Job 36; 37: Suffering is disciplinary, for moral improvement,
to bring man to God.
Job 36:3
I WILL ASCRIBE JUSTICE TO MY MAKER: By pointing out
that in all His dealings God is right.
Job 36:4
ONE PERFECT IN KNOWLEDGE IS WITH YOU: Elihu does not
mean himself -- as a first reading might suggest. No! He means that God Himself
is with them, and will reveal Himself to them -- as begins to happen here, and
culminates in God's direct message in the last chapters.
Job 36:5
Vv 5-15: God's design: Man's moral improvement and
discipline.
BUT DOES NOT DESPISE MEN: Not even the weakest of His
creatures.
Job 36:12
PRESERVE HIS SOUL FROM THE PIT: This could be something
like "in the grave" (Sheol), or "by the sword" (salah), or "in the river"
(Akkadian salhu = a water channel) (see NIV mg). The last of these is used in
Mesopotamian mythology with ref to the "river of death" (NETn). Used in Job
33:18; 36:12.
Job 36:14
MALE PROSTITUTES OF THE SHRINES: " 'Qadhesh' denotes
properly a male temple prostitute, one of the class attached to certain
sanctuaries of heathen deities, and 'consecrated' [the Heb rt word means lit,
and sarcastically, 'holy'!] to the impure rites of their worship. Such gross and
degrading practices in Yahweh's land could only be construed as a flagrant
outrage; and any association of these with His pure worship was abhorrent (Deu
23:17,18): The presence of Sodomites is noted as a mark of degeneracy in
Rehoboam's time (1Ki 14:24). Asa endeavored to get rid of them (1Ki 15:12), and
Jehoshaphat routed them out (1Ki 22:46). Subsequent corruptions opened the way
for their return, and Josiah had to break down their houses which were actually
"in the house of the Lord" (2Ki 23:7). The feminine 'qedheshah' is translated
'prostitute' in Gen 38:21,22; Hos 4:14; Deu 23:17 (the KJV mg has 'sodomitess';
the RV mg simply transliterates). The English word is, of course, derived from
Sodom, the inhabitants of which were in evil repute for unnatural vice"
(ISBE).Those who resist the chastisement of God will be cut off quickly, like
Sodom.
Job 36:16
Vv 16-25: Purification through suffering.
Job 36:26
Job 36:26 - Job 37:13: God's power and mystery revealed in
nature.
Job 36:30
Elihu recognizes the coming of God in the storm, and over the
rest of his discourse he prepares Job for the presence of the
Almighty.