousness, thy justice, thy charity, thy wisdom, thy piety, may perhaps profit the son of man. Our goodness extends to the saints that are in the earth, Psa 16:3. To men like ourselves we are in a capacity either of doing injury or of showing kindness; and in both these the sovereign Lord and Judge of all will interest himself, will reward those that do good and punish those that do hurt to their fellow-creatures and fellow-subjects. But, (2.) He utterly denies that God can really be either prejudiced or advantaged by what any, even the greatest men of the earth, do, or can do. [1.] The sins of the worst sinners are no damage to him (Job 35:6): "If thou sinnest wilfully, and of malice prepense, against him, with a high hand, nay, if thy transgressions be multiplied, and the acts of sin be ever so often repeated, yet what doest thou against him?" This is a challenge to the carnal mind, and defies the most daring sinner to do his worst. It speaks much for the greatness and glory of God that it is not in the power of his worst enemies to do him any real prejudice. Sin is said to be against God because so the sinner intends it and so God takes it, and it is an injury to his honour; yet it cannot do any thing against him. The malice of sinners is impotent malice: it cannot destroy his being or perfections, cannot dethrone him from his power and dominion, cannot disturb his peace and repose, cannot defeat his counsels and designs, nor can it derogate from his essential glory. Job therefore spoke amiss in saying What profit is it that I am cleansed from my sin? God was no gainer by his reformation; and who then would gain if he himself did not? [2.] The services of the best saints are no profit to him (Job 35:7): If thou be righteous, what givest thou to him? He needs not our service; or, if he did want to have the work done, he has better hands than ours at command. Our religion brings no accession at all to his felicity. He is so far from being beholden to us that we are beholden to him for making us righteous and accepting our righteousness; and therefore we can demand nothing from him, nor have any reason to complain if we have not what we expect, but to be thankful that we have better than we deserve.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Elihu spake moreover, and said. Elihu very probably paused…
Elihu spake moreover, and said. Elihu very probably paused awhile, and waited to observe whether any of the company would rise up, and either contradict and refute what he had said, or declare their assent unto it and approbation of it; or rather to see whether Job would make any reply or not; but perceiving no inclination in him to it, he proceeded to take notice of some other undue expressions of Job, and refute them; one of which is observed in Job 35:2, and the proof of it given in Job 35:3.
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Job 35:2
job 35:2
job 35:2
job 35:2Thinkest thou this to be right,.... Elihu appeals to Job himself, to his conscience and reason; who as a natural man, guided by the light of nature and reason only, and judging according to the dictates of a natural conscience, and especially as a good man, one that feared God, and had so much knowledge of him and his perfections, as his speeches showed, could never upon reflection think it right what he had said concerning God and his justice, as follows:
that thou saidst, my righteousness is more than God's? A strange expression this indeed! but what is to be understood not of his personal righteousness; Job in his senses could never say that this was more or greater than God's, or to be above it and preferred to it in any sense; nor even of righteousness imputed. Old Testament saints had the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and were justified by it; and so Job, who had knowledge of and faith in Christ as his living Redeemer, and the Lord his righteousness: but then though this is the righteousness of God, wrought out by one that is God as well as man, and approved and accepted of by God, and imputed by him to his people, which is revealed in the Gospel, and is unto all, and upon all them that believe, and they are made the righteousness of God in Christ; yet this cannot be more than the righteousness of God: besides it is not the essential righteousness of Christ as God, as Osiander dreamed, by which men are justified, but his obedience, active and passive, as Mediator, otherwise they would be deified who are justified by it; and if even so absurd a notion as this could obtain, it would not be more of man than the righteousness of God: much less can this be interpreted of Job's inherent righteousness, or the new man which is created in righteousness and true holiness; since all the holiness and righteousness that is in man is from God, and at present imperfect, and therefore cannot be more or greater than his; and still less can this be meant of Job's external righteousness, which, how great soever, was not perfect and without sin; whereas God is just and without iniquity. But there is not a just man that does good and sins not. This therefore must be understood of the righteousness of his cause; and to say that this was more than God's was what he ought not to have said, and more than became him to say: for though a good man may defend himself against the calumnies of his enemies, by asserting his own righteousness, innocence, and integrity, and may desire the Lord to plead his cause against them, and judge him according to his righteousness and the integrity of his heart; but to attempt to make it out, that his cause is more righteous than the Lord's, is doing an ill thing. Now though Job had not expressed this in so many words, yet he had said that from whence this might by consequence be deduced; he had given great occasion for such an inference to be drawn from his speeches; for since he had spoken so largely of his innocence and integrity, and holy life, and of the hard usage nevertheless he had met with from God; and had represented his own case, as if he had behaved so well as to deserve better treatment at the hand of God than to be afflicted in the manner he was; that he had wrong done him, and complained of it, and could not be heard; his judgment was taken from him by the Lord; which was in effect to say, that his cause was better than the Lord's, and would bear a stricter examination than his; which to say was, exceeding bad and unbecoming; see Job 16:17.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Our righteousness profits ourselves, not God, ver. 1-7. Our…
Our righteousness profits ourselves, not God, ver. 1-7. Our wickedness hurts not him, but other men, whom God would help, if they cried to him sincerely, ver. 8-13. Why he delayed to help Job, ver. 14-16.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Elihu accuses Job of impious speeches, 1-4.
CHAPTER XXXV
Elihu accuses Job of impious speeches, 1-4.
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No man can affect God by his iniquity, nor profit him by his
righteousness, 5-8.
Many are afflicted and oppressed, but few cry to God for help;
and, for want of faith, they continue in affliction, 9-16.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXV
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Job 35:1. Elihu spake moreover — Job still keeping…
Job 35:1. Elihu spake moreover — Job still keeping silence, perhaps because he was convinced that although Elihu had made a very harsh construction of his words, he was influenced by a good motive in what he had advanced, and had now, in the conclusion, given him very wholesome counsel, and, allowing his integrity, had only charged him with some violent expressions, which had fallen from him when he was in great anguish of spirit; Elihu goes on in this chapter to fix the very same harsh sense upon Job’s words. He first puts it to his conscience whether he thought it could be right to gain his acquittal by an impeachment of God’s justice; yet, he tells him he must have thought after this manner, otherwise he would never have made use of such an atheistical expression as, “that he had no profit by doing his duty, more than if he had sinned;” referring, probably, to Job 23:11; Job 23:15. That he ought to consider that God was so far above the influence of all human actions, that neither could their good deeds be of any advantage to him, nor could their evil deeds affect him, Job 35:2-7. They might, indeed, affect themselves or their neighbours: they might suffer from the oppressions of men, and cry aloud to God to relieve them; but if this cry was not made with an entire dependance on, and a perfect resignation to, the will of God, it would be quite fruitless: God would not give the least ear to it, Job 35:8-14. Much less ought they, in every affliction, to be flying in the face of the Almighty and shaking off his sovereignty; that they ought rather to wait his leisure with patience; and that Job himself would not have acted in this manner, had he not been hurried away by too great a self-confidence, Job 35:15-16. — Heath.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–16 Elihu spake - Hebrew, ויען vaya‛an “And he answered”;…
Elihu spake - Hebrew, ויען vaya‛an “And he answered”; the word “answer” being used, as it is often in the Scriptures, to denote the commencement of a discourse. We may suppose that Elihu had paused at the close of his second discourse, possibly with a view to see whether there was any disposition to reply.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 God. Eliu being greatly mortified at Job’s silence, uses…
God. Eliu being greatly mortified at Job’s silence, uses still more provoking expressions, and pretends to refute one of the holy man’s assertions, which never escaped his lips, though he had complained that God treated him as an enemy, and with more severity than his sins deserved; (chap. vi. 2.; Calmet) or, that his affliction was greater than his sin, chap. xxiii. 7., &c. Eliu therefore calumniates him. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Rather, explanatory of "this" in Job 35:2, "That thou…
Rather, explanatory of "this" in Job 35:2, "That thou sayest (to thyself, as if a distinct person) What advantage is it (thy integrity) to thee? What profit have I (by integrity) more than (I should have) by my sin?" that is, more than if I had sinned (Job 34:9). Job had said that the wicked, who use these very words, do not suffer for it (Job 21:13-15); whereby he virtually sanctioned their sentiments. The same change of persons from oblique to direct address occurs (Job 19:28; Job 22:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 1. Elihu spake moreover — Job has made himself…
ELIHU’S THIRD DISCOURSE.
1. Elihu spake moreover — Job has made himself more righteous than God, in maintaining that he had not received his deserts. His claims of merit and reward for righteousness are met by the consideration that God is too elevated to be benefited by the virtue or harmed by the vice of man. Human actions redound to the good or ill of man himself. And yet God is not indifferent to the doings of men, though in times of suffering he may not hear their empty cries for help. They are not heard because they are wanting in humility and faith, not because God is not a moral governor of the universe.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 2–4. Statement of Job’s charge against God that under…
2–4. Statement of Job’s charge against God that under His rule of the world to be righteous is no advantage to a man. The verses read,
2. Thinkest thou this to be thy right,
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And callest thou it, My just cause against God,
3. That thou sayest, What advantage hast thou?
And, What am I profited more than if I had sinned?
Throughout Elihu’s speeches there runs the idea of a cause or plea between Job and God. Job is regarded by him as maintaining that he has a right or just cause against God. Elihu here asks if Job considers that the rectitude of his cause will appear in his maintaining that godliness profits a man nothing?—the word this in Job_35:2 refers to the questions in Job_35:3. If Job could successfully maintain this contention his cause against God would be good. Therefore Elihu controverts his assertion, contending that righteousness does avail a man, as it must. Both parties conduct the dispute in a somewhat external way, meaning by the “advantage “of religion the possession of outward goods and immunity from suffering. Job does this of necessity, because he is still entangled in the old theory of retribution, though he is breaking through its meshes on one side. And Elihu in his theoretical argument naturally follows him, without referring to the deeper comforts of religion, the joy in God, with which some of the Psalmists delight themselves in affliction, Psa_17:15; Psa_73:23 seq.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 (2) My righteousness is more than God’s.—See Job_19:6, &c.…
XXXV.
(2) My righteousness is more than God’s.—See Job_19:6, &c. Job had not in so many words said this, but what he had said was capable of being so represented, and perhaps seemed to involve it. (Comp. Job_9:22; Job_10:15.) Here, again, there was a misrepresentation of what Job had said. He certainly did not mean that he was none the better for being righteous; on the contrary, he had distinctly said, “Let mine enemy be as the wicked,” &c. (Job_27:7, &c.), because he could not delight himself in God; but it was perfectly true that he had said that his righteousness had not delivered him from suffering.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–16 Vers. 1-16. In this short chapter, once more Elihu…
Vers. 1-16. In this short chapter, once more Elihu addresses himself to Job, first (vers. 1-8) answering his complaint that a life of righteousness has brought him no correspondent blessings; and then (vers. 9-14) explaining to him that his prayers and appeals to God have probably not been answered because they were not preferred in a right spirit, i.e. with faith and humility. Finally (verb. 15, 16), he condemns Job for haughtiness and arrogance, and reiterates the charge that he "multiplies words without knowledge". (comp. Job_34:35-37)
Vers. 1, 2. Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God"s? Once more it is to be observed that Job had said no such thing. At the worst, he had made statements from which it might be argued that he regarded Job himself as having a more delicate sense of justice than God. (e.g. Job_9:22-24 Job_10:3 Job_12:6, etc.) But Elihu insists on pushing Job"s intemperate phrases to their extremest logical issues, and taxing Job with having said all that his words might seem to a strict logician to involve. (compare the comment on Job_34:5, Job_34:9)
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Vers. 1-16. Elihu to Job: the trial of Job continued.
I JOB"S OFFENCE RESTATED. Returning to the charge, Elihu accuses Job of having given utterance to two dangerous assertions.
1. That his (Job"s) righteousness was greater than God"s. "Thinkest thou this to be right? dost thou hold this for a sound judgment? thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God"s?" (ver. 2). That Job never used this expression may be true; but that Elihu does not unfairly represent the patriarch"s meaning may be inferred from the circumstance that even at an earlier stage in the controversy Eliphaz distinctly understood this to be the import of his language. (Job_4:17) Besides, it is a legitimate deduction from those passages in which Job, maintaining his own integrity, complains that God does not accord to him even-handed justice, but treats him, though innocent, as a criminal; so that practically it is involved in the milder rendering, "I am righteous before God" (LXX, Umbreit, and others), Job meaning thereby to affirm that he failed to discern in God a corresponding righteousness to that which he beheld in himself, or, in other words, that his righteousness was more (visible and real) than God"s. Whether designed or not, the inevitable result of regarding with too much admiration one"s own righteousness (natural or gracious, legal or evangelical) is to obscure one"s perceptions of the righteousness of God, as, on the other hand, the more exalted views a saint entertains of the righteousness of God, the less will he feel disposed to magnify his own.
2. That his (Job"s) piety was of no advantage to himself. "For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?" literally, "(from it) more than from my sin" (ver. 3). This, which Job himself had put into the mouth of the ungodly, (Job_21:15) adding, "The counsel of the wicked be far from me," had already been assigned to Job by Elihu, (Job_34:9; vide homiletics) and might well seem to be implied in such utterances as Job_9:22-31, in which God is represented as involving "the perfect and the wicked " in one indiscriminate destruction, and in a time of sudden and overwhelming calamity "laughing at the trial of the innocent", and (Job_21:7-13 Job_24:18-24) in which the prosperous lives and happy deaths of the ungodly are set over against the evil fortunes commonly allotted to the good. Such questions as these of Job about the profit of religion, though common in the mouths of saints, (e.g. Asaph, Psa_73:13; St. Peter, Mat_19:27) proceed from mistaken views as to the essential character of piety, which is nothing if not disinterested. Yet, in the truest and most comprehensive sense, "godliness is profitable unto all things". (1Ti_4:8; cf. Mat_19:28)
II JOB"S FOLLY EXPOSED. Reversing the order of Elihu"s words, we discover:
1. A sound premise. That a man may be hurt by the irreligion, and benefited by the godliness, of his neighbour. Nothing more demonstrable, or indeed less demanding demonstration, than that moral character is contagious, and evil character even more so than good. Every wicked man does an injury, directly as well as indirectly, unconsciously even when not consciously, to the world in which he lives, the neighbourhood in which he dwells, the Society in which he moves, the individuals with whom he comes in contact. The ungodly man may be compared to a walking pestilence. On the other hand, "the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life". (Pro_11:30) However humble the position he occupies or the talents he possesses, the good man, whose breast is the seat of fervent piety, is a distinct gain to the world and the age. (Mat_5:13, Mat_5:14)
2. A fallacious deduction. Correct. enough in thinking that a man might make his fellow a debtor by his goodness, or incur towards his fellow obligations in consequence of damage done by his wickedness, Job was utterly at fault in inferring that the same relations could exist between man and God. "If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?" (vers. 6, 7). That is, human piety cannot add to the blessedness of God in such a way as to make God the debtor of his creature, and lay him under obligation to make the good man happy; neither can man"s impiety so diminish the Divine felicity as to require God to protect himself against the machinations of the wicked by always entailing on them misery as the recompense of their wickedness. (vide homiletics on Job_22:2-4) If God makes a good man happy, he does so of grace and favour; if he allows him to pass his life in misery, he does not thereby commit an act of injustice.
3. A complete refutation. Elihu disposes of Job"s bad logic by reminding him first of the lofty elevation of the heavens (ver. 5), and a fortiori of the infinite exaltation of him who dwells above the heavens beyond the highest and purest creature on the earth. Since God thus transcends even the best of men, it is clearly impossible to suppose that he can be tried by purely human standards.
III JOB"S MISTAKES INDICATED.
1. Dwelling too exclusively upon the greatness of his misery. "By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry;" or they, i.e. the oppressed, raise a cry: "they cry out by reason of the arm," i.e. violence, "of the mighty" (ver. 9). So Job had complained, (Job_24:12) animadverting severely on the seeming indifference of God to what he could not but be cognizant or; viz. man"s inhumanity to man; anti to this Elihu now alludes with the view of suggesting to the mind of Job the direction in which to look for an explanation of this remarkable phenomenon God"s silence in the presence of human sorrow. The cry which rises from the oppressed is in no sense a believing appeal to the Creator for assistance. It is simply a groan of anguish. Instead of turning with hope and expectation to their Maker, they fix their thoughts upon their misery and raise a shout. It is impossible not to think that, in holding up such a mirror before the mind of Job, Elihu designed the patriarch to catch a reflection of himself. Had not he too been crying out under the severity of the stroke which had fallen on him, rather than anticipating the hour of deliverance when God would fill his mouth with rejoicing? The mistake of magnifying one"s troubles, and dwelling too exclusively upon them, is one which even Christians, no less than Job, are not careful to avoid. Besides springing from unbelief, it has a tendency to hinder their beneficent design, and commonly obscures the soul"s discernment of the source as well as of the first approaches of relief.
2. Neglecting to repair to God for succour. "None saith, Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?" Instead of giving way to wailing, the victim of oppression (and such Job deemed himself to be) ought to turn in believing confidence and with hopeful expectation, not to his fellows, like Asa the King of Israel, (2Ch_16:12) or to false gods, like Ahaziah the son of Ahab, (2Ki_1:2) or to any form of creature-help whatsoever, (Psa_146:2) but like David to the living God, (Psa_121:2) remembering
(1) who God is in himself Eloah, the all-powerful and all-sufficient One;
(2) the relation in which he stands to the sufferer, that of Maker; and
(3) the gracious character in which he delights to present himself to his creatures, viz. as a God "who giveth songs in the night," i.e. who, by granting deliverance to afflicted sufferers in the night of tribulation, gives them occasion to celebrate his praise in anthems of gratitude and joy. Such nights of sorrow and tribulation occur in all men"s lives, (Job_5:7) but especially in the lives of saints. (Act_14:22) Yet no night is too dark for God to turn the shadow of death into the morning. (Amo_5:8) God, who caused Israel to sing upon the shores of the Red Sea, (Exo_15:1) and David after escaping from the hands of Saul, (2Sa_22:1) and Paul and Silas in prison at Philippi, (Act_16:25) can cause the most despairing sufferer to shout "Hallelujah!" Still nothing is more frequent than for saints to forget God, and turn to almost every other quarter before they seek unto him, (Isa_51:13) though one principal end of affliction is to impel men to seek unto him who alone can put a new song into their mouths.
1. Forgetting the superior dignity of his nature. Simply to howl over one"s miseries" Elihu intends to say, is to reduce one"s self to the level of the brute creation, which express their natural sense of pain by means of such bellowings. (Job_6:5) But man belongs to an order of creation loftier than the wild ass or the ox: and, being possessed of nobler faculties and larger intelligence than these, should not be content with such modes of giving utterance to emotion as are shared in by them, but should address himself to God in the filial confidence of prayer. And to this the example of the beasts, viewed in another light, may be said to urge him. Another rendering supplies the thought that God "teacheth us by the beasts of the earth by the young lions, e.g., who roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God; (Psa_145:21) "and maketh us wise by the fowls of heaven for instance, by the ravens who cry to God for food. (Psa_147:9)
2. Offering prayers that spring from vanity and pride. "There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it" (vers. 12, 13). Again under the general ease Elihu deals with the ease of Job. Job had repeatedly complained that his prayer had not been answered. (Job_19:7 Job_30:20) Elihu indirectly meets his objection by explaining why the prayers of sufferers in general remain unheard. They are not prayers in the proper sense of the expression, being dictated by wounded pride rather than by conscious need, and consisting of emptiness and wind, mere "sound and fury signifying nothing," rather than the aspirations and desires of a believing heart. It is impossible to resist the impression that Job"s outcries and entreaties were sometimes inspired by lacerated pride and insulted vanity rather than by lowly humility and fervent piety. Hence they were suffered to ring through the vault of heaven unheeded. So are all similar prayers by whomsoever presented. (Psa_66:18 Isa_1:15 Pro_28:9 Joh_9:31 Jam_4:3) A prayer, to be acceptable, must be sincere, lowly, reverent, and devout.
3. Supposing God did not understand his case. This an extremely natural inference from the oft-reiterated demand that God would permit Job to lay his cause before him. But Elihu assures him that this was quite unnecessary; that, although he did not, and apparently could not, see God, i.e. come to God"s presence, (Job_23:3-9) the whole case he wished to submit to God was already before him, and all he (Job) needed to do was simply to wait for God"s gracious intervention (ver. 14) words suggestive of
a. a great temptation to which suffering saints are not seldom exposed, viz. a temptation to despond of Divine succour and Divine favour, like Job himself, (Job_23:3) like David, (Psa_42:6) Asaph, (Psa_77:7-9) Heman, (Psa_88:6) Jonah, (Jon_2:4) and others;
b. a great consolation which all desponding and despairing ones may cling to, viz. that God perfectly understands their case in all its minutest details, as he knew the cases of Job, (Job_23:10) Hagar, (Gen_16:13) and Israel; (Exo_3:7) and
c. a great duty which is equally incumbent on all, to wait patiently on God till he is pleased to come with deliverance and favour. (Psa_62:5 Lam_3:26 Mic_7:7 Hab_2:3)
6. Misimproving the Divine clemency. Understanding Elihu to say, "And now, because he, i.e. God, "does not visit" (i.e. hostilely, in the sense of punishing) "his," i.e. Job"s, "anger, and does not know" (in the sense of regarding or taking notice of) "his wickedness or pride greatly; therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain, he multiplieth words without knowledge" (vers. 15, 16), the meaning is that Job"s sufferings have not been severe enough, and that the Divine clemency in dealing sparingly with Job has only been recompensed by the continuation and manifestation in Job of a rebellious and refractory spirit.
Learn:
1. That God"s servants ought to cry aloud and spare not in exposing the wickedness of men, whether saints or sinners.
2. That it is of great advantage when a faithful reprover can particularly specify the sin which be condemns.
3. That men"s words commonly afford a good index to the state of their hearts.
4. That by the quality of their speech shall men eventually be either acquitted or condemned.
5. That preachers of the gospel should ever, like Elihu, be able to defend as well as recommend the faith which they proclaim.
6. That God is not too high to bless man, though he is certainly too exalted to be injured by man.
7. That while man can enrich God with nothing, God both can and does enrich man with all things.
8. That "man"s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.
9. That God is perpetually cognizant of all the wickedness and misery, crime and wretchedness, that exists on earth.
10. That the only power competent to banish sin and sorrow from the heart of from the world is the power of God.
11. That men have usually themselves to blame when their prayers are not heard.
12. That God is infinitely worthy of the unwavering confidence of men.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-16. Elihu"s third speech: the profit of godliness.
I FOLLY OF THE OPINION THAT THERE IS NO PROFIT IN GODLINESS. (Vers. 1-8) A good man, says Elihu, would not speak as Job has done, questioning whether godliness is more profitable than sin. But what is the refutation of this dangerous notion? The speaker points to the blessed self-sufficiency of God, the exalted One in the heavens. In this light man must appear alone as one who draws advantage from his righteousness. (comp. Job_7:20 Job_22:2, sqq.) Our evil deeds cannot injure God, neither can our good deeds add to his blessedness. To expect a return or recompense from God for obedience, as if we had given him a pleasure or conferred on him an advantage, is, according to Elihu, a sign that we have altogether forgotten the distance between ourselves and him, and the true relation in which we stand to him. A modern philosopher, indeed, says, using a bold expression, "Put God in your debt!" But this means only Conform to God"s laws, and expect that God will be true to those relations expressed by his laws. The misery of Job is that he cannot, for the present, see that God is true to those relations. He has sown righteousness, but not, as it seems, reaped mercy. He is half in the right, and so is his present instructor. It remains for these two halves of truth to be united into a whole. Meanwhile Elihu points to a great canon of conduct, a great motive of right. Piety is always beneficial, ungodliness always hurtful to our fellow-men, in a sense in which this, of course, cannot be said of God. And this should sustain us in suffering: the thought of the example we may be permitted to set, the light that may shine out of our darkness, the image of those who may be deterred from evil or allured to good by what they see in us.
II REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYERS. (Vers. 9-16)
1. Want of true reverence for God. (Vers. 9-14) The cry of the oppressed goes up to heaven, and it is long before an answer comes. Help is delayed or denied. Why? In most cases it is probably the fault of the sufferer himself. There is something defective in the substance or in the spirit of his prayers. He does not cry: "Where is the Almighty, my Creator?" (Ver. 10). This is the complaint which Jehovah makes by the mouth of Jeremiah. (Jer_2:6, Jer_2:8) There is no injustice in him; but there is inconsistency in men. They do not trust him. They ungratefully forget his past providences. They disobey his laws, they meddle with forbidden things. There are conditions, moral conditions, under which alone it is possible for men to be heard, delivered, blessed. "Have I been a wilderness to Israel?" Behind these figures lies the truth that Divine blessing is conditioned by our own moral state and endeavour. Those grand relations of mercy in which God stands to men their Deliverer, the Giver of songs in the night of natural distress and emergency, the Instructor of their spirits in that life above that of the brutes who lead a blind life within the brain can only be realized by the faithful and the true. To know God as our Saviour, we must humbly and constantly trust him; to know him as our Teacher and Guide, we must diligently follow him. Pride, vain or evil desires in the heart, these, then, are the only permanent causes of unanswered prayers. And how much less are advantage and deliverance possible for Job, if he reproaches God with iniquity in being unwilling to regard his cause; if he waits as if that cause were not already laid before God (ver. 14)! For he knows all; and we must commit our way to him, in the assurance that he will in due time bring it to pass.
2. Presumptuous language against God. (Vers. 15, 16) Though such folly has hitherto passed unpunished, it does not follow that God has not observed it. According to Job"s way of thinking, Elihu says, in effect, this would follow. But he will soon see the contrary. The passage is instructive as giving us searching admonition on the subject of unanswered prayer, unrelieved distress. It is a time for heart-searching. The fault cannot be with God; if fault there be, it lies at our door. The Word comes with power in such moments, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners! Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Read Isaiah 1. But to the true and contrite heart, mercy and deliverance may be delayed, never denied. And the lesson, then, is Be patient, wait, and hope. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3, 6, 10, 14 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto…
Job_35:3-8
For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee?
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Mans character
Nothing is so important to man as his character.
I. That selfishness is an evil in mans character. For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? Whether Job expressed this selfish idea or not, Elihus language implies that such an idea is a great evil. It is by no means an uncommon thing for men to take up religion on purely selfish motives.
1. There are some who take it up for mere worldly gain.
2. There are some who take it up for eternal gain. Their object is to escape hell and get to heaven. Religion to them is not the summum bonum, is but a means to a selfish end.
II. That God is independent of mans character Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him? This being the case, it follows that sovereignty must be the principle of all His conduct with men.
1. It is the reason of all law. Why does He require us to love and serve Him? Not for His own sake, but for ours. Thus only I can become happy.
2. It is the source of redemption. Why did He send His Son into the world? He cannot be advantaged by it. God so loved the world, etc.
3. It is the ground of rewards. The blessedness He communicates to the good, is given not on the ground of merit, but of grace.
III. That society is influenced by mans character. One mans character is reproduced in another. The righteousness of one must profit society. Three things give every man some influence upon his race.
1. Relationship.
2. Dependence.
3. Affection.
If righteous we are fountains of life, whence rivers to irrigate, purify, and beautify the world will flow down the ages. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1
XXVI.
THE DIVINE PREROGATIVE
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JOB 35-37
AFTER a long digression Elihu returns to consider the statement ascribed to Job, "It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God." {Job_34:9} This he laid hold of as meaning that the Almighty is unjust, and the accusation has been dealt with. Now he resumes the question of the profitableness of religion.
"Thinkest thou this to be in thy right, And callest thou it My just cause before God, That thou dost ask what advantage it is to thee, And What profit have I more than if I had sinned?"
In one of his replies Job, speaking of the wicked, represented them as saying, "What is the Almighty that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him?". {Job_21:15} He added then, "The counsel of the wicked be far from me." Job is now declared to be of the same opinion as the wicked whom he condemned. The man who again and again appealed to God from the judgment of his friends, who found consolation in the thought that his witness was in heaven, who, when be was scorned, sought God in tears and hoped against hope for His redemption, is charged with holding, faith and religion of no advantage. Is it in misapprehension or with design the charge is made? Job did indeed occasionally seem to deny the profit of religion, but only when the false theology of his friends drove him to false judgment. His real conviction was right. Once Eliphaz pressed the same accusation and lost his way in trying to prove it. Elihu has no fresh evidence, and he too falls into error. He confounds the original charge against Job with another, and makes an offence of that which the whole scope of the poem and our sense of right completely justify.
"Look unto the heavens and see,
And regard the clouds which are higher than thou.
If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him?
Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him?
If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him?
Or what receiveth He at thy hands?"
Elihu is actually proving, not that Job expects too little from religion and finds no profit in it, but that he expects too much. Anxious to convict, he will show that man has no right to make his faith depend on Gods care for his integrity. The prologue showed the Almighty pleased with His servants faithfulness. That, says Elihu, is a mistake.
Consider the clouds and the heavens which are far above the world. Thou canst not touch them, affect them. The sun and moon and stars shine with undiminished brightness, however vile men may be. The clouds come and go quite independently of the crimes of men. God is above those clouds, above that firmament. Neither can the evil hands of men reach His throne, nor the righteousness of men enhance His glory. It is precisely what we heard from the lips of Eliphaz, {Job_22:2-4} an argument which abuses man for the sake of exalting God. Elihu has no thought of the spiritual relationship between man and his Creator. He advances with perfect composure as a hard dogma what Job said in the bitterness of his soul.
If, however, the question must still be answered, What good end is served by human virtue? the reply is, -
"Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art;
And thy righteousness may profit a son of man."
God sustains the righteous and punishes the wicked, not for the sake of righteousness itself but purely for the sake of men. The law is that of expediency. Let not man dream of witnessing for God, or upholding any eternal principle dear to God. Let him confine religious fidelity and aspiration to their true sphere, the service of mankind. Regarding which doctrine we may simply say that, if religion is profitable in this way only, it may as well be frankly given up and the cult of happiness adopted for it everywhere. But Elihu is not true to his own dogma.
The next passage, beginning with Job_35:9, seems to be an indictment of those who in grievous trouble do not see and acknowledge the Divine blessings which are the compensations of their lot. Many in the world are sorely oppressed. Elihu has heard their piteous cries. But he has this charge against them, that they do not realise what it is to be subjects of the heavenly King.
By reason of the multitude of oppressions men cry out,
They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty;
But none saith, Where is God my Maker,
Who giveth songs in the night,
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,
And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
There they cry because of the pride of evil men;
But none giveth answer.
These cries of the oppressed are complaints against pain, natural outbursts of feeling, like the moans of wounded animals. But those who are cruelly wronged may turn to God and endeavour to realise their position as intelligent creatures of His who should feel after Him and find Him. If they do so, then hope will mingle with their sorrow and light arise on their darkness. For in the deepest midnight Gods presence cheers the soul and tunes the voice to songs of praise. The intention is to show that when prayer seems of no avail and religion does not help, it is because there is no real faith, no right apprehension by men of their relation to God. Elihu, however, fails to see that if the righteousness of men is not important to God as righteousness, much less will He be interested in their grievances. The bond of union between the heavenly and the earthly is broken; and it cannot be restored by showing that the grief of men touches God more than their sin. Jobs distinction is that he clings to the ethical fellowship between a sincere man and his Maker and to the claim and the hope involved in that relationship. There we have the jewel in the lotus flower of this book, as in all true and noble literature. Elihu, like the rest, is far beneath Job. If he can be said to have a glimmering of the idea it is only that he may oppose it. This moral affinity with God as the principle of human life remains the secret of the inspired author; it lifts him above the finest minds of the Gentile world. The compiler of the Elihu portion, although he has the admirable sentiment that God giveth songs in the night, has missed the great and elevating truth which fills with prophetic force the original poem.
From Job_35:14 onward to the close of the chapter the argument is turned directly against Job, but is so obscure that the meaning can only be conjectured.
"Surely God will not hear vanity,
Neither will the Almighty regard it."
If any one cries out against suffering as an animal in pain might cry, that is vanity, not merely emptiness but impiety, and God will not hear nor regard such a cry. Elihu means that Jobs complaints were essentially of this nature. True, he had called on God; that cannot be denied. He had laid his case before the Judge and professed to expect vindication. But he was at fault in that very appeal, for it was still of suffering he complained, and he was still impious.
"Even when thou sayest that thou seest Him not,
That thy cause is before Him and thou waitest for Him;
Even then because His anger visiteth not,
And He doth not strictly regard transgression,
Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity,
He muitiplieth words without knowledge."
The argument seems to be: God rules in absolute supremacy, and His will is not to be questioned; it may not be demanded of Him that He do this or that. What is a man that he, should dare to state any "righteous cause" of his before God and claim justification? Let Job understand that the Almighty has been showing leniency, holding back His hand. He might kill any man outright and there would be no appeal nor ground of complaint. It is because He does not strictly regard iniquity that Job is still alive. Therefore appeals and hopes are offensive to God.
The insistence of this part of the book reaches a climax here and becomes repulsive. Elihus opinions oscillate we may say between Deism and Positivism, and on either side he is a special pleader. It is by the mercy of the Almighty all men live; yet the reasoning of Elihu makes mercy so remote and arbitrary that prayer becomes an impertinence. No doubt there are some cries out of trouble which cannot find response. But he ought to maintain, on the other hand, that if sincere prayer is addressed to God by one in sore affliction desiring to know wherein he has sinned and imploring deliverance, that appeal shall be heard. This, however, is denied. For the purpose of convicting Job Elihu takes the singular position that though there is mercy with God man is neither to expect nor ask it, that to make any claim upon Divine grace is impious. And there is no promise that suffering will bring spiritual gain. God has a right to afflict His creatures, and what He does is to be endured without a murmur because it is less than He has the right to appoint. The doctrine is adamantine and at the same time rent asunder by the error which is common to all Jobs opponents. The soul of a man resolutely faithful like Job would turn away from it with righteous contempt and indignation. The light which Elihu professes to enjoy is a midnight of dogmatic darkness.
Passing to chapter 36, we are still among vague surmisings which appear the more inconsequent that the speaker makes a large claim of knowledge.
"Suffer me a little and I will show thee,
For I have somewhat yet to say on Gods behalf.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words are not false:
One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee."
Elihu is zealous for the honour of that great Being whom he adores because from Him he has received life and light and power. He is sure of what he says, and proceeds with a firm step. Preparation thus made, the vindication of God follows-a series of sayings which draw to something useful only when the doctrine becomes hopelessly inconsistent with what has already been laid down.
Behold God is mighty and despiseth not any;
He is mighty in strength of understanding.
He preserveth not the life of the wicked,
But giveth right to the poor.
He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous,
But, with kings on the throne,
He setteth them up forever, and they are exalted.
And if they be bound in fetters,
If they be held in cords of affliction,
Then He showeth them their work
And their transgressions, that they have acted proudly,
He openeth their ear to discipline
And commandeth that they return from iniquity.
"God despiseth not any"-this appears to have something of the humane breath hitherto wanting in the discourses of Elihu. He does not mean, however, that the Almighty estimates every life without contempt, counting the feeblest and most sinful as His creatures; but that He passes over none in the administration of His justice. Illustrations of the doctrine as Elihu intends it to be received are supplied in the couplet, "He preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth right to the poor." The poor are helped, the wicked are given up to death. As for the righteous, two very different methods of dealing with them are described. For Elihu himself, and others favoured with prosperity, the law of the Divine order has been, "With kings on the throne God setteth them up forever." A personal consciousness of merit leading to honourable rank in the state seems at variance with the hard dogma of the evil desert of all men. But the rabbi has his own position to fortify. The alternative, however, could, not be kept out of sight, since the misery of exile was a vivid recollection, if not an actual experience, with many reputable men who were bound in fetters and held by cords of affliction. It is implied that, though of good character, these are not equal in righteousness to the favourites of kings. Some errors require correction; and these men are cast into trouble, that they may learn to renounce pride and turn from iniquity. Elihu preaches the benefits of chastening, and in touching on pride he comes near the case of Job. But the argument is rude and indiscriminative. To admit that a man is righteous and then speak of his transgressions and iniquity, must mean that he is really far beneath his reputation or the estimate he has formed of himself.
It is difficult to see precisely what Elihu considers the proper frame of mind which God will reward. There must be humility, obedience, submission to discipline, renunciation of past errors. But we remember the doctrine that a mans righteousness cannot profit God, can only profit his fellow men. Does Elihu, then, make submission to the powers that be almost the same thing as religion? His reference to high position beside the throne is to a certain extent suggestive of this.
"If they obey and serve God,
They shall spend their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasures.
But if they obey not
They shall perish by the sword,
And they shall die without knowledge."
Elihu thinks over much of kings and exaltation beside them and of years of prosperity and pleasure, and his own view of human character and merit follows the judgment of those who have honours to bestow and love the servile pliant mind.
In the dark hours of sorrow and pain, says Elihu, men have the choice to begin life anew in lowly obedience or else to harden their hearts against the providence of God. Instruction has been offered, and they must either embrace it or trample it under foot. And passing to the case of Job, who, it is plain, is afflicted because he needs chastisement, not having attained to Elihus perfectness in the art of life, the speaker cautiously offers a promise and gives an emphatic warning.
He delivereth the afflicted by his affliction
And openeth their ear in oppression.
Yea, He would allure thee out of the mouth of thy distress
Into a broad place where is no straitness;
And that which is set on thy table shall be full of fatness.
But if thou art full of the judgment of the wicked,
Judgment and justice shall keep hold on thee.
For beware lest wrath lead thee away to mockery,
And let not the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
Will thy riches suffice that are without stint?
Or all the forces of thy strength?
Choose not that night,
When the peoples are cut off in their place:
Take heed thou turn not to iniquity,
For this thou hast chosen rather than affliction.
A side reference here shows that the original writer dealing with his hero has been replaced by another who does not realise the circumstances of Job with the same dramatic skill. His appeal is forcible, however, in its place. There was danger that one long and grievously afflicted might be led away by wrath and turn to mockery or scornfulness, so forfeiting the possibility of redemption. Job might also say in bitterness of soul that he had paid a great price to God in losing all his riches. The warning has point, although Job never betrayed the least disposition to think the loss of property a ransom exacted of him by God. Elihus suggestion to this effect is by no means evangelical; it springs from a worldly conception of what is valuable to man and of great account with the Almighty. Observe, however, the reminiscences of national disaster. The picture of the night of a peoples calamity had force for Elihus generation, but here it is singularly inappropriate. Jobs night had come to himself alone. If his afflictions had been shared by others, a different complexion would have been given to them. The final thrust, that the sufferer had chosen iniquity rather than profitable chastisement, has no point whatsoever.
The section closes with a strophe (Job_36:22-25) which, calling for submission to the Divine ordinance and praise of the doings of the Almighty, forms a transition to the final theme of the address.
Job 36, 37
Job_36:26-33; Job_37:1-24
There need be little hesitation in regarding this passage as an ode supplied to the second writer or simply quoted by him for the purpose of giving strength to his argument. Scarcely a single note in the portion of Elihus address already considered approaches the poetical art of this. The glory of God in His creation and His unsearchable wisdom are illustrated from the phenomena of the heavens without reference to the previous sections of the address. One who was more a poet than a reasoner might indeed halt and stumble as the speaker has done up to this point and find liberty when he reached a theme congenial to his mind. But there are points at which we seem to hear the voice of Elihu interrupting the flow of the ode as no poet would check his muse. At Job_37:14 the sentence is interjected, like an aside of the writer drawing attention to the words he is quoting, -"Hearken unto this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Again (Job_37:19-20), between the description of the burnished mirror of the sky and that of the clearness after the sweeping wind, without any reference to the train of thought, the ejaculation is introduced, -"Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told Him that I speak? If a man speak surely he shall be swallowed up." The final verses also seem to be in the manner of Elihu.
But the ode as a whole, though it has the fault of endeavouring to forestall what is put into the mouth of the Almighty speaking from the storm, is one of the fine passages of the book. We pass from "cold, heavy, and pretentious" dogmatic discussions to free and striking pictures of nature, with the feeling that one is guiding us who can present in eloquent language the fruits of his study of the works of God. The descriptions have been noted for their felicity and power by such observers as Baron Humboldt and Mr. Ruskin. While the point of view is that invariably taken by Hebrew writers, the originality of the ode lies in fresh observation and record of atmospheric phenomena, especially of the rain and snow, rolling clouds, thunderstorms and winds. The pictures do not seem to belong to the Arabian desert but to a fertile peopled region like Aram or the Chaldaean plain. Upon the fields and dwellings of men, not on wide expanses of barren sand, the rains and snows fall, and they seal up the hand of man. The lightning clouds cover the face of the "habitable world"; by them God judgeth the peoples.
In the opening verses the theme of the ode is set forth-the greatness of God, the vast duration of His being, transcending human knowledge.
"Behold God is great and we know Him not,
The number of His years is unsearchable."
To estimate His majesty or fathom the depths of His eternal will is far beyond us who are creatures of a day. Yet we may have some vision of His power. Look up when rain is falling, mark how the clouds that float above distil the drops of water and pour down great floods upon the earth. Mark also how the dark cloud spreading from the horizon obscures the blue expanse of the sky. We cannot understand; but we can realise to some extent the majesty of Him whose is the light and the darkness, who is heard in the thunder peal and seen in the forked lightning.
"Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds,
The crashings of His pavilion?
Behold He spreadeth His light about Him;
And covereth it with the depths of the sea.
For by these judgeth He the peoples;
He giveth meat in abundance."
Translating from the Vulgate the two following verses, Mr. Ruskin gives the meaning, "He hath hidden the light in His hands and commanded it that it should return. He speaks of it to His friend; that it is His possession, and that he may ascend thereto." The rendering cannot be received, yet the comment may be cited. "These rain clouds are the robes of love of the Angel of the Sea. To these that name is chiefly given, the spreadings of the clouds, from their extent, their gentleness, their fulness of rain." And this is "the meaning of those strange golden lights and purple flushes before the morning rain. The rain is sent to judge and feed us; but the light is the possession of the friends of God, that they may ascend thereto.-where the tabernacle veil will cross and part its rays no more."
The real import does not reach this spiritual height. It is simply that the tremendous thunder brings to transgressors the terror of judgment, and the copious showers that follow water the parched earth for the sake of man. Of the justice and grace of God we are made aware when His angel spreads his wings over the world. In the darkened sky there is a crash as if the vast canopy of the firmament were torn asunder. And now a keen flash lights the gloom for a moment; anon it is swallowed up as if the inverted sea, poured in cataracts upon the flame, extinguished it. Men recognise the Divine indignation, and even the lower animals seem to be aware.
"He covereth His hands with the lightning,
He giveth it a charge against the adversary.
Its thunder telleth concerning Him,
Even the cattle concerning that which cometh up."
Continued in the thirty-seventh chapter, the description appears to be from what is actually going on, a tremendous thunderstorm that shakes the earth.
The sound comes, as it were, out of the mouth of God, reverberating from sky to earth and from earth to sky, and rolling away under the whole heaven. Again there are lightnings, and "He stayeth them not when His voice is heard." Swift ministers of judgment and death they are darted upon the world.
We are asked to consider a fresh wonder, that of the snow which at certain times replaces the gentle or copious rain. The cold fierce showers of winter arrest the labour of man, and even the wild beasts seek their dens and abide in their lurking places. "The Angel of the Sea," says Mr. Ruskin, "has also another message, -in the great rain of His strength, rain of trial, sweeping away ill-set foundations. Then his robe is not spread softly over the whole heaven as a veil, but sweeps back from his shoulders, ponderous, oblique, terrible-leaving his sword arm free." God is still directly at work. "Out of His chamber cometh the storm and cold out of the north." His breath gives the frost and straitens the breadth of waters. Towards Armenia, perhaps, the poet has seen the rivers and lakes frozen from bank to bank. Our science explains the result of diminished temperature; we know under what conditions hoar frost is deposited and how hail is formed. Yet all we can say is that thus and thus the forces act. Beyond that we remain like this writer, awed in presence of a heavenly will which determines the course and appoints the marvels of nature.
"By the breath of God ice is given,
And the breadth of the waters is straitened.
Also He ladeth the thick cloud with moisture,
He spreadeth His lightning cloud abroad;
And it is turned about by His guidance,
That it may do whatsoever He commandeth
Upon the face of the whole earth."
Here, again, moral purpose is found. The poet attributes to others his own susceptibility. Men see and learn and tremble. It is for correction, that the careless may be brought to think of Gods greatness, and the evildoers of His power, that sinners being made afraid may turn from their rebellion. Or, it is for His earth, that rain may beautify it and fill the rivers and springs at which the beasts of the valley drink. Or, yet again, the purpose is mercy. Even the tremendous thunderstorm may be fraught with mercy to men. From the burning heat, oppressive, intolerable, the rains that follow bring deliverance. Men are fainting for thirst, the fields are languishing. In compassion God sends His great cloud on its mission of life.
More delicate, needing finer observation, are the next objects of study.
"Dost thou know how God layeth His charge on them,
And causeth the light of His cloud to shine?
Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds,
The wondrous works of Him who is perfect in known edge?"
It is not clear whether the light of the cloud means the lightning again or the varied hues which make an Oriental sunset glorious in purple and gold. But the balancings of the clouds must be that singular power which the atmosphere has of sustaining vast quantities of watery vapour-either miles above the earths surface where the filmy cirrhus floats, dazzling white against the blue sky, or lower down where the rain cloud trails along the hill tops. Marvellous it is that, suspended thus in the air, immense volumes of water should be carried from the surface of the ocean to be discharged in fructifying rain.
Then again:-
"How are thy garments warm
When the earth is still because of the south wind?"
The sensation of dry hot clothing is said to be very notable in the season of the siroccos or south winds, also the extraordinary stillness of nature under the same oppressive influence. "There is no living thing abroad to make a noise. The air is too weak and languid to stir the pendant leaves even of the tall poplars."
Finally the vast expanse of the sky, like a looking glass of burnished metal stretched far over sea and land, symbolises the immensity of Divine power.
"Canst thou with Him spread out the sky
Which is strong as a molten mirror?
And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies:
Yet the wind passeth and cleanseth them."
It is always bright beyond. Clouds only hide the splendid sunshine for a time. A wind rises and sweeps away the vapours from the glorious dome of heaven. "Out of the north cometh golden splendour"-for it is the north wind that drives on the clouds which, as they fly southward, are gilded by the rays of the sun. But with God is a splendour greater far, that of terrible majesty.
So the ode finishes abruptly, and Elihu states his own conclusion:-
"The Almighty! we cannot find Him out;
He is excellent in power.
And in judgment and plenteous justice; He will not afflict.
Men do therefore fear Him;
He regardeth not any that are wise of heart."
Is Job wise in his own conceit? Does he think he can challenge the Divine government and show how the affairs of the world might have been better ordered? Does he think that he is himself treated unjustly because loss and disease have been appointed to him? Right thoughts of God will check all such ignorant notions and bring him a penitent back to the throne of the Eternal. It is a good and wise deduction; but Elihu has not vindicated God by showing in harmony with the noblest and finest ideas of righteousness men have, God supremely righteous, and beyond the best and noblest mercy men love, God transcendently merciful and gracious. In effect his argument has been-The Almighty must be all righteous, and any one is impious who criticises life. The whole question between Job and the friends remains unsettled still.
Elihus failure is significant. It is the failure of an attempt made, as we have seen, centuries after the Book of Job was written, to bring it into the line of current religious opinion. Our examination of the whole reveals the narrow foundation on which Hebrew orthodoxy was reared and explains the developments of a later time. Job may be said to have left no disciples in Israel. His brave personal hope and passionate desire for union with God seem to have been lost in the fervid national bigotry of post-exilic ages; and while they faded, the Pharisee and Sadducee of after days began to exist. They are both here in germ. Springing from one seed, they are alike in their ignorance of Divine justice; and we do not wonder that Christ, coming to fulfil and more than fulfil the hope of humanity, appeared to both the Pharisee and Sadducee of His time as an enemy of religion, of the country, and of God.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 After a second pause, and no reply, Elihu again…
ELIHU’S THIRD SPEECH
After a second pause, and no reply, Elihu again resumes. Renews his reproof of Job, and attempts to answer some of his cavils. Job_35:1.—“Elihu spake moreover,” &c.
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I. Reproves Job for his improper language. Job_35:2-3.—“Thinkest thou this to be right (or, ‘Dost thou reckon this for judgment’) that thou saidst,” &c. Probably a sarcastic allusion to Job’s vehement complaints about the want of “judgment.” Care necessary that we do not ourselves offend in that for which we are forward to blame others. “Judge not that ye be not Judged.” Job’s language rather than his life still the subject of Elihu’s reproof.” Job reproved—
1. For maintaining his righteousness to be greater than God’s. Job_35:2.—“My righteousness is more than God’s,”—allusion to such passages as ch. Job_9:30-35; Job_10:15. The supposed meaning rather than the exact words of Job’s speeches. Job had maintained that his life had been pure and righteous, and that he was, notwithstanding, treated by the Almighty as wicked. The natural inference from the complaint—Job thinks himself more righteous than God. Job, judging from present appearances, often tempted to believe this. The same conclusion only avoided by the three friends by their falsely maintaining that Job must be a hypocrite and bad man. The error of both parties, that of judging of God’s justice from His present dealings. Neither of them fully aware that God, for special reasons, may allow a godly man to be very severely tried. Their error that of the period in which they lived. A future judgment not yet fully revealed. The pious inclined to expect rewards and punishments in the present life. The peculiarity of Abraham’s faith that he acted as one “that looked for a better country, that is, an heavenly;” content meanwhile to live as “a stranger and pilgrim on the earth” (Heb_11:13-16). Hence Abraham, not Job, the “father of the faithful.” The nature of faith to give substance and reality to things hoped for, and the certainty of conviction as regards things not seen (Heb_11:1). Observe—
(1) In judging in regard to God and His dealings, apart from faith, men certain to fall into error. Job’s error and consequent irreverent language, the result of defective faith.
(2) Inferences from our language often such as we ourselves should be shocked at. Probably Job himself would have recoiled from the language here ascribed to him.
(3) A good man responsible not only for his words, but from the inference that may justly be drawn from them.
2. For appearing to maintain that piety was profitless to its possessor. Job_35:3.—“For thou saidst, what advantage will it be unto thee (viz., that thy life has been righteous and pure)? and what profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin (or as margin—‘more than by my sin’)?” Another inference from Job’s actual language, closely connected with the former one. Job maintained that his life had been pure, and that, notwithstanding, he was a most grievous sufferer. Inference: Job maintains that piety brings no profit. True, if such sufferings continued through life, and there were no hereafter. Job’s real assertion, however that in the present life, piety did no save its possessor from suffering. “If the scourge stay suddenly, He mocketh at the trial of the innocent” (ch. Job_9:23). Satan’s challenge that Job only served God for present advantage, and that when this was withdrawn, he would cast off his religion. His great object to accomplish this. The temptation from Job’s wife. Against this, Job maintained that he was a righteous man, although he suffered so unusually, and that he would hold fast his religious character and conduct at all hazards (ch. Job_13:15). Observe—The sentiments ascribed to Job, the language of unbelief. Entertained by the unbelieving Jews in the days of Malachi (Mal_3:14). Even the godly tempted at times to employ such language (Psa_73:13). The opposite of the truth. Godliness profitable unto all things (1Ti_4:8). Yet the godly often called to suffer severely in the present life. “Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom” (Act_14:22; Rev_7:14; 2Ti_3:11-12).
II. Elihu answers Job’s cavils. Job_35:4, &c.—“I will answer thee and thy companions with thee,”—either the three friends and others present, some of whom perhaps appeared inclined to coincide with Job; or more generally, all those who entertained sentiments similar to those he had expressed—like ch. Job_34:8. Observe—
(1) The duty of the godly to be ready to answer for God and to correct the errors of brethren. “Every one shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer” (Pro_24:26). Believers to know how they “ought to answer every man” (Col_4:6).
(2) Believers to be careful with whom they associate, and whose sentiments they espouse.—Two considerations employed by Elihu to silence Job’s cavils:—
1. God’s infinite superiority to, and absolute independence of, His creatures. Job_35:5-8. “Look unto the heavens and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou (hence, God who dwells above them not only incomprehensible to His creatures, but independent of and unaffected by them). If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? Thy wickedness may hurt (or affect) a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit (or affect) the son of man” (mankind, thyself or others like thee, but not God). Observe—
(1) Men apt to think they lay God under an obligation by their piety or morality. God’s happiness not capable of being increased or diminished by His creatures doings (Psa_16:2; Jer_7:19). His creatures unable to give Him what is not already His own (1Ch_23:14; Rom_2:28-29). No good either possessed or practised by man but is received from God Himself.
(2.) Man apt to forget the distance between the creature and the Creator. Infinite condescension on the part of God to regard man as He does. David’s language that of wisdom and piety: “Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him?” (Psa_18:4; Psa_144:3.) Self-humiliation in God to behold the things that are in heaven and on the earth (Psa_113:6). Condescension and love on His part, that He receives glory from, and has pleasure in, those that fear and love, serve and trust in Him (Psa_50:15; Psa_147:11).
(3.) Man himself affected for weal or woe by his own conduct (Isa_3:9; Isa_3:11; Pro_8:36; Pro_9:12). Reaps what he sows now, either here or hereafter (Gal_6:7-9.) Life and death, happiness and misery, the respective fruits of righteousness and sin (Pro_2:19)
(4.) A man’s conduct not only productive of weal and woe to himself but also to those around him. In the constitution of the world, one creature made to depend upon, and be affected for good or evil by, another. Each made either a blessing or a curse to his neighbour. One man’s sin likely to be another’s misery as well as his own. The piety of one the profit of another as well as of himself. A godly man a blessing to the neighbourhood; an ungodly one its bane. Both a conscious and an unconscious influence exercised by each on those around him, either for good or evil. Unconscious often more effective than conscious influence. Each responsible to God for both. A man with a loving and Christlike spirit a perpetual benefaction. Such a spirit perceived in society as the perfume carried about on one’s person. All men like boys writing with invisible ink. An impression left upon thousands by our spirit, words, and conduct, to be only known and seen hereafter.—H. W. Beecher.
(5.) The sky over our head fitted to correct man’s low and erroneous conceptions of the Divine Being. Profitable to “look unto the heavens,” and to study the lessons taught by the starry firmament. The nocturnal sky “Nature’s system of Divinity”. God’s ever open Bible
“His universal temple, hung
With lustres, with innumerable lights,
That shed religion on the soul, at once
The temple and the preacher.—
His love lets down these silver chains of light
To draw up men’s ambition to Himself,
And bind his chaste affections to His throne.—
One sun by day, by night ten thousand shine,
And light us deep into the Deity”.
2. The cause of men’s continued misery and God’s apparent disregard, to be found not in God but in themselves. Job_35:8; Job_35:13.—“By reason of the multitude of oppression, they make the oppressed to cry (or simply, ‘men cry’); they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty (the violence of tyrants and the ungodly rich). But none saith (under his trouble, in a grateful remembrance of past mercies and prayerful dependence for present aid), where is God my Maker (Heb., ‘my makers,’ as Isa_54:5; Ecc_12:1; probably with allusion to Gen_1:26—indicating the plurality of Divine persons and the fulness of Divine perfections in the one God), who giveth songs in the night? who teacheth us more than (or ‘above’) the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven. There (in their afflicted and oppressed condition) they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men (who cause them by their cruelty and violence to cry out under their affliction). Surely God will not hear vanity (vain prayers that are destitute of faith or piety, and only extorted by suffering); neither will the Almighty regard it” (viz., so long as they remain impenitent). From the whole passage, Observe—
(1) Men often made to suffer grievously from the oppression and tyranny of others. Witness the Israelites in Egypt (Exo_1:2). Possible allusion made by Elihu to the case of Job himself.
(2) Men’s cries under oppression and trouble not always followed with Divine deliverance. “They cry, but none giveth answer.”
(3) The reason of such unanswered cries not in God, but in the sufferers themselves. Elihu indicates some
Reasons for continued suffering
1. Men do not pray to God in their affliction. They “cry” and “cry out,” but do not pray. Men’s cries in trouble often not to God but against Him. Sufferers often cry to men, and cry out of men, without praying to God. All cries not prayer. Cries in suffering only heard and answered when they are cries to God.
2. Prayer made in trouble not answered, because not right prayers. “God will not hear vanity”. God hears only the prayer of piety or of penitence—the prayer of His servants or of those who desire to become such. No promise to impenitent prayers. “God heareth not sinners,” continuing such (Joh_9:31). “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa_66:18). “When ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood” (Isa_1:15). “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Pro_28:9; Pro_1:28-30). “Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (Jas_4:3). Penitence and purity necessary to prevailing prayer. “I will that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting” (1Ti_2:8). The prayer of the upright is God’s delight (Pro_15:8). The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Psa_51:17). Men may kneel upon their beds without being humbled in their hearts (Hos_7:14). Prayer is vanity when—
(1) Without sincerity;
(2) Without repentance;
(3) Without faith. Prayer without faith is like faith without works,—dead, being alone (Jas_2:17). Earnest and believing prayer either receives the thing asked or something better.
3. Deliverance not experienced, on account of forgetfulness of God. Job_35:10.—“None saith, where is God my Maker?” Men suffering at the hand of others apt to think more of the creature than the Creator (Isa_51:12-13). God not acknowledged by the unregenerate either in their mercies or their afflictions. God’s object in afflicting men, to bring them to Himself. The prayer of the sufferer unanswered till the object is secured, or answered in wrath (Psa_104:15). Affliction blessed when men turn to God and inquire after Him. Men, since the fall, naturally forgetful of God. Forgetfulness of God the sin that fills hell with inhabitants (Psa_9:17). Men under suffering apt to inquire after men’s help rather than God’s. Asa, in his affliction, sought not unto the Lord, but unto physicians (2Ch_16:12). Righteous that God should disregard men who willingly forget Him. Seriously to inquire after God the first step in true repentance. Observe—God to be remembered in affliction as our “Maker”. Our Maker, who is also our Redeemer, has the best right to our remembrance. To turn to Him who made us, our first duty in affliction. He who made us cannot but be able to help and deliver us. Our wisdom, when suffering at the hands of men, to turn from the creature to the Creator. Sin to be acknowledged in not having served and followed our Maker. In consequence of the Fall, God to be inquired and sought after as one who is lost. Affliction naturally finds men “without God in the world” (Eph_2:12). God however to be found. Not far from every one of us. Savingly found in Christ (Joh_14:6 2Co_5:17).
4. Deliverance not vouchsafed on account of ingratitude for past mercies. “Who giveth songs in the night”. Past songs not to be forgotten in present sufferings. A thankful remembrance of past mercies the best way to obtain present deliverances. Remembrance of past triumphs a precious help under present troubles. “Because Thou hast been my help,” &c. (Psa_63:7). The recollection of God’s past kindness David’s sweetest comfort in his most crushing trial (Psa_42:6). Forgetfulness of Divine mercies one of our greatest sins (Isa_1:2-3). The natural heart forgetful of God’s benefits as well as His being. The part of grace to resist this tendency (Psa_103:2).
Two reasons on the part of God why He should be remembered and sought to under affliction and suffering:—
First reason: He gives
Songs in the Night
Observe—
1. What He gives. “Songs”. God the giver of songs. Songs the expression—
(1) Of joy and gladness;
(2) Of praise and thanks-giving. God happy Himself, and delights in making His creatures happy. According to His nature to give songs rather than sorrows. To give joy, His delight; to cause sorrow, His strange act. God is love; and the nature of love to give songs. The songs that God gives are—
(1) The sweetest;
(2) The holiest;
(3) The most lasting. Satan also gives songs,—short songs the prelude to lasting sorrows. The world gives songs—songs often sung to a heavy heart. All songs but those that God gives to be one day turned into howlings (Amo_8:3). The instrument gives forth its sweetest music under the hands of Him that made it.
2. When He gives songs. “In the night”. First: In the natural night (Psa_42:8). Night the time of reflection and meditation. Satan makes men howl upon their beds; God makes them sing upon them (Hos_7:14; Psa_149:5). God gives songs when there is nothing else to give them—in the night. Paul and Silas sang praises at midnight (Act_16:25). Musing on our bed the fire burns, and we rise at midnight to give thanks (Psa_39:3; Psa_119:62).—Second: In the night of trouble (chap. Job_36:20). God gives songs in the night—
(1) Of personal affliction;
(2) Of temporal adversity;
(3) Of painful bereavement;
(4) Of persecution from the world;
(5) Of spiritual darkness and desertion;
(6) Of death and its solemn approaches (Hab_3:17-18; Act_16:25; Hos_2:14-15; Psa_23:4). No night of trouble too dark for God to give songs in it. Jesus sung a hymn with His disciples in the darkest night of His earthly life. John sung songs of joy and praise as an exile in Patmos, and Paul and Silas as prisoners in Philippi. God gives songs to His people when it is night to others as well as themselves. Israel had light in their dwellings when all Egypt was covered with darkness.
3. How God gives songs in the night.—
(1) By bringing into trouble;
(2) By comforting under it;
(3) By delivering out of it (Hos_2:14; Psa_23:4). The songs God gives, generally “songs of deliverance” (Psa_32:7). God puts songs into the mouth by putting gladness into the heart (Psa_4:7). Puts a new song into our mouth by setting our feet upon a rock (Psa_40:2-3). God gives songs in the night by sending and showing us a Saviour (Luk_2:8). The office of Jesus to give “the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa_61:3.
Second reason: He “teacheth us more than the beasts,” &c.—
(1) His special regard to His intelligent creatures, a reason for their seeking to Him in time of trouble. God cares for the lower animals, how much more for man? Man made rational and intelligent after his Maker’s likeness.
(2) The faculties with which God has endowed man, a reason why he should seek Him in trouble. Reason given to enable us to know God, and to understand that He is the helper and deliverer of all who truly seek Him. To be in trouble without inquiring after God, more the part of a beast than a man. Beasts cry in their sufferings, but unable to think of God in them. Sin degrades men below the brute creation. Beasts howl but cannot pray: men can pray but do not. Faculties given to beasts to apprehend the creature: to man to apprehend the Creator. A beast able to know the will of his master; a man to know the will of his God. Understanding given to the beasts to enable them to attend to their bodily wants and those of their offspring; a higher understanding given to man to enable him to attend also to his spiritual wants and those of others. Beasts endowed with sufficient intelligence for the preservation of themselves and others in the present life; man endowed with an intelligence to enable him to secure happiness for himself and others in the life to come. The understanding or instinct of the lower annimals ever the same; the understanding of man capable of continual increase.
III. Elihu exhorts Job to patience and hope. Job_35:14.—“Although (or ‘even when’) thou sayest thou shalt not see Him (enjoy His returning favour; or, ‘thou dost not see Him,’ i.e., understand His procedure), yet judgment is before Him (He ever acts according to judgment; or, ‘the case is before Him’—under His consideration); therefore trust thou in Him”.
Notice—
1. A temptation or complaint supposed.—
(1) A temptation to despondency. “Thou sayst thou shalt not see him”. Job at times hard pressed with it (chap. Job_17:15). Yet enabled to overcome it (chap. Job_19:26-27). The part of believers to resist temptation (Psa_42:5-11). To a believer the sun is only hidden by a cloud, not set. The hiding of God’s face no proof that He neglects our cause. Is glorified when He is trusted in the dark (Heb_3:17-18). Or—
(2) A complaint of darkness. “Thou sayest thou dost not see him”. Job’s trial that he was unable to comprehend God’s dealings (chap. Job_9:11). God’s dealings with His people often dark, mysterious, and incomprehensible. Christ’s words to Peter spoken for the consolation of tried believers through all time,—“What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter” (Joh_13:7).
2. A truth stated. “Judgment is before him”. God’s dealings may be dark, but are never doubtful. While clouds of darkness are round about Him, justice and judgment are the basis of His throne (Psa_97:2; Psa_89:14). Purposes of wisdom and goodness in every event, though unknown to us. A God of truth and without iniquity. The cause of the poor and afflicted believer never really, though sometimes apparently, overlooked. “I have seen, I have seen, the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I am come down to deliver them”. Joseph’s case in the pit and then in the prison. Jacob’s in Canaan: “All these things are against me”. Job’s case at present. Believers made to pass through fire and water, but are brought out into a wealthy place (Psa_66:12).
3. An exhortation addressed. “Trust thou in him.”
Trust in God
The believer’s grand recipe in darkness and trouble. Implies—
(1) Faith;
(2) Hope;
(3) Patience. Faith in God’s promise and perfections; hope of His deliverance; patience to wait His time for it. God delivers His people, but in His own time and way. Tarry thou the Lord’s leisure. The vision is for an appointed time; though it tarry, wait for it (Psa_37:7-34; Hab_2:3) Sinners not immediately punished, nor saints immediately delivered. Trust in God founded in the knowledge of Him. They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee (Psa_9:10). God to be trusted in, not an idol bearing His name; God as revealed in His Word, not as formed by our own imagination. To be trusted in as a God of justice as well as mercy. True trust in God founded on the atonement of His Son. God in Christ the revealed object of a sinner’s trust. Christ the only way to the Father. Trust in God implies trust in—
(1) His goodness;
(2) His wisdom;
(3) His faithfulness;
(4) His justice;
(5) His power. God in Christ to be trusted in by the sinner for pardon; by the saint for purity. To be trusted in by believers—
(1) In deepest darkness;
(2) Under greatest discouragements;
(3) In danger and difficulty;
(4) In the absence of all help from ourselves and others;
(5) In the face of all appearances. Trust, the grace that brings the greatest glory to God and the greatest comfort to ourselves (Isa_12:2; Rom_4:20).
IV. Elihu reproves Job’s obstinacy. Job_35:15-16.—“But now because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger (or, ‘because it is not so [that] his anger has visited,’ viz., Job, for his irreverent and unbecoming speeches), yet he knoweth it not in great extremity (or, ‘and He [viz., God] hath not taken severe cognizance of his transgression’); therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain (in vain and foolish complaints against God, without either reason or success); he multiplieth words without knowledge” [either of God or himself]. One of the most obscure passages in the book. Elihu’s object to reprove Job either—
(1) Because, while God was chastising, Job was still sinning by his rebellious murmurs; or
(2) Because while God was forbearing to punish Job’s irreverent speeches, Job still continued to indulge in them. Observe—
(1) An evil case—(i.) when God chastises, and we are either blind to the chastening or harden ourselves under it; (ii.) when God’s forbearance is abused to a continuance in sin.
(2) A child of God not always like himself in temptation and trial. Asaph’s confession: “So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee” (Psa_73:22). A believer never entirely free from his old carnal nature in this life. Innate corruption liable at times to break out with great violence. God’s forbearance required as well in the case of a saint as of a sinner. David’s prayer needful for every child of God: “Keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins” (Psa_19:13). A strict watch required to be kept over heart and lips in time of temptation and trouble. A tendency in the best to impatience under intense and protracted suffering. New Testament grace required in order to fulfil the New Testament precept: “Rejoice evermore; in everything give thanks” (1Th_5:16-17). The belever’s privilege as well as duty to “glory in tribulation” (Rom_5:3). Not too much, under the New Testament supplies of the Spirit, to be “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness” (Col_1:11).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Speeches of Elihu (continued)
The Speeches of Elihu (continued)
1-8. Elihu (Job_34:9) had charged Job with saying that there was no advantage in being righteous. He now deals with this assertion.
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2. Right] RV 'thy right,' thy just cause.
3. If I he cleansed from my sin] RV 'more than if I had sinned.'
4. Thy companions] those who held the same views.
5-8. Elihu points to the infinite distance between God and man, and shows that He cannot be injured by the evil or benefited by the good which we do. But a man's conduct is most important both to himself and to his fellows.
9-16. Coming to the problem why the cry of the oppressed seems often unanswered, Elihu replies it is because there is a lack of real prayer and trust in God. Hence Job must not expect to be heard so long as he murmurs at the way God treats him.
9. They make the oppressed to cry] rather, 'men cry out.'
10. Who giveth songs in the night] i.e. who delivers in the night of trouble, and causes men to sing with joy.
12. Render, 'They cry because of the pride of evil men, but none giveth answer'; i.e. because there is no humble, trustful appeal to God.
13. Vanity] or, unreality.
14. Shalt] rather, 'dost.' Although Job thinks God is indifferent to his cause, it is not forgotten, only he must wait patiently.
15. RV 'But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, neither doth he greatly regard arrogance'; i.e. because God does not seem to punish sin at once.
16. In vain] i.e. with foolish views.
In this chapter Elihu follows Eliphaz in explaining that righteousness is profitable to the upright, since God is too exalted to have any interest of His own to serve in perversion of justice. He urges further that the reason for God's silence when the wretched appeal to Him is that their cry is prompted by their selfishness. Both arguments are quite irrelevant to the case of Job.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. Remember the greatness of God (Job 35:1-8)
CHAPTER 35
1. Remember the greatness of God (Job 35:1-8)
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2. Why God is silent and does not answer (Job 35:9-16)
Job 35:1-8. Job having kept silence Elihu continues and asks him if this is sound judgment, what he had said, “My righteousness is greater than God’s righteousness.” This was the logical conclusion which Elihu drew from some of his words. Because God did not care for him the sufferer what profit was it to him if he had not sinned? Then Elihu answers and his friends as well by following Job’s unjustly charge. He points out the greatness of God and that cannot in any way be affected by what man does. That was Job’s contention. Look at the heavens which are higher than the creature of the dust. If thou hast sinned by thy many sins, what canst thou do to Him? If thou are just, what givest thou to Him? Thy sin may hurt thee, and thy righteousness may profit thee; how canst thou claim that He has afflicted you in an unrighteous way? In all this Elihu had accommodated himself to Job’s wrong reasoning.
Job 35:9-16. Furthermore, Elihu shows that this reasoning of Job is utterly false. Job had contradicted himself. God takes notice of man. Then he gives the reasons why God does not answer the cry of the afflicted. It is not His indifference but man’s sin and forgetfulness of Him. None saith, “Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?” The true reason is the evil-doer’s pride. God will in nowise hear vanity. Pride, vanity, self-will and all that goes with it makes it impossible for a righteous God to hear. And therefore Job’s contention that it does not matter with God whether a man sins or is righteous is disproven.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 9 Job’s Standpoint of the Futility of Piety False
Job’s Standpoint of the Futility of Piety False
v. 1. Elihu spake moreover, since Job made no move to answer him, and said,
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v. 2. Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? Did Job believe he was right in making such assertions?
v. 3. For, or that, thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee, namely, to Job? and, What profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin, literally, "more than by my sin"? Job had charged God with being indifferent to moral character in dealing with men and stated that in the present controversy his cause was more just than that of God Himself. In other words, it made no difference how pious or how sinful a person was, God acted simply according to whim in sending afflictions.
v. 4. I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee, all those to whose level of wickedness Job had lowered himself.
v. 5. Look unto the heavens and see, trying to comprehend, to some extent, God’s majesty by contemplating the throne of His power; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou, their lofty heights illustrating God’s immeasurable exaltation over the world.
v. 6. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him? How will any sin affect his relation to the great and exalted God? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him? Had he ever thought about the effect such conduct would have on his status with God?
v. 7. If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him, or what receiveth He of thine hand? Neither the sins of men nor their good deeds have any effect upon the blessedness of the great God; in either case only their own condition is affected. Cf Psa 16:2; Pro 9:12; Luk 17:10.
v. 8. Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art, producing its harmful effects; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man, it might avail him for his own person, but serve no further ends. The entire section sets forth the frailty of men in comparison with the absolute blessedness of God.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15 Do you think this is just ... 'My right…
Do you think this is just ... 'My right before God'?
Elihu uses questions to challenge Job. AT: "You must think you are right ... 'My right before God.'" or "It is not just ... 'My right before God.'" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Do you think this is just when you say
"Do you think it is right for you to say"
Do you think
Here "you" is singular and refers to Job. (See: Forms of You)
My right before God
Possible meanings are 1) Job is claiming to be innocent before God or 2) Job is claiming that he, rather than God, is right.
For you ask, 'What use is it to me?' and, 'Would I be better off if I had sinned?'
Elihu quotes Job as saying the these two rhetorical questions. AT: "For you say, 'It does not benefit me' and, 'I am no better off than if I had sinned.'" (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
just
God
sin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 15, 16 35:4-8 Elihu attempted to answer his own question (35:2),…
35:4-8 Elihu attempted to answer his own question (35:2), but his answer did not add to what Zophar (11:8-9), Eliphaz (22:12), Bildad (25:5-6), and Job (9:8-10) had already said. Elihu failed to recognize that all sin wrongs God (Gen 39:9; Matt 25:41-46; cp. Prov 19:17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.