Job 34:10

IMPERTINENT REMARKS CONCERNING GOD

"Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:

Far be it from God that he should do wickedness,

And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

For the work of a man, will he render unto him,

And cause every man to find according to his ways.

Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,

Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.

Who gave him a charge over the earth?

Or who hath disposed the whole world?

If he set his heart upon himself,

If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

All flesh shall perish together,

And man shall turn again unto dust."

"The work of a man he (God) will render unto him" (Job 34:11). Elihu here repeats, "In crass individualistic terms the doctrine that God requites every man according to his behavior."[13] In context, this was merely Elihu's way of saying that, "Job is getting exactly what he deserves." The great error of Elihu's bombastic words here is that, "He says a lot about God's justice but not a word about divine grace."[14]

"God will not do wickedly" (Job 34:12). "Elihu said this as an effort to refute that which he (erroneously) supposed that Job had said."[15] "Job had not accused God of injustice, nor was he inclined to do so."[16]

"Who gave him a charge over the earth" (Job 34:13)? "The thought here is that God rules the earth and is answerable to no one for his actions, a thought repeated again by Elihu in Job 36:23; but this truth Job had already stated emphatically in Job 9:12."[17]

"All flesh shall perish together" (Job 34:15). "If God Chose, he would have a right to cut down the whole race of mankind. How then should men complain of loss of health, comforts, friends, or anything else, and presume to arraign God as if he were unjust"?[18] This was Elihu's answer to what he conceived as Job's accusation against God. Although Job's persistent affirmation of his integrity seemed to his friends to be an accusation against God, they had totally misunderstood Job's position. Job was not affirming that God was wicked or unjust; but that it could not have been his personal wickedness that led to his sufferings. Not God, but his sufferings were unjust; but since that contradicted the false theology of his friends, they erroneously concluded that Job was wicked.