Page 33 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

Notice the words in italics. They indicate best guesses by the
translator. If we read the passage without the italicized words, we
come up with a different message. Is not Elihu suggesting that Job
simply should have kept his mouth shut: “I will bear chastisement. I
will not offend. I will wait for your teaching. If you point out m y sin, I
will refrain.” These are the assumptions of someone who believes in
a just God. Faith is so strong that he assumes “he will recompense it
(34:33).” Whatever the suffering might be, this believer assumes that
Figure 19: Hands over mouth. God can repay him, make it up to him, so to speak. He will never be
unjust. He cannot be unjust without denying himself.

Elihu now turns to the issue of God’s righteousness. Three times in chapter thirty-five he brings up the
topic and the theology tied to the righteousness of God (35:2, 7, 8). While Job has never said “I am in the
right, not God (35:2),” he has implied it. Yet if Job were in any sense more righteous than God, God
would be at his mercy. Job would be in a position to give something to God. Elihu insists such a situation
cannot be the case. The wickedness of Job or of any human being does not affect God in the least. He
does not become depressed. He does not start to worry about his rule or the security of his throne
(35:7-8).

The practical problem is God’s response to proud humans who think God might owe them something. He
does not listen to such people. Job’s suffering is so great that he assumes that he will not see God. God
will not intervene (35:14a, b). Elihu believes in a righteous God. For Elihu, Job’s case is before God. Job’s
case has always been before God. “You must wait for him,” he says (35:14d), or “trust thou in him (KJV).”
Because Job has chosen not to trust in God, he is suffering more than he needs to. Again, we quote from
the KJV: “But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great
extremity (34:15).” Yes, Job did nothing to cause his pain, but by accusing God he has brought on more
suffering. He should have been quiet and waited.

Elihu has one more piece of advice, this based on
Figure 20: Approaching storm
the power of God. “God is mighty (36:5).” “God is
exalted in his power (36:22).” In a series of
descriptions, Elihu speaks of the sovereignty of God
in the affairs of humans. He has to do with the
wicked and the righteous (36:6-7). He speaks to
people bound in chains (36:8-12). He is greater
than wealth (36:18-21). In a lengthy description of
a storm approaching on the horizon, Elihu
describes the power of God in rain, lightning, and
thunder. “He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour’
(37:8).” God even produces ice, freezing the broad waters (37:10).

In the middle of this beautiful description of the power of God, Elihu explains how God uses his power.
Toward creation in general, God “brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his
love (37:13).” More specifically in the case of Job, “He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a
spacious place free from restriction (36:16).” The word “woo” is powerful. God is calling to Job in his

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