Job 35 Study Notes: Elihu on What Righteousness Gives God
Elihu charges Job with claiming to be more in the right than God and with seeing no gain in avoiding sin. He argues that human sin and goodness cannot harm or enrich God, that the oppressed cry for relief without seeking their Maker, and that Job speaks to no purpose.
General
How does Elihu sum up Job's speaking at the close of chapter 35 (Job 35:16)?
Answer: Job talks to no purpose and piles up speech that lacks understanding
Elihu says people's cries go unanswered because evil people are proud, and that God pays no heed to hollow pleas (35:12-13). How much less, he argues, will God listen when Job says he cannot see Him, that his case lies before God and he has to wait, and that God has paid little attention to folly (35:14-15). He concludes that Job speaks to no purpose and multiplies words that lack knowledge (35:16), repeating his earlier charge (34:35). Scripture elsewhere affirms that God sets Himself against the proud (Jas 4:6). When the LORD speaks from the whirlwind, His first question asks who obscures His counsel with words lacking knowledge (38:2), and Job later repeats that question and confesses he spoke of things beyond his understanding (42:3).
- Job 35:12-16 (BSB)“There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it. How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him, and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly! So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.””Elihu says God does not heed empty pleas and concludes that Job speaks in vain.
- Job 34:35 (BSB)“‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’”Elihu had already said that Job speaks without knowledge.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””Scripture affirms that God sets Himself against the proud and gives grace to the humble.
- Job 38:2 (BSB)““Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?”The LORD's first words from the whirlwind ask who obscures His counsel without knowledge.
- Job 42:3 (BSB)“You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”Job repeats the LORD's question and confesses that he spoke of things beyond his understanding.
Theological
What verdict does Elihu pronounce on Job's words at the end of chapter 35 (Job 35:16)?
Answer: Job talks to no purpose and piles up speech that lacks understanding
Elihu argues that cries go unanswered because evil people are proud and that God does not heed empty pleas (35:12-13); all the more, then, will He disregard Job's complaint that he cannot see God, that his case waits before Him, and that God overlooks folly (35:14-15). Elihu concludes that Job speaks to no purpose and multiplies words that lack knowledge (35:16), echoing 34:35. That God sets Himself against the proud is affirmed elsewhere (Jas 4:6). The LORD's opening question from the whirlwind concerns one who obscures His counsel with words lacking knowledge (38:2), a question Job later takes up in his confession (42:3).
- Job 35:12-16 (BSB)“There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it. How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him, and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly! So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.””Elihu says God does not heed empty pleas and concludes that Job speaks in vain.
- Job 34:35 (BSB)“‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’”Elihu had already said that Job speaks without knowledge.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””Scripture affirms that God sets Himself against the proud and gives grace to the humble.
- Job 38:2 (BSB)““Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?”The LORD's first words from the whirlwind ask who obscures His counsel without knowledge.
- Job 42:3 (BSB)“You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”Job repeats the LORD's question and confesses that he spoke of things beyond his understanding.
General
As Elihu begins chapter 35, what does he claim Job has been saying (Job 35:2-3)?
Answer: That Job ranks himself above God in righteousness and sees no gain in avoiding sin
Elihu opens by asking whether Job thinks his position is just. He sums up Job as claiming to be more in the right than God and as asking what he gains by keeping away from sin (35:2-3). This is Elihu's own summary of Job's position. It repeats what made him angry from the start, that Job defended his own righteousness instead of God's (32:2), and his earlier charge that Job sees no profit in delighting in God (34:9). When the LORD Himself speaks, He asks Job whether he would condemn God in order to vindicate himself (40:8).
- Job 35:2-3 (BSB)““Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’ For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’”Elihu sums up what he believes Job has been claiming.
- Job 32:2 (BSB)“This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,”Elihu's anger from the start was over Job defending himself instead of God.
- Job 34:9 (BSB)“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’”Elihu had already charged Job with saying there is no profit in delighting in God.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD later asks Job whether he would condemn God in order to vindicate himself.
Theological
How does Elihu characterize Job's stance at the opening of chapter 35 (Job 35:2-3)?
Answer: That Job ranks himself above God in righteousness and sees no gain in avoiding sin
Elihu frames Job's position as a claim to greater righteousness than God, joined to the complaint that avoiding sin brings no gain (35:2-3). The summary is Elihu's own rather than a citation of Job, and it restates both the grievance that first provoked him, Job vindicating himself instead of God (32:2), and his earlier charge that Job finds no profit in delighting in God (34:9). The LORD's own speech later presses a related question, whether Job would condemn God to vindicate himself (40:8).
- Job 35:2-3 (BSB)““Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’ For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’”Elihu sums up what he believes Job has been claiming.
- Job 32:2 (BSB)“This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,”Elihu's anger from the start was over Job defending himself instead of God.
- Job 34:9 (BSB)“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’”Elihu had already charged Job with saying there is no profit in delighting in God.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD later asks Job whether he would condemn God in order to vindicate himself.
General
Elihu tells Job to look up at the heavens and the clouds. What point does he draw from this (Job 35:5-8)?
Answer: God is so high that human sin cannot harm Him nor goodness enrich Him
Elihu points Job to the sky high above him (35:5). If Job sins, he does nothing against God; if he is righteous, he gives God nothing that God receives from his hand. Job's wickedness or goodness, Elihu says, affects only other human beings (35:6-8). Eliphaz had asked similar questions earlier (22:2-3). That God needs nothing from anyone is true in itself, and Scripture elsewhere affirms it: Paul says God is not served by people as though He lacked anything, since He gives life and breath to all (Acts 17:25), and he asks who has ever put God in his debt (Rom 11:35), echoing the LORD's own words that all things under heaven belong to Him (41:11). Elihu uses the point to answer Job's complaint about what righteousness gains him.
- Job 35:5-8 (BSB)“Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.”Elihu points Job to the sky and argues that human sin and goodness neither harm nor enrich God.
- Job 22:2-3 (BSB)““Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?”Eliphaz had earlier asked whether a person's righteousness profits the Almighty.
- Acts 17:25 (BSB)“Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”Paul affirms that God needs nothing from human hands, since He is the giver of everything.
- Romans 11:35 (BSB)““Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?””Paul asks who has ever put God in his debt, affirming that God owes no one.
- Job 41:11 (BSB)“Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.”The LORD Himself says that everything under heaven belongs to Him.
Theological
What conclusion does Elihu draw from the height of the heavens in Job 35:5-8?
Answer: God is so high that human sin cannot harm Him nor goodness enrich Him
Pointing to the heavens (35:5), Elihu argues that God is beyond both injury and enrichment: human transgression does nothing to Him, and human righteousness adds nothing He receives; their effects fall on other people (35:6-8). Eliphaz had pressed the same line (22:2-3). God's self-sufficiency is true in itself and affirmed elsewhere: He is not served by people as though He lacked anything (Acts 17:25), and no one puts Him in debt (Rom 11:35), echoing the LORD's claim that all under heaven is His (41:11). Elihu deploys it against Job's complaint that righteousness brings him no gain.
- Job 35:5-8 (BSB)“Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.”Elihu points Job to the sky and argues that human sin and goodness neither harm nor enrich God.
- Job 22:2-3 (BSB)““Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?”Eliphaz had earlier asked whether a person's righteousness profits the Almighty.
- Acts 17:25 (BSB)“Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”Paul affirms that God needs nothing from human hands, since He is the giver of everything.
- Romans 11:35 (BSB)““Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?””Paul asks who has ever put God in his debt, affirming that God owes no one.
- Job 41:11 (BSB)“Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.”The LORD Himself says that everything under heaven belongs to Him.
General
According to Elihu, what do people who cry out under oppression fail to do (Job 35:9-11)?
Answer: Ask after their Creator, who gives songs at night and wisdom beyond animals
Elihu observes that people cry out under heavy oppression and beg the powerful to let up (35:9). Yet none of them seeks out God their Maker, the God who gives songs during the night and teaches people more than the animals and birds (35:10-11). His complaint is that people want relief from their trouble without seeking God Himself. Scripture elsewhere speaks of God's song being with His servant at night (Ps 42:8), and Paul and Silas sang praise to God at midnight in prison (Acts 16:25). Job, for his part, had longed to know where he could find God (23:3-4).
- Job 35:9-11 (BSB)“Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty. But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’”Elihu says the oppressed cry for relief yet do not seek God their Maker.
- Psalm 42:8 (BSB)“The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.”A psalmist speaks of God's song being with him at night.
- Acts 16:25 (BSB)“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”Paul and Silas praised God in song at midnight while in prison.
- Job 23:3-4 (BSB)“If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.”Job had longed to know where he could find God and present his case.
Theological
What failure does Elihu identify in those who cry out under oppression (Job 35:9-11)?
Answer: Ask after their Creator, who gives songs at night and wisdom beyond animals
Elihu says the oppressed beg to be freed from the grip of the powerful (35:9) but do not seek God their Maker, who gives songs during the night and makes people wiser than beasts and birds (35:10-11). Their cry, in his view, seeks relief rather than God. Scripture elsewhere speaks of God's song with His servant at night (Ps 42:8), and Paul and Silas praised God at midnight in prison (Acts 16:25). Job himself had longed to know where to find God (23:3-4).
- Job 35:9-11 (BSB)“Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty. But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’”Elihu says the oppressed cry for relief yet do not seek God their Maker.
- Psalm 42:8 (BSB)“The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.”A psalmist speaks of God's song being with him at night.
- Acts 16:25 (BSB)“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”Paul and Silas praised God in song at midnight while in prison.
- Job 23:3-4 (BSB)“If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.”Job had longed to know where he could find God and present his case.