Job Chapter 34
Please read: Job 34 –
It seems that no matter who was speaking, trying to impart words of wisdom to Job, they all came to the same conclusion. They all accused Job of hiding some sin and then trying to lie about it and to say that he was innocent before God. Elihu went one step further and declared that Job was therefore condemning God. He accused Job of claiming that since he was in the right that God must be in the wrong. This simply was not true. The actual reason that Job was in such deep distress was because he did love God and feared (respected) Him.
Elihu will make several false accusations against Job in this chapter, and we can’t help but wonder what the look on Job’s face was while hearing the accusations made by this man. It must have taken a lot of strength to not interrupt him to defend himself.
Let's Reflect
1. What was the first accusation Elihu made about Job? See verse 5.
2. The second accusation is found in verses 7-9. I don’t think Elihu is saying that Job had actually done this, but that he was comparing him to this type of man. What was the accusation?
3. Read verse 5 again and then read verse 10. In a very sarcastic way Elihu is saying that if Job is going to claim that he is in the right then Job must be saying that God is in the __________.
4. In verse 11 we see that Elihu thinks exactly about God as Eliphaz did. They both were sure that God rewards those who do good and punishes those who do evil. Neither of them allowed that God can be mysterious to mankind. They thought they had God all figured out. He did say something exactly right about God in verse 12. What was that?
5. Elihu then expounds upon his “knowledge” of God’s justice. In essence he is saying just because you are rich or powerful it does not mean that God can not bring you down. What true statement did he make about the rich and powerful in verse 20?
6. He explains to them that God sees all, He does not have to do an investigation. Which I believe was a stab at Job because he had heard Job request to present His case to God. The next accusation he makes is found in verses 26-27. What is it?
7. In verses 28-33 Elihu explains that God punishes the rich and powerful in such a manner so that it will be seen by all men. If God did not punish this type of man, then he would go on in his wicked ways, and he could not be trusted. Without the strong judgement of God this wicked man would say something like “I made a mistake, but I won’t do that again.” Again, using sarcasm, the rhetorical question presented in verse 31 sums up his argument. What is the rhetorical question he asked?
8. Elihu ends the chapter with yet more accusations against Job. What are they?
