Job · chapter 34 of 42
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In Job 34 Elihu addresses the wise and quotes Job: he says he is righteous and that God has taken away his right. Elihu answers that God does no wickedness and does not pervert justice, because he is the Creator who sustains all life, shows no partiality and sees everything. He concludes that Job speaks without knowledge and adds rebellion to his sin.
In his second speech Elihu changes his audience: he speaks no longer only to Job but to the wise who are listening. Job 34 focuses on one point, God's justice. Elihu reacts to what he understands as Job's accusation against God and rejects it strongly. Many readers see in the chapter important truths about God, mixed with a harsh and unjust application to Job.
Elihu asks the wise to listen, for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. He proposes that together they examine what is right (vv. 1-4). He quotes Job: he says he is righteous and that God has taken away his right; that he is counted a liar despite being in the right and that his wound is incurable though he did no transgression. Elihu asks what man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, goes in company with evildoers and says it profits a man nothing to delight in God (vv. 5-9).
Then Elihu defends God. Far be it from God to do wickedness and from the Almighty to do injustice: he repays a man for his work. God does not pervert justice. No one gave him charge over the earth: if he withdrew his breath, all flesh would perish and man would return to dust. Shall one who hates justice govern? God shows no partiality to princes or the rich, for they are all the work of his hands, and in a moment they die (vv. 10-20).
His eyes are on the ways of man and there is no darkness where evildoers can hide. He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets others in their place, because he knows their works. When he is quiet, who can condemn?; and when he hides his face, who can behold him? He reigns so that the godless do not rule (vv. 21-30). Elihu calls Job to admit his error and repent; will God repay on Job's terms? The wise will say that Job speaks without knowledge and without wisdom. And Elihu wishes Job were tried to the end, since he adds rebellion to his sin and multiplies words against God (vv. 31-37).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Elihu declares that far be it from God to do wickedness and from the Almighty to do injustice. It is a central truth of the Bible, and the whole book upholds it; Elihu's error is not in affirming it but in concluding from it that Job must be guilty.
Elihu says God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice. In a book that questions God, this statement underlines the author's conviction that God is just, even if Job's suffering seems to say otherwise.
God shows no partiality to princes and does not regard the rich more than the poor, for all are the work of his hands. It is a principle of equality before God found throughout Scripture, and one Job himself defended in chapter 31.
Elihu says Job speaks without knowledge, that his words lack wisdom and that he adds rebellion to his sin. The charge is unjust; God himself will later say Job spoke rightly of him (Job 42:7), while Elihu receives no such praise.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The wise men and those of understanding who are listening. — Job 34:2
Answer: That he is righteous and that God has taken away his right. — Job 34:5
Answer: Wickedness or injustice; he does not pervert justice. — Job 34:10-12
Answer: All flesh would perish and man would return to dust. — Job 34:14-15
Answer: He shows no partiality, because all are the work of his hands. — Job 34:19
Answer: Of speaking without knowledge and adding rebellion to his sin. — Job 34:35-37
Job 34 strongly affirms that God is just, something we need to remember when injustice surrounds us. In a small group, this chapter can help us rest in the fact that God shows no partiality and makes no mistakes, even when we do not understand what is happening.
It also teaches us to distinguish between a truth and its application. Elihu says true things about God and uses them to condemn Job, who did not deserve it. Before speaking to someone who suffers, it helps to ask whether what we say about God is comfort to them or only a way to win the argument.
Job 34 leaves Elihu firm that God is just and that Job has spoken carelessly. In chapter 35 he will continue, asking what Job gains from his righteousness and what effect his sin has on God.
Yes, in what he says of God: he is just, shows no partiality and governs all things. But he is wrong to accuse Job of rebellion. Job himself does not deny God's justice but complains that he cannot see it in his own case.
It is Elihu's expression picturing Job as someone who scoffs readily, like one who drinks without effort. It is an exaggeration and an accusation, not a true description of Job.
That all life depends on God: if he withdrew his spirit and breath, all flesh would perish and man would return to dust. It is a truth Genesis expresses when God breathes the breath of life into man.