Job 34:10 | KingComments | STEP | Elihu starts, before the ear of the “men of understanding” ( ; cf. ), to refute the vision of Job on God. With a “therefore” – that is, because Job has a wrong view of God – Elihu calls on them to listen to him, for he will tell them the truth about God. It is unthinkable that there would be “wickedness” with God. That is simply out of the question. There is also no doing “wrong” with “the Almighty”. With mighty people it is often different. Might means right, it is said. Then the mighty puts the right to his hand, so that it often becomes injustice. It is impossible for God, the Almighty, to act like this. God is “a God of faithfulness and without injustice” ( ; ; ; ). As the Almighty, He can do anything, but not anything that is contrary to His Being. This is not a limitation of His omnipotence, but a perfection that features Him. He cannot lie ( ; ), nor can He do injustice (cf. ). He is perfectly righteous in His ways with man ( ). Everything a man does and the way he goes is weighed by Him and righteously requited ( ). This is similar to what the friends have said. Yet it is completely different. Elihu points to a feature of God as an answer to statements of Job because of his suffering and not as an answer to the cause of Job’s suffering. The friends did the latter. In Elihu says again what he also said in . This repetition is already an underlining, but he puts an extra stripe under it by starting the repetition with “surely”. In this way he emphasizes that it is completely against the nature of God to act wickedly and that it is therefore completely against the use of His omnipotence to pervert justice. Elihu thus demonstrates the seriousness of Job’s words to denounce God. Then Elihu points out the sovereignty of God ( ). God is so totally different from and so far exalted above man. Is there anyone who has appointed God over the earth to govern it? Of course there is not. For there is no higher authority that would have given God authority over the earth. He Himself has taken this position. He controls all things on earth, including the life of every human being, including Job. It is man’s presumption that he places himself above God and tells Him how to govern. Is there anyone other than God who has “laid the whole world”? In other words: Is there anyone other than God who would have created the whole world with everything in it and the whole hierarchy and order in it? Again, the answer is: Of course not. He really is absolutely sovereign. God the Son is the Creator and Sustainer of all things ( ; ). If that almighty Creator and Governor would determine to gather to Himself the spirit and the breath of man [not: His ( i.e. God’s) spirit, and not: His (i.e. God’s) breath], that would be the end of everything that has spirit and breath ( ). He has the power and the right to do so. “All flesh would perish together”, which means that there would be no living human being left on earth. So how can a man complain about loss of health, possessions, friends, and tell God that He is committing injustice? Elihu not only has Job in mind, as if God would turn His heart against him alone, but all men. It is about God’s omnipotence against the nullity and also sinfulness of man as such. Man has no right to life, but to death. Through his sin, death has come into the world. Man who dies thus receives his wages, “for the wages of sin is death” ( ). When he dies, he returns to the dust from which he was taken ( ).

‏ Job 34:10

God Does Not Pervert Justice

Elihu starts, before the ear of the “men of understanding” (Job 34:10; cf. Job 34:2), to refute the vision of Job on God. With a “therefore” – that is, because Job has a wrong view of God – Elihu calls on them to listen to him, for he will tell them the truth about God. It is unthinkable that there would be “wickedness” with God. That is simply out of the question.

There is also no doing “wrong” with “the Almighty”. With mighty people it is often different. Might means right, it is said. Then the mighty puts the right to his hand, so that it often becomes injustice. It is impossible for God, the Almighty, to act like this. God is “a God of faithfulness and without injustice” (Deu 32:4; 2Chr 19:7; Psa 92:15; Zep 3:5). As the Almighty, He can do anything, but not anything that is contrary to His Being. This is not a limitation of His omnipotence, but a perfection that features Him. He cannot lie (Tit 1:2; Num 23:19), nor can He do injustice (cf. Rom 9:14).

He is perfectly righteous in His ways with man (Job 34:11). Everything a man does and the way he goes is weighed by Him and righteously requited (Pro 5:21). This is similar to what the friends have said. Yet it is completely different. Elihu points to a feature of God as an answer to statements of Job because of his suffering and not as an answer to the cause of Job’s suffering. The friends did the latter.

In Job 34:12 Elihu says again what he also said in Job 34:10. This repetition is already an underlining, but he puts an extra stripe under it by starting the repetition with “surely”. In this way he emphasizes that it is completely against the nature of God to act wickedly and that it is therefore completely against the use of His omnipotence to pervert justice. Elihu thus demonstrates the seriousness of Job’s words to denounce God.

Then Elihu points out the sovereignty of God (Job 34:13). God is so totally different from and so far exalted above man. Is there anyone who has appointed God over the earth to govern it? Of course there is not. For there is no higher authority that would have given God authority over the earth. He Himself has taken this position. He controls all things on earth, including the life of every human being, including Job. It is man’s presumption that he places himself above God and tells Him how to govern.

Is there anyone other than God who has “laid the whole world”? In other words: Is there anyone other than God who would have created the whole world with everything in it and the whole hierarchy and order in it? Again, the answer is: Of course not. He really is absolutely sovereign. God the Son is the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:1-3).

If that almighty Creator and Governor would determine to gather to Himself the spirit and the breath of man [not: His ( i.e. God’s) spirit, and not: His (i.e. God’s) breath], that would be the end of everything that has spirit and breath (Job 34:14-15). He has the power and the right to do so. “All flesh would perish together”, which means that there would be no living human being left on earth. So how can a man complain about loss of health, possessions, friends, and tell God that He is committing injustice?

Elihu not only has Job in mind, as if God would turn His heart against him alone, but all men. It is about God’s omnipotence against the nullity and also sinfulness of man as such. Man has no right to life, but to death. Through his sin, death has come into the world. Man who dies thus receives his wages, “for the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23a). When he dies, he returns to the dust from which he was taken (Gen 3:19).