Job 34:29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
33 Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.
34 Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
35 Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
36 My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
Elihu continued his words to Job. He has been arguing that God is above and greater than man. Elihu had some right thoughts regarding God. God does not need our permission to do anything. He is always right in what He says and does. Elihu was twisting the truth to try to implicate Job in something that was not true.
In verse 29 it is true that if God grants someone peace, no one can take that peace away. Jesus declared:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
We know that the apostle Paul was at peace with God at a time when the ungodly were all riled up against Paul and God. The peace of God does not mean the absence of trouble. It means a peace of God in the midst of trouble.
The flip side of that is that when God removes His peace, no one can see His peace. Canada is quickly coming to the place where God is removing His peace from this nation. Violence is increasing across this country. Those who deny that, are either deluded or willfully ignorant of the facts. God warned:
Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
We should not be surprised at the increase in violence in this country. When a society rejects the true God, violence will increase. Some of us may fall prey to this violence yet. Not that we will be promoting violence, but the wicked are indiscriminate in attacking others. They do not just strike out at other violent people. They strike out at those who stand for the truth. The wicked are not interested in truth.
In verse 30 Elihu continued to claim that God will not allow hypocrites to reign. The majority of our leaders are hypocrites. They are lost and promoting a form of godliness. They believe they are gods, but they cannot even live by the dictates they are trying to force upon others. Many people have been ensnared by the hypocritical leaders. We might wonder at how anyone could support the politics of our nation, but there are many who are doing that.
In verse 31 Elihu stated that Job should repent and confess his sin to God. If he would do that God would certainly hear and restore him. Repentance toward God and confession to God are important. God would rebuke Job soon and he would humble himself before God. The difference is that God would speak honestly to the issues that Job needed addressed. Elihu and the other three men were manufacturing things that Job could have agreed to if he were not grounded, but it would not have helped him.
Again, we see how important it is to deal in truth. As we read in verse 32, we need God to show us what the real issue is. If there is sin that a child of God is committing, but seemingly not understanding, it is wise to ask God to clearly show us that sin.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
That is God’s Word and it is important to ask God to show us what is truly going on in our hearts and minds. He is faithful and He will reveal the facts. He was soon going to do this for Job.
In verse 35 Elihu was so bold as to declare that Job had spoken without knowledge. He stated that Job’s words were void of wisdom. Quite the accusation coming from someone who was openly guilty of this very sin.
In verses 36-37 Elihu believed that God was punishing Job and he wanted God to continue to punish him. He was a self-righteous man who was judging Job according to his “righteousness” and not according to God’s righteousness. He stated that Job was adding to his assumed sin. He claimed that Job was in rebellion and that he was increasing his sin before God.
These were hard hitting words yet they had no facts to back them up. We know what God had stated about Job in the opening chapters. We know what Satan was doing to Job and what these men were doing on behalf of Satan. We have the benefit of knowing these things. These five men did not have the insight we have at this particular time in Job’s life. Four of them were in the midst of the situation and they were shooting from the lip without looking at the facts. Job was also not without fault. Job was clearly on the right path while these other men were demonstrating their arrogance and ignorance the more they opened their mouths.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That includes the book of Job. God gave us these chapters for us to be able to use God’s Word as the mirror that It is. When we develop a theology that is using God’s Word as a proof text rather than as a sure text, we have a problem When we let God be God and we humble ourselves before Him, we can grow in Him once we know Him. That is what Job needed to do. These other men needed to bring an offering acceptable to God in order to be able to know Him and grow in Him. They needed to bring that offering to Job. Job was God’s chosen mediator in this instance. This again tells us what God saw in Job and what He saw in these men.
We can look at this book and ask God to examine us and see who it is that we are following. Do we know the true God and are we following Him according to His Word? That is what is important.
Pastor Bartel
