ChristadelphianBooksOnline
David Baird
The Education of Job

Chapter 35 - Elihu's Monologues - Elihu's Third Speech - Righteousness Does Profit

	35:1-3	Elihu's summary of Job's complaint
	35:4-8	Elihu's answer to Job
	35:9-13	Why God does not always answer prayer
	35:14-16	Elihu's final rebuke of Job

35:1-3 Elihu's summary of Job's complaint

Elihu uses this speech to deal with the two questions, both of which have been raised before, that Elihu feels summarised the errors of Job's spoken words. One question was clearly a problem that Job had to resolve. The other was a misquote and therefore not a fair recollection. The two complaints Elihu had against Job were:

1)	Job said that his righteousness exceeded God's; and
2)	Job said that there was no profit in being godly.

While it is true that Job never directly declared that his righteousness exceeded God's (35:2), God did attribute such an attitude to Job - "Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?" (40:8 RSV). Job had implied this in a number of places (e.g. 9:17, 19:6, 27:2). There is little doubt that Job made such utterances while in extreme circumstances but Elihu felt, quite rightly, that Job should still be held accountable for them.

However, the same cannot be said for the second complaint (35:3). As outlined in our comments on 34:9, Job did say that there was no profit in godliness (21:15) but he was paraphrasing the attitude of the wicked (Mal 3:14). Job could have inferred as much (9:31, 10:3,15) and such expressions are not exclusive to wicked men (Psa 73:13), but Elihu could be charged with unfairly attacking Job in this instance.

35:4-8 Elihu's answer to Job

Having summarised Job's complaints, Elihu proceeds to answer them. Not only that, he will deal with Job's companions (35:4). I believe that these companions are Job's three friends rather than the wicked of 34:8 because he draws heavily on the preceding speeches in his answers. What Elihu says is solid and logical but nothing they didn't already know. Their problem, and we should partially include Job in this, was that their knowledge was not necessarily accompanied by understanding. Elihu's words are but the beginning of Job's advanced education. It took the words of Yahweh to really drive Job's understanding into a higher realm (42:5-6).

Elihu commences his response with a general statement of the correct perspective that Job should adopt. All four shared Elihu's opinion of 35:5 that God's greatness is declared in the heavens (Job in 9:8-10, Eliphaz in 22:12, Bildad in 25:5 and Zophar in 11:8). What is noteworthy is that only Elihu and Yahweh make mention of "clouds" (shahaq - Elihu in 35:5, 36:28, 37:18,21 and Yahweh in 38:37). 38:37 appears to be the divine endorsement of 35:5 as both "heavens" and "clouds" are referred to.

In verses 6 and 7, Elihu declares that God is not hurt by our sin nor is He profited by our righteousness. This view is essentially an enhanced restatement of Eliphaz's in 22:2-3 and is alluded to by Job in 7:20. It is also affirmed by Yahweh in 41:11 which, in turn, is cited by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:35.

The person most hurt by sin is the sinner himself (Prov 8:36, 9:12) and the righteous man, in God's eyes, profits from his righteousness (Prov 8:35). God experiences no material benefit, although He does gain pleasure in the righteous disposition and conduct of His servants (Isa 66:2). This is an improvement on the dismal picture drawn up by Eliphaz in 22:3 - "Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?" (see notes on 22:3). The paradox is that the truly righteous man considers himself an unprofitable servant (Luke 17:10).

Elihu concludes this section with the obvious statement that if anybody is affected by somebody's conduct, it is those around him (Prov 14:34) - "Your fellow men are the ones to suffer from your crimes, humanity is the gainer if you are good" (35:8 JB).

35:9-13 Why God does not always answer prayer

In 24:12 Job described a scene wherein the poor cried out in affliction but God did not appear to regard him. Job was probably alluding to his own situation as he also complained that he could not find God (23:8-9, 30:20). It is this aspect of unanswered prayer that Elihu now addresses - "they cry out (shawa) by reason of the mighty" (35:9). Up until now only Job had cause to use shawa (19:7, 24:12, 30:20,28) and it is possible to cry to the Lord and obtain no answer (Psa 18:41; Hab 1:2). Why is this so?

Yes, people do cry out to God when their life takes a turn for the worse but their cry can be entirely self-motivated as they perceive God as merely a way to escape a nasty situation. They can lack respect for God their maker (Isa 51:13; Ecc 12:1; 1Pet 4:19) even though He has the ability to make them sing songs in their darkest hour (35:10). This occurs as an outcome of an on-going trust. It is not the result of some sort of spontaneous and temporary conversion when life has become difficult (Psa 42:8; Acts 16:25).

This is Elihu's point in 35:11. God has made us higher than the beasts (behema) and the fowls (op). Therefore, man should not respond in an instinctive animalistic way. It is interesting to observe that the only other place behema and op are found together is in Job's sarcastic tilt at Zophar in 12:7. Perhaps Elihu, in harking back to that unfortunate segment of Job's words, is attempting to elevate Job to loftier themes. Job's outburst in 12:7 was the product of a battered pride reasserting itself. Elihu continues by warning that God does not answer prayer sourced in human pride (35:12). The reason for the cry may be genuine but the attitude of the petitioner is inadequate.

Elihu's stance is very simple. God does not answer prayer if its origin is human pride or human vanity (35:13). Why should He answer prayer if it is mere motion of the lips unaccompanied by any feeling of a humble trust in God? It is not that God is deaf to prayer as Job appeared to have asserted (19:7). The reality is that God chooses the prayer He will respond to - "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (Jas 5:16).

Elihu has said nothing wrong. However, the question that needs to be asked is, "Do Elihu's criticisms in this section apply to Job?" Andersen believes they do not and Brother Mansfield hints agreement with that. Brother Styles feels the criticisms do not address Job's need which is, "Why had the affliction started in the first place?" I believe that while Elihu may have understated the quality of Job's character (Is Job really an evil man as suggested by 35:12?), his clever use of language, which linked his comments exclusively with the words of Job, indicates a depth of understanding that is not apparent on a cursory reading. Elihu was not perfect, nor was he divinely inspired, but he was the connection Job needed to bring Job even closer to God.

35:14-16 Elihu's final rebuke of Job

Elihu's conclusion in this his shortest speech is somewhat obscure. However, the gist appears to be that Elihu is admonishing Job because he has become impatient. He has told Job in the preceding section that God does not answer the prayer of the proud or the insincere. Therefore, Job's complaints that God does not respond to him (13:24, 19:7, 23:9, 30:20) and that Job cannot find God (9:11, 23:3,8) are evidence that Job is at fault.

The New English Bible translates the beginning of 35:14 as, "The worse for you when you say, 'He does not see me'!" Elihu's solution is, "Humble yourself in his presence and wait for his word" (35:14 NEB). This line of reasoning may sound initially harsh but it is not lacking Scriptural support (Isa 30:18). Elihu's message to Job is that God's righteousness must be exalted and not Job's or anybody else's (Mic 7:7-9). According to Elihu, Job has misunderstood God's lack of response as indifference when, in fact, God is holding back His anger (35:15). God chooses His own time to punish and to bless. Human righteousness does not invoke instantaneous divine praise nor does wickedness avail immediate chastisement.

However, because Job has become impatient, "Job doth open his mouth in vain (hebel); he multiplieth words without knowledge" (35:16). This is the only place outside of the words of Job that hebel is used in the Book of Job. Job had proclaimed that his life was now vanity and without purpose (7:16, 9:29). He had also declared that the comfort of his friends was completely worthless and nonsensical (21:34, 27:12). Elihu turns this back on Job. Job's desperate, and understandable, need for a rapid fix of his situation had motivated his descriptions of his life and his friends. That is why Job spoke without knowledge (34:35, 38:2, 42:3). It is Elihu's viewpoint that if Job more comprehensively understood God's ways he would not have expressed such opinions.