job 34 and 35

Read Job 34 and 35 at Bible Gateway.

Job 34 and 35 Hebrew paragraph divisions:

The Hebrew paragraph divisions for each man’s speech are like the divisions in the Psalms that we studied in 2014. There is an understood {s} division at the end of each numbered line, with an {n} marking where a new line begins within a numbered line:

34:10a “Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: {n}
34:10b Far be it from God to do wickedness, And from the Almighty to commit iniquity.
34:19a Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; {n}
34:19b For they are all the work of His hands.
34:20a In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; {n}
34:20b The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand.
34:29a When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, {n}
34:29b Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?—

The outline of Elihu’s speech:

Job 32:1-33:7, Elihu’s introduction: why he has entered the discussion:

Job 33:8-33, Elihu’s argument for the graciousness of God:

Job 33:8-13, God is not Job’s enemy;
Job 33:14-28, God uses many methods to speak to men to turn them from a destructive path;
Job 33:29-33, God is motivated by desire for repentance, not only to dispense punishment.

Job 34:1-35:16, Elihu’s argument for the justness of God:

Job 34:1-9, Job has unwisely charged God with injustice because of his suffering;
Job 34:10-15, Far be it from God to pervert justice;
Job 34:16-33, God deals with all men impartially according to what is right.
Job 35:1-8, Does a man’s righteousness profit God? No, righteousness benefits others;
Job 35:9-16, Justice is always before God, and if you do not see it yet, you must wait on Him.

Elihu provides an answer to one of Job’s questions that remains a common question in our own day:

If the righteous and wicked alike both suffer, then how does my righteousness profit me?

Job 35:6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?
Job 35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?
Job 35:8 Your wickedness affects a man such as you, And your righteousness a son of man.

God does not suffer nor profit from either wickedness or righteousness. But who does profit from righteousness, and who does suffer from wickedness, is our fellow man. Thus we see that wickedness is an act of hatred toward others, while righteousness is an act of love toward others. This truth of Elihu’s from the Spirit of God needs to be restored to our culture today, for we have separated wickedness from hate, and righteousness from love. Indeed, you even hear it said that some acts of wickedness are acts of love while some acts of righteousness are acts of hatred! But this is God’s bottom line, and why He asks righteousness of men – He is seeking love, first and foremost!