Job 36: 1 – 33
From Wrong Things Said To Wrong Things Done
1 Elihu also proceeded and said: 2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you that there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf. 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4 For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5 “Behold, God Is mighty, but despises no one; He Is mighty in strength of understanding. 6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked, but gives justice to the oppressed. 7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, for He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. 8 And if they are bound in fetters, held in the cords of affliction, 9 then He tells them their work and their transgressions—that they have acted defiantly. 10 He also opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they turn from iniquity. 11 If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 12 But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. 13 “But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; they do not cry for help when He binds them. 14 They die in youth, and their life ends among the perverted persons. 15 He delivers the poor in their affliction, and opens their ears in oppression. 16 “Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, into a broad place where there is no restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness. 17 But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you. 18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; For a large ransom would not help you avoid it. 19 Will your riches, or all the mighty forces, keep you from distress? 20 Do not desire the night, when people are cut off in their place. 21 Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction. 22 “Behold, God is exalted by His power; who teaches like Him? 23 Who has assigned Him His way, or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’? 24 “Remember to magnify His work, of which men have sung. 25 Everyone has seen it; man looks on it from afar. 26 “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered. 27 For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, 28 which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. 29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy? 30 Look, He scatters His light upon it, and covers the depths of the sea. 31 For by these He judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance. 32 He covers His hands with lightning, and commands it to strike. 33 His thunder declares it, the cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
From wrong things that we say to wrongs things that we do, we can be certain that our Holy Lord God, will deal with each one and not overlook them. Our Holy Father does not ignore our sins. He forgives our sins as it is written in the book of Numbers chapter 14 verse 18, “The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.’
We have read and learned that Elihu, having largely reproved Job for some of his unadvised remarks, now comments about how God deals with him. In the previous chapters we read how the other three so called friends reasoned that all of Jobs hardships were due to him being a wicked man, therefore his afflictions were great and long. But Elihu only maintains that the affliction was sent for his trial, and that therefore it was lengthened out because Job was not, as yet, thoroughly humbled under it.
1 Elihu also proceeded and said: 2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you that there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf. 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
Elihu continued speaking: Once more Elihu begs the patience of the group to hear him out for he has not said all that he has to say. He feels that he has a good cause and purpose to get across - “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth. For I have not finished defending God! I will present profound arguments for the righteousness of my Creator
It is honorable to speak up for our Holy God. Yet as you know some indeed pretend to speak on God's behalf who really speak for themselves. We truly need wisdom from above to know the difference. You will notice that he says that he has knowledge that comes from afar. If someone gives you hidden secrets that God has spoke to them, I encourage you to head for the door.
4 For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
There is only One Who Is perfect in knowledge. Taking personal ownership to something only applicable to our Great and Holy God is wrong. Elihu comments that I am telling you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge. Our Holy God tells us to let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be ‘’no’. You do not need to try to persuade someone that what you are saying is definitely correct. Our Holy God’s Word can stand in truth for itself.
5 “Behold, God Is mighty, but despises no one; He Is mighty in strength of understanding.
Elihu, begins to speak on God's behalf, and particularly to ascribe righteousness to his Maker, here shows that divine Providence are all, not only according to the eternal counsels of His will, but according to the eternal rules of equity. God acts as a righteous ruler, for; He does not think it below Him to take notice of every one of His subjects. If men are mighty, they are apt to look down on others but God Is mighty, infinitely so, and yet He despises no one.
Job thought himself and his cause slighted because God did not immediately appear for him. "No, you’re wrong,' says Elihu, God does not despise anyone because His wisdom and strength are incontestably infinite and therefore the distribution of His grace freely to all humans will not cause Him any loss.
6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked, but gives justice to the oppressed.
We read back in chapter 21 verse 7 that Job had said that the wicked live, become old, and are mighty in power. "Not so,' says Elihu: "God seldom suffers wicked men to become old. He does not preserve their lives as long as they expected.
He is always ready to right those that are any way injured, and to plead their cause. Our Holy God sees all that is going on and will step in when the poor are taken advantage of. He Is their representative and will avenge their injury with their persecutors and force them to make restitution of what they have robbed them of. If men will not right the injured poor, God will.
7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, for He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
He takes a particular care for the protection of his good subjects. He not only looks on them, but he never takes His eyes off of them. Though they may seem sometimes neglected and forgotten, He Is in total control of all things that are happening.
Please notice the last part of verse 7 - ; But they are on the throne with kings, for He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. Do kings rule ‘forever’?
We do see in the book of Revelation chapter 1 that honor will be given to us as our Lord Jesus Christ’s own, as our Redeemer shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
However in this lifetime not all people have great things happening to them. Many people suffer hardships.
8 And if they are bound in fetters, held in the cords of affliction, 9 then He tells them their work and their transgressions—that they have acted defiantly. 10 He also opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they turn from iniquity.
This was Job's case; he was caught, and kept fast, in the cords of anguish. Elihu explains that God has designed , in bringing His people into such distresses as these; it is for the benefit of their souls, the consideration of which should reconcile us to affliction and make us think well of it.
Three things God intends when he afflicts us:
[1.] To reveal our sins to us. Affliction awakens the conscience. Our Majestic Father shows us those things which the sin caused that we did not see happening. Our Great Teacher then instructs us how the sin we committed worked out evil. If there be any good in us, it is God's work. Sin is our own work. Our Holy Master unveils the fault of sin; shows us our transgressions of the law of God, and that we have exceeded His proper ways.
[2.] To prepare our hearts to receive instructions. Psalm 94 verse 12 teaches us – ‘Whom God chastens he teaches’, and the affliction makes people willing to learn.
[3.] To deter and steer us from committing future iniquities. This is the major reason why the affliction is sent; it is a command to cease from doing willful sins and to have no more to do with it or them; to turn from it with an aversion to it and a resolution never to return to it any more,
11 If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 12 But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
If the affliction does its work, and accomplishes that for which it is sent, our Holy Father God will bestow comfort again. In addition Elihu promises [not God] that those who were admonished and repented shall spend their days in prosperity again and their years in true pleasures.
‘But’, says Elihu, ‘If the affliction does not do its work in correcting the sinner, then let them expect the furnace to be heated seven times hotter until they are consumed.’ For all those whom His rod does not cure His sword will kill; and the consuming fire will prevail if the refining fire does not; for when God judges He will overcome.
God would have instructed sinners by their afflictions, but they would not receive instruction. Also, they would not take the warnings that were given to them and therefore they shall die without knowledge, which means that they will not get any further warning about the upcoming consequences.
13 “But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; they do not cry for help when He binds them.
The nature of hypocrisy lies in the heart, which in truth is for the world and the flesh. When a person is viewed from just observation the person seems to be for God. Many that are saints in show and in word are hypocrites in heart. To me it is amazing that someone is dumb to the fact that our Holy Majestic God sees all things that one does and thinks. No one will just get away with pulling this deceit. What to me is scary in that the scripture reveals that hypocrites heap up wrath. They are doing things every day which is provoking to God, and will be dealt with in the future. Their sins are laid up in store with God. They think they are heaping up wealth, heaping up merits, but, when the books are opened, it will prove they were heaping up wrath.
Please notice the second portion of verse 13 -; they do not cry for help when He binds them. When they are in affliction, bound with the cords of trouble, their hearts are hardened, they are stubborn and refuse to be humbled. They despise the chastening of the Lord.
Look what happens to a person due to the effects of that wrath in verse 14.
14 They die in youth, and their life ends among the perverted persons.
They shall die a sudden death, die in youth, when death is most a surprise, and death (that is, the consequence of it) is always such to hypocrites; as those that die in youth die when they hoped to live, so hypocrites, at death, go to hell, when they hoped to go to heaven. When a wicked man dies his expectations shall perish.
15 He delivers the poor in their affliction, and opens their ears in oppression.
The poor in spirit, those that are of a broken and contrite heart, our Holy Master looks upon with tenderness, and, when they are in affliction, He Is ready to help them. He opens their ears, and makes them to hear joy and gladness, even in their oppressions; while He does not yet deliver them He speaks to them good words and comfortable words, for the encouragement of their faith and patience, the silencing of their fears, and the balancing of their grief
16 “Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, into a broad place where there is no restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness.
We see here how Elihu ties this all to Job’s woes. He goes on to tell Job that if he responded properly to the chastisement of the Lord then things would change.
He would not continue to be confined by sickness and disgrace. Elihu charges him with standing in his own righteousness, and makes him the cause of the continuance of his own trouble
17 But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you
Elihu says to Job, ‘You are really wicked because you have spoken and done things a wicked man does, this is why judgment and justice has hit you
18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; for a large ransom would not help you avoid it.
Elihu goes on to gives Job some cautions to avoid by not heading his warning.
"Because there is wrath' -that is, "because God is a Righteous Ruler, Who resents all the affronts given to His government, because He has revealed His wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. So, Job you have reason to fear because you are under God's displeasure, therefore beware lest He take you away suddenly with His sudden strike, and be so wise enough as to make your peace with him quickly to get His anger turned away from you.'
19 Will your riches, or all the mighty forces, keep you from distress?
Someone has to be completely naive to think he can buy his way out of difficulty with God. He has created and owns everything. Even a great ransom cannot deliver you when God enters into judgment with you. When I watch the news it saddens me to see how deceived people are. They go about accumulating worldly wealth which will all be to no avail for their future destiny. We see in the book of Revelation the foolish people of the world attempt to take on our Holy God. Guess Who wins? It is a no brainer. All the forces of strength from human beings cannot deliver out of His hands.
20 Do not desire the night, when people are cut off in their place.
You cannot pull a George Washington and sneak away in the night. Our Holy God neither slumbers nor sleeps. His eyes are open upon the children of men, not only in all places, but at all times. Neither rocks nor mountains shelter us from His all seeing eye.
21 Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
I have witnessed some people who in times of chastisement decide to not be patient in their correction but easily lose hope and just return to a life of sinful depravity. I am sure you know some family who has a love one addicted to drugs and even thought they have done everything in their power to help their loved one, the person yields to the strong calling of a lifestyle of destruction
Elihu thinks Job had need of this caution, he having chosen iniquity rather than affliction that is, having chosen rather to gratify his own pride and humor in contending with God than to mortify it by a submission to Him and accepting the punishment.
22 “Behold, God is exalted by His power; who teaches like Him? 23 Who has assigned Him His way, or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?
I grew up in a religion where certain things were taught to me. One was that I had to call the religious man ‘Father’. Throughout my school years I had to call a person ‘Teacher’. Then when I was searching for truth about God I came across people who called themselves ‘Reverend.’ After I became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and began reading the bible I came across certain scripture that made me stop and take inventory as to why people took on certain titles that only belong to our Master God. See if you see what I am talking about from the word of God.
Matthew 23, “1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One Is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One Is your Father, He Who Is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One Is your Teacher, the Christ. “
Reviewing my life I can truly say that there is no teacher like Almighty God. He not only teaches us the truth through His Word but He does great work in our lives through on the job training.
Our Holy God Is an absolute Sovereign: He exalts by His own power, and not by strength derived from any other. He exalts whom He pleases, exalts those that were afflicted and cast down, by the strength and power which He gives His people. Who presides above Him in His way? Is there any superior from whom He Is accountable? No; He Himself Is supreme and independent.
24 “Remember to magnify His work, of which men have sung. 25 Everyone has seen it; man looks on it from afar.
We are here called to consider the work of our Majestic Holy God. Our Holy Creator’s visible works, those of nature, and which concern the world in general, are such as we admire and commend, and in which we observe the His awesome wisdom, power, and goodness. So, knowing all this shall we then find fault with His dispensations concerning us, and the counsels of His will concerning our lives?
26 “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered.
Here is a verse in which I encourage you to write down and meditate upon daily for the next month in order for it to stick in the treasure of your thoughts. The streams of His Being, Power, and Perfection should lead us to the cling to Him. Our God Is Great, infinitely so,-Great in Power, for He Is omnipotent and independent,-great in wealth, for He Is self-sufficient and all-sufficient,-great in Himself,-great in all His works, and therefore greatly to be praised.
In truth we know Him not. We know that He Is, but not what He Is. We know what He Is not, but not what He Is. We know in part, but not in perfection. This comes in here as a reason why we must not arraign His proceedings, nor find fault with what He does, because it is speaking evil of the things that we understand not and answering a matter before we hear it. We know not the duration of His existence, for it is infinite. The number of His years cannot possibly be searched out, for He Is eternal; there is no number of them. He Is a Perfect Holy Being without beginning, succession, or period, Whoever was, and ever will be, and ever the same, the great I AM. This is a good reason why we should not charge Him for anything we do not like, nor quarrel with Him, because, as He Is, such are His ways, quite out of our reach.
27 For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, 28 which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man.
Elihu now gives some instances of God's wisdom, power, and sovereign dominion, in the works of nature. The general scope of it is to show that God is infinitely great, and the Lord of all, the first cause and supreme director of all the creatures, and has all power in heaven and earth. Therefore we ought, with all humility and reverence, to adore, to speak well of, and to give honor to Him.
We see here something that we take for granted yet is an extreme and fantastic work of our Holy Creator., The clouds pour down according to the vapor that they draw up. Though it comes down in drops, yet it is distributed upon man abundantly
29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy? 30 Look, He scatters His light upon it, and covers the depths of the sea. 31 For by these He judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance. 32 He covers His hands with lightning, and commands it to strike. 33 His thunder declares it, the cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
The produce of the clouds is sometimes a great terror, and at other times a great favor, to the earth. When he pleases by them he judges the people he is angry with. Storms, and tempests, and excessive rains, destroying the fruits of the earth and causing inundations, come from the clouds; but, on the other hand, from them, usually, he gives meat in abundance; they drop fatness upon the pastures that are clothed with flocks, and the valleys that are covered with life producing grain.
You have to see something that is going on here. As Elihu is giving his long speech to Job storm clouds are filling the sky. Thunder can be heard in the distance. Here he sees this and adds this to his lecture. He is not aware like we are of what is actually happening. Our Holy Majestic God is in this approaching storm as we will see in the upcoming chapters.
