Job 34:16-30 | KingComments | STEP | In , Elihu magnificently presents God’s righteousness and declares about Him that He 1. is great, impartial and omniscient ( ) and 2. will judge ( ). From Elihu turns to Job again with a new exhortation to listen. In doing so, he appeals to the insight that he presupposes to be present with Job. Job can show this by taking the words Elihu speaks to heart and absorbing them. Elihu asks Job if someone who hates justice can rule ( ). It is clear that those who are averse to justice cannot govern well. Although this is often the case with human rulers, it is not the case with God. Only someone who loves justice can rule well. God is “righteous”. Well, if there is any insight in Job, he will have to admit that he cannot declare God guilty of committing injustice. God rules. He does so through His Son. He has already given to Him “all authority … in heaven and on earth” ( ). David spoke of Christ, the Son of God, as the Ruler in the future, in the realm of peace, when he spoke of One “who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God” ( ). We hear the same from the writer of the letter to the Hebrews who says about the kingship of Christ that “the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom” and that He “loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” ( ). Everything with God and Christ is perfectly righteous. Every injustice is absent. People should not use abusive words against a king ( ). People today dare to do so, but that does not change what suits us. We are called to honor the king and other dignitaries ( ; ). We should have an attitude of respect toward them because of their position, even if they need to be clearly confronted with their sins. We see this with Daniel toward Nebuchadnezzar and with John the baptist toward Herod. But what is forbidden to man, God does. He says to a king that he is a “worthless one” and He does say to nobles that they are “wicked ones”. He has the right to do so, because He is their Creator and sees through them. In His assessment and judgment, He shows no partiality ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ). It makes no difference to Him whether He has to do with a prince, or a rich one, or a poor one. He need not spare anyone, “for they are all the work of His hands”; He made them all (cf. ). And He made them for the purpose of serving Him. If they do not fulfill that purpose, He takes away their lives ( ). To Him this is only a matter of “a moment”. The darkness of the night is not a problem for Him, for “at midnight” it is as light for Him as it is in the middle of the day. Nor is it a matter of whether they are a mighty people or a mighty individual. A people has power because of the multitude of people; a single person sometimes has power because of his position. To God it makes no difference. He shakes a people to and fro as if they were a few, and the people pass away. Just a touch with His almighty, invisible hand, not the weak hand of some mortal, and they are gone. God is omnipotent as well as omniscient. He sees and sees through every man in the way he goes ( ). He sees all the footsteps a man sets on his way, that is, he notices all his behavior in all his actions and all his words. There is no need for anyone to point out to Him something He would have overlooked. To Him there are no secrets. He doesn’t need to do a thorough investigation to find out the truth. It doesn’t take months of processes with multiple trials. He sees through everything immediately ( ). He sees every worker of iniquity, even in the darkest and most hidden places, even in the deep shadow of death ( ). All sinners who are in the grave, wherever that grave may be, will not escape judgment. People can mean to escape a certain punishment by putting an end to their own lives. But that is a terrible mistake. God will make them rise up and will judge them ( ). That He judges is shown by Elihu in the following verses.

‏ Job 34:16-30

God Is Great, Impartial and Omniscient

In Job 34:16-30, Elihu magnificently presents God’s righteousness and declares about Him that He

1. is great, impartial and omniscient (Job 34:16-22) and

2. will judge (Job 34:23-30).

From Job 34:16 Elihu turns to Job again with a new exhortation to listen. In doing so, he appeals to the insight that he presupposes to be present with Job. Job can show this by taking the words Elihu speaks to heart and absorbing them. Elihu asks Job if someone who hates justice can rule (Job 34:17). It is clear that those who are averse to justice cannot govern well. Although this is often the case with human rulers, it is not the case with God. Only someone who loves justice can rule well. God is “righteous”. Well, if there is any insight in Job, he will have to admit that he cannot declare God guilty of committing injustice.

God rules. He does so through His Son. He has already given to Him “all authority … in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). David spoke of Christ, the Son of God, as the Ruler in the future, in the realm of peace, when he spoke of One “who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God” (2Sam 23:3). We hear the same from the writer of the letter to the Hebrews who says about the kingship of Christ that “the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom” and that He “loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb 1:8-9). Everything with God and Christ is perfectly righteous. Every injustice is absent.

People should not use abusive words against a king (Job 34:18). People today dare to do so, but that does not change what suits us. We are called to honor the king and other dignitaries (1Pet 2:17; Acts 23:5). We should have an attitude of respect toward them because of their position, even if they need to be clearly confronted with their sins. We see this with Daniel toward Nebuchadnezzar and with John the baptist toward Herod.

But what is forbidden to man, God does. He says to a king that he is a “worthless one” and He does say to nobles that they are “wicked ones”. He has the right to do so, because He is their Creator and sees through them. In His assessment and judgment, He shows no partiality (Job 34:19; Rom 2:11; Deu 10:17; 2Chr 19:7; Acts 10:34; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; 1Pet 1:17). It makes no difference to Him whether He has to do with a prince, or a rich one, or a poor one. He need not spare anyone, “for they are all the work of His hands”; He made them all (cf. 1Sam 2:7). And He made them for the purpose of serving Him.

If they do not fulfill that purpose, He takes away their lives (Job 34:20). To Him this is only a matter of “a moment”. The darkness of the night is not a problem for Him, for “at midnight” it is as light for Him as it is in the middle of the day.

Nor is it a matter of whether they are a mighty people or a mighty individual. A people has power because of the multitude of people; a single person sometimes has power because of his position. To God it makes no difference. He shakes a people to and fro as if they were a few, and the people pass away. Just a touch with His almighty, invisible hand, not the weak hand of some mortal, and they are gone.

God is omnipotent as well as omniscient. He sees and sees through every man in the way he goes (Job 34:21). He sees all the footsteps a man sets on his way, that is, he notices all his behavior in all his actions and all his words. There is no need for anyone to point out to Him something He would have overlooked. To Him there are no secrets. He doesn’t need to do a thorough investigation to find out the truth. It doesn’t take months of processes with multiple trials. He sees through everything immediately (Heb 4:13).

He sees every worker of iniquity, even in the darkest and most hidden places, even in the deep shadow of death (Job 34:22). All sinners who are in the grave, wherever that grave may be, will not escape judgment. People can mean to escape a certain punishment by putting an end to their own lives. But that is a terrible mistake. God will make them rise up and will judge them (Rev 20:11-15). That He judges is shown by Elihu in the following verses.

God Judges

God doesn’t need much consideration to judge man (Job 34:23). He made him and also gave him the ability to serve Him. He does not impose too much trouble on man either. Concerning the believer, He does not tempt him beyond what he is able to endure (1Cor 10:13). Job has difficulty with that, which we can understand very well. Only he wants to go against God about this in court, and therein he goes too far. No one can call God to account for what He imposes on a man in His wisdom.

Again Elihu points to the exaltation and sovereignty of God (Job 34:24). How could a man (like Job) disagree with that mighty, judging God about what He does to him? God has the right and power to break in pieces the mighty men and set others in their place (cf. Dan 2:21; Pro 8:15-16). He does not do this arbitrarily, without reason. The fact that man cannot fathom that reason does not give him the right to demand that He tells him why He is doing it.

Still, Elihu gives an explanation, which we see in the word “therefore” (Job 34:25). God does so because He knows the works of these mighty men. How He has acted with Pharaoh and his people, the Egyptians, is an example of this. God shattered the pharaoh when He killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt in the night, thereby crushing His power (Exo 12:29-30; Psa 105:36). Other examples are the Assyrian soldiers who were killed in the night, and Belshazzar, who was also killed in the night (2Kgs 19:35; Dan 5:30).

God is perfectly righteous when He strikes the wicked because they are wicked (Job 34:26). Among other things, He has done this with the wicked inhabitants of Canaan. He does this in a public place, where other people see it. He makes His actions of judgment visible to everyone. He does not hide His power and righteousness. For the righteous it is an encouragement and joy, while the wicked are warned not to continue living wickedly, but to repent.

God’s judgment affects especially the apostates, those who first followed Him but “turned aside from following Him” (Job 34:27). These are those who live wickedly (Job 34:26) by oppressing the poor (Job 34:28a) whose cry for help is heard by God (Job 34:28b). The act of these wicked people is seen as a stunning abandonment of God’s commandments and departing from behind Him. They have not noticed His ways in His government with men and nations. They do not want to see Him interfering in the lives of men and peoples, but attribute everything to natural causes or bad luck. They don’t want to see that a higher hand controls everything.

The wicked is punished by God for oppressing the poor. God thus responds to the cry for help of the wretched. He hears it when they call to Him in their need. God does not always respond directly with judgment about injustice or with help in case of need. He can also remain silent (Job 34:29). Job has reproached God for keeping quiet and allowing everything to be done. But if He does not judge or help, who will condemn Him? This is what Job did.

To Job it was as if God was hiding His face. We too may sometimes feel that God is hiding from us, that we cannot perceive Him because we only see misery, like Job. God can hide Himself both from a people and from a single human being. He considers “the nations … like a drop from a bucket” and regards them “as a speck of dust on the scales” (Isa 40:15).

If God hides His face, it has a purpose, which is indicated by the words “so that” (Job 34:30). He wants to make people feel the lack of Him and begin to ask for Him. If they do so, He ensures that no godless or hypocrite men will come or stay in power. A godless or hypocrite man is someone who has nice talk for the people, but who only uses it to manipulate and exploit them (2Sam 15:2-6). He sets traps for the people and causes their demise. Those traps are the ungodly laws he enacts and the ungodly life he leads.