Lenten Study Job Ch 36
Elihu continues in this chapter as he reminds everyone God is in charge, not Man. God has the power to create or unmake everything if He chooses. Elihu reminds Job that he is a man of God beholden to Him and that he should not consider an alternative to God.
"There was a man in the land of Uz" by andrevanb is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Caption
1 Then Elihu continued and said,
2 “Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.
3 “I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 “For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
Job 36:1-4 (NASB)
This is a bold statement for the young man to make. How can he make this statement in certainty at all? Isn’t that arrogant and prideful to say? Not if you have been given the information from God, which Elihu believes is the source of his knowledge.
5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 “He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.
7 “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
8 “And if they are bound in fetters, And are caught in the cords of affliction,
9 Then He declares to them their work And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.
Job 36:5-9 (NASB)
These things God does to punish the wicked or those who have made mistakes in judgment. Note in the last passage, verse nine, “…that they have magnified themselves.” This might be a little foreshadowing of what is coming Job’s way, given that we know God is going to address the situation soon.
10 “He opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they return from evil.
11 “If they hear and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity And their years in pleasures.
12 “But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword And they will die without knowledge.
Job 36:10-12 (NASB)
This is not a condemnation of being rich or having wealth. The possession of money, power, or fame is not by itself evil or bad. This statement is addressed to those who have built up those things in ungodly ways. If they depart from those ways when they hear God’s call on their lives, He will bless them. Perhaps that blessing is to continue in their good fortune, and perhaps it is not. That is for God to decide. The consequence of not listening to God is laid out plainly in this passage.
13 “But the godless in heart lay up anger; They do not cry for help when He binds them.
14 “They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.
Job 36:13-14 (NASB)
At this time, it was very common for a religious cult to spring up that not only condoned prostitution but operated the religious “temple” as a place where these women could openly ply their trade.
15 “He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ear in time of oppression.
Job 36:15 (NASB)
Those who refuse to listen to God or His Word suffer the consequences of their actions alone. He is not there to hear their prayers.
16 “Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress, Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint; And that which was set on your table was full of fatness.
Job 36:16 (NASB)
God hears the prayers of the righteous, and in Job’s case, he has listened to Job on more than one occasion, delivering him from what afflicted him. But that was before the current situation.
17 “But you were full of judgment on the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 “Beware that wrath does not entice you to scoffing; And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
Job 36:17-18 (NASB)
Job rightly condemned wicked behavior before. His warning is not to let the realization of that power turn him into someone who wields it for reasons that do not align with God’s plans.
19 “Will your riches keep you from distress, Or all the forces of your strength?
20 “Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their place.
21 “Be careful, do not turn to evil, For you have preferred this to affliction.
Job 36:19-21 (NASB)
We have been discussing the situation Job is in as one that cannot be alleviated. That is not entirely true. There is one path open to Job that would remove all the discomfort, pain, and hardship from Job’s life, and Elihu knows what it is. The path of the wicked is a way out for Job, and it is the only way out Job has not yet tried. None of the four men have mentioned this because it means rejecting God, which is what Satan’s testing is designed to cause Job to do. Job has no intention of rejecting God.
22 “Behold, God is exalted in His power; Who is a teacher like Him?
23 “Who has appointed Him His way, And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?
24 “Remember that you should exalt His work, Of which men have sung.
25 “All men have seen it; Man beholds from afar.
Job 36:22-25 (NASB)
Elihu reminds Job and the other three men that their purpose is to worship God, follow His ways, and support His people. Job is teetering on the edge right now.
26 “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.
27 “For He draws up the drops of water, They distill rain from the mist,
28 Which the clouds pour down, They drip upon man abundantly.
Job 36:26-28 (NASB)
Elihu reminds them all of the sovereign power of God. Even the rain, clouds, and fog or mist obey Him. It is important that Elihu follow up the reminder that there is a way out of just how powerful their God is.
29 “Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, The thundering of His pavilion?
30 “Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, And He covers the depths of the sea.
Job 36:29-30 (NASB)
More of the amazing and wondrous power of God.
31 “For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance.
32 “He covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the mark.
33 “Its noise declares His presence; The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.
Job 36:31-33 (NASB)
All the power Elihu mentioned, all the power of nature and the earth are God’s to command. It is in His control and His alone how these things will be administered. As humans on planet earth, we are in control of very little, if anything at all.