Today, I am reading and commenting on Job 34-37.

Yesterday I commented on the fact that Elihu is the only one of Job’s friends who God does not condemn when He responds to Job in the conclusion to this book and how that means we need to pay attention to what Elihu got right.  However, I want to note that in today’s passage Elihu gets one thing wrong: he condemns Job for associating with the wicked based solely on Job’s complaint that there is no profit in pleasing God.  One could also read Elihu as saying that serving God will always lead to wealth and prosperity.  Nevertheless there is much which Elihu says in today’s passage which is correct.  He condemns Job for claiming that God denies him justice.  Elihu also points out that without God, even now after Creation, the world would cease to exist.  Further, God determines what is right and wrong.  He sets the standard.  God will not, cannot, do wrong or evil.  Elihu tells us that God does not need to hold an inquiry to investigate our guilt; He knows already of what exactly we are guilty.  God does not show partiality, and for all His righteousness and power He despises no one.  God values all people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

Reading what Elihu says in today’s passage reminds me once again of those who preach “prosperity gospel”, those who preach that if you do God’s will you will be wealthy and powerful.  Elihu rightly tells us that God will not, cannot, do wrong or pervert justice.  He points out that if God withdrew His spirit from the world all life would cease.  God can do no wrong and cannot commit injustice because He defines what the words “good” and “justice” mean.  Elihu also tells us, correctly, that our sin causes no harm to God, and if we were righteous it would bring no benefit to God.  Whatever sinful or righteous acts we perform only have an impact on our fellow humans, not on God.  However, Elihu also tells us that the wicked always experience obvious suffering and those who do good always experience good fortune and obtain wealth.  I believe that there is more good than bad in what Elihu has to say.  I see chapter 37 verses 23 and 24 as his summation of what he had to say:

The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

This passage really troubles me because so much of what Elihu says in it is very good, but the part he gets wrong, he gets VERY wrong.  So, what did Elihu get right?  Well, he was right to point out that Job was in the wrong to declare his innocence of all wrongdoing, for all have sinned.  Second, Elihu was correct in saying that our sin does not cause any harm to God, nor does our good behavior benefit Him.  Elihu tells us that there is no place where we can perform our actions in hiding from God.  He tells us that for all God’s power He despises no one, all are welcome before Him, if they turn from their sin and accept His grace.  Elihu reminds us that God does not do evil or any kind of wrongdoing.  However, Elihu accuses Job of keeping company with the wicked and with evil-doers, despite having no direct evidence that this is true.  Elihu was correct to chide Job for claiming to be innocent of all sin, since he witnessed Job make exactly that claim, but he was wrong to condemn him for associating with the wicked because he had not seen this to be true.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

I have written that we should take note that, unlike Job’s other three friends, Elihu is not reprimanded by God at the end of this book.  But in today’s passage Elihu says some things which seem to be more or less the arguments the other three made for which God reprimanded them.  On the one hand, Elihu calls out Job for saying that God denies him justice, but on the other hand, he also seems to follow the others in assuming that Job’s suffering is evidence of Job’s wrongdoing.  Elihu also tells us that it is unthinkable that God would pervert justice because it is God who defines justice.  He tells us that God has no need to run inquiries where He investigates what people have done because He already knows all of their actions and motives.  We cannot hide anything from God, who shows no partiality.  He does not favor the rich, or the politically connected.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

I am somewhat confused with what to make of today’s passage.  On the one hand, we have Elihu speaking, who is not mentioned at the end of the book among Job’s friends when God condemns them.  On the other hand, he makes a strawman argument against Job: he says that Job made arguments which he did not make.  Nevertheless, Elihu says some insightful things.  Elihu tells us that our sins do not harm God, and He gains nothing from our acts of righteousness.  The standards which God establishes are for the benefit of mankind, not Himself.  This is one of the most important insights which we can have.  When we sin, we harm ourselves and others.  When we do good, we benefit ourselves and others.  God’s Laws are not arbitrary.  Let us follow them so that we can experience the joy God intends for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Job 34-37.

I wrote yesterday, but it is important to repeat it, Elihu is the only person who speaks in the Book of Job whom God does not reprimand for what he says.  In today’s passage he points out that Job is wrong to say that he has not sinned because everyone has sinned.  However, unlike Job’s other friends, Elihu does not attempt to identify Job’s sins as the cause of his suffering.  He does, however, point out where Job had said things which were wrong.  He challenges Job for saying that God has taken away his rights, has denied him justice.

Elihu’s statements in defense of God carry more weight and are more important than his challenge to Job’s claim of innocence.  First, he tells us that God does not sin and can do no wrong.  God pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.  He sees everything that everyone does and judges them accordingly.  However, for what is going on in the world today the most important thing he says is in verse 17 of chapter 34.  The New Living Translation translates it as “Could God govern if he hated justice?”  But the New International Version translates that sentence in a more general fashion, “Can someone who hates justice govern?”  Elihu’s main argument is that since God does govern the world, we know that he must embrace justice.  However, we also see that anyone who wishes to govern even a small portion of this world must embrace justice.

I could stop there, but there is one more thing which Elihu says which is relevant to this.  Elihu asks why people do not say one of two things to God.

• “I have sinned, but I will sin no more.”
• “I do not know what evil I have done.  Tell me and I will stop at once.”

In order to stop injustice we must first stop sinning ourselves and if we do not know what sins we have committed, ask God to show us.