Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Job 35:1-2 onwards. Indeed, Job had drawn from his misfortunes the following sad conclusion: It was really not worth applying himself to being righteous; in the end he had no greater advantage than if he had sinned! (J b 9.22-24; Jb 34.7-9; Jb 35.1-3). Alas, he discovers there the bottom of his heart! He seems to agree with Satan who had insinuated: “Is it for nothing that Job fears God”? (Job 1:9). This is almost like the reasoning of “those men perverted in their minds…- of whom the apostle speaks – who believe that godliness is a source of gain” (1 Tim 6:3-6; Ml 3:13-16).
Our patriarch did not know until then that there were such feelings in his heart. He knew his good deeds, but not their secret motives. And these were far from always good. Let the Spirit search us through the Word, discern, and lay bare the intentions of our hearts (Heb 4:12). This is Elihu’s service to Job by speaking the truth to him. Some things are not pleasant to hear; but “wounds made by a friend are faithful” (Prov. 27:5-6; Col 4:5-6). And when these necessary lessons have been learned, tears, cries of distress, cries for help (Jb 19:21-22) will give way to “songs of joy in the night” (vv. 9-10).
Elihu then examines Job’s claim to higher rights: “And Elihu spoke again and said, Do you think this is founded, that you said, ‘I am more righteous than God?’ Job had really allowed himself to speak lightly and arrogantly on this subject. “For thou hast asked what profit thou hast from it: What advantage do I have more than if I had sinned? I will answer you with words and to your friends with you: Look at the heavens and see, and behold the clouds: they are higher than you. If you sin, what harm do you cause him?” He thus demonstrates to him that there is no question of man rendering service to God, for it is God who blesses man. Moreover, regardless of what is due to God: submission to His will, love and glory, it is impossible for man to walk in obedience without receiving the richest blessings as a reward. In every possible sense, it is God who gives the increase. It is a principle that remains throughout all economies.
It was not yet the time of the Kingdom, in which everything will be established according to righteousness, nor even the time of the full light in which we are now walking, and which could not shine until the true Light came. However, there was already a testimony for faithful souls of the favor and blessing they enjoyed from God, although this was not manifested to all. Thus the iniquity of man does not diminish the majesty of God, but it causes the ruin of the one who practices it. On the other hand, as we have seen, man’s obedience does not bring any benefit to God, but it assures the one who realizes it with blessings of infinite reality and richness. There is no reason to hesitate to consider this passage as an ode provided to a second writer or simply quoted by him in order to give strength to his argument. Hardly a single note in the part of Elihu’s discourse already considered approaches the poetic art of this: The glory of God in his creation and his unfathomable wisdom are illustrated from the phenomena of heaven without reference to the preceding sections of the address.
For he who was more poet than reasoner could indeed stop and stumble as the speaker has done so far and find freedom when he arrived at a theme suited to his mind. But there are times when we seem to hear Elihu’s voice interrupting the flow of the ode because no poet would stop his muse. In Job 37:14 the sentence is interrupted, as an aside of the writer drawing attention to the words he quotes: – “Listen to this, O Job; and consider the wonderful works of God. “Again (Job 37:19), between the description of the burnished mirror of heaven and that of the brightness after the sweeping wind, without any reference to the train of thought, the ejection is introduced, – “Teach us what we shall say to him, for we cannot order our speech because of darkness. Will he be told that I am speaking? If a man speaks surely, he will be swallowed up. The last verses also seem to be in Elihu’s manner.
But the ode as a whole, although it has the flaw of trying to prevent what is put in the mouth of the Almighty speaking of the storm, is one of the beautiful passages of the book. We move from dogmatic discussions “cold, heavy and pretentious” to free and striking pictures of nature, with the feeling that we are being guided who can present in eloquent language the fruits of his study of the works of God. While the view is one invariably adopted by Hebrew writers, the originality of the ode lies in the fresh observation and recording of atmospheric phenomena, especially rain and snow, rolling clouds, thunderstorms and winds. The images do not seem to belong to the Arabian desert but to a fertile populated region such as Aram or the Chaldean plain.
On the fields and dwellings of men, not on vast expanses of barren sand, rain and snow fall, and they seal the hand of man. Lightning clouds cover the face of the “habitable world”; through them, God judges the peoples: To estimate his majesty or to search the depths of his eternal will is far beyond us who are creatures of a day. Yet we can have some insight into its power. Look up when the rain falls, notice how the clouds floating above distill the drops of water and dump great floods on the earth. Notice also how the black cloud stretching from the horizon obscures the blue expanse of the sky. We cannot understand; but we may appreciate to some extent the majesty of Him whose light and darkness are, who is heard in the clap of thunder and seen in the forked lightning.
And this is “the meaning of those strange golden lights and purple redness before the morning rain. Rain is sent to judge and feed us; but the light is the possession of the friends of God, that they may ascend into it, where the veil of the tabernacle shall no longer pass through and shall no longer separate its rays.” The true scope does not reach this spiritual height: It is simply that the terrible thunder brings to the transgressors the terror of judgment, and the abundant showers that follow water the parched earth for the good of man. For of God’s justice and grace, we are made aware when his angel spreads his wings over the world. In the darkened sky, there is a crash as if the vast canopy of the firmament was torn. And now a bright flash illuminates the darkness for a moment; Soon he swallowed himself as if the upside-down sea, poured in cataracts on the flame, extinguished him.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped for your better understanding.
Job has nothing serious to say:
- Spiritual pride, examples
John 33:9 I am clean, I am without sin, I am clean, there is no iniquity in me. Luke 18:11 The Pharisee, standing, prayed in himself: O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, who are raptures, unjust, adulterers, or even like this publican; John 9:41 Jesus answered them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say: We see. That is why your sin remains. Rev. 3:17 Because you say, I am rich, I have become rich, and I need nothing, and because you do not know that you are unhappy, wretched, poor, blind and naked,
- Destructive sin
Psalm 34:22 There is neither darkness nor shadow of death, where those who commit iniquity can hide. Psalm 140:12 The man whose tongue is false does not strengthen himself on earth; And the violent man, misfortune leads him to his doom. Prov 8:36 But he who sins against me harms his soul; Everyone who hates me loves death. Isaiah 3:9 The appearance of their faces testifies against them, and, like Sodom, they publish their crime, without concealment. Woe to their souls! For they are preparing evils.
- Pride, warning against the
Psalm 10:2 The wicked in his pride pursues the unfortunate, They are victims of the frames he has conceived. Psalm 73:6 Also pride serves as their collar, violence is the garment that envelops them; Prov 21:4 Haughty looks and a swelling heart, This lamp of the wicked is nothing but sin. 1 John 2:16 for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, does not come from the Father, but comes from the world.
- Lord’s Day, the Day of God’s Visit
Isaiah 10:3 What shall you do on the day of chastisement, and ruin that will fall upon you from afar? To whom shall you flee, for help, And where shall you leave your glory? James 10:15 They are a thing of nothingness, a work of deception; They will perish when the punishment comes. Luke 19:44 They will destroy you and your children in your midst, and they will not leave you stone upon stone, because you have not known the time in which you were visited. 1 Pet 2:12 Have good conduct among the Gentiles, so that even where they slander you as if you were evildoers, they may notice your good works, and glorify God, in the day in which he will visit them.
From all the above, we note thatmen recognize divine indignation, and even the inferior animals seem to be aware of it. It is always clear beyond: The clouds hide the splendid sun only for a while. A wind rises and carries away the vapors of the glorious dome of heaven. “From the north comes the splendor of gold” – for it is the north wind that pushes the clouds that, when they fly south, are gilded by the sun’s rays. But with God is a much greater splendor, that of a terrible majesty. Is Job wise in his own vanity? Does he think he can challenge divine government and show how the affairs of the world could have been better ordered? Does he think he himself is being treated unfairly because loss and illness have been assigned to him? God’s good thoughts will verify all these notions and bring a penitent back to the throne of Jehovah. This is a good and wise deduction; but Elihu did not justify God by showing in harmony with the noblest and finest ideas of justice that men have, God supremely just, and beyond the best and noblest mercy that men love, God transcendentally merciful andmauveillthem. Indeed, his argument was this: the Almighty must be straight, and anyone who criticizes life is unholy. The whole question between Job and the friends remains unresolved. Elihu’s failure is significant. It is the failure of an attempt made, as we have seen, centuries after the writing of the book of Job, to bring it back to the line of current religious opinion. It can be said that Job left no disciples in Israel. His courageous personal hope and passionate desire for union with God seem to have been lost in the fervent national sectarianism of the post-exilic ages; And as they withered, the Pharisee and Sadducees of old began to exist. They are both here in germ. Coming from the same seed, they resemble each other in their ignorance of divine justice; and we are not surprised that Christ, coming to fulfill and more than fulfill the hope of mankind, appeared to both the Pharisee and the Sadducees of his day as an enemy of religion, the land, and God. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in truth to pray with me:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my personal Lord and Savior. I acknowledge that you died at the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and my faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom by walking according to your ways.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to be baptized by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power and glory, now and for ever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Elihu’s fourth discourse: God’s purpose for believers is to educate them.” (Jb 36)
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.