Bible Commentary - Job 36

In this chapter, Elihu reaffirms God’s righteousness and God’s overwhelming power.

This is an interesting follow-up to chapter 35.  In chapter 35, Elihu was questioning Job’s motivation, discussing the meaning of righteousness and arguing that Job’s righteousness is not something that can be exchanged for material blessing.  In this chapter, Elihu is apparently reiterating the classical vision of God as the enforcer of divine justice, that blessing follows righteousness and punishment follows wickedness.  I don’t want to say it’s a contradiction, but on the other hand it does kinda feel like one.

In the previous chapter, Elihu said, “when you sin, who are you sinning against? You sin against other people, not God.  If you are righteous, how does God benefit? Isn’t your righteousness directed at other people as well, and not God?” (Job 35:6-8).  It’s a relatively small step from “God is not affected by your righteousness” to “God is unconcerned about your righteousness”. From there, we naturally progress to “God does not reward righteousness or punish its absence.”  This is a natural implication of Elihu’s argument, which is why I think that it feels like a contradiction to this chapter.  However, I don’t think that was really the argument Elihu was trying to make.  Instead, I think Elihu’s point in the previous chapter was more about reframing our motivation for why we pursue righteousness.

Job was asking, “what is the advantage of being righteous if God does not bless the righteous?”  Elihu’s response was that we should not look to righteousness as a means of advancement or for material prosperity, and the reason why is that our righteousness or wickedness affects the lives of other people and we ought to be concerned about other people for their own sake, not simply because of self-interested desire to accrue “God’s blessing” as a reward for good behavior.  The modern cliche to express a similar concept is that “virtue is its own reward”.  While I don’t think that’s what Elihu is trying to say, it certainly possesses a similar tone.

After all this, we can see that Elihu’s position is not a contradiction. He wasn’t trying to deny that God blesses the righteous, and indeed this chapter confirms the point without hesitation.  Instead, Elihu was trying to reframe the question so that Job stopped looking at himself, stopped looking for God’s blessing as his motivation, and to show that we should view righteousness and wickedness through the lens of how it affects others.

In this chapter, Elihu’s first principle is that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.  In verses 8-9, he says that when the righteous “are caught in the cords of affliction” that God would make clear to them “their transgressions”.  From verses 10-21 Elihu reinforces this theme, specifically warning Job against “turning to evil” (v. 21) or being “enticed to scoffing” (v. 18), amongst other things.  Elihu warns Job that he should not turn to wrath in his affliction, but should instead listen for God’s rebuke and gain understanding about what he has done wrong, repent and then God in turn will restore and bless him.

In a nutshell, Elihu is falling back on the same trope we have seen over and over, that Job must have some kind of hidden sin in his life, that he should repent of it and when he does, that God would turn his life around, withdraw the chastening “cords of affliction” and restore Job to his former glory.  There are some minor differences.  For instance, Elihu’s emphasis on God’s “instruction” (v. 9-10), and corresponding focus on “hearing” as our response (v. 11-12).  It’s more interactive and more dynamic than the righteousness/wickedness framework of the three friends, but only in subtle and nuanced ways.  The central principle is indistinguishable from what the three friends offered in their wisdom, and we can reasonably lump them together with little loss of generality.

In verses 22-26, Elihu has a final declaration of God’s glory, concluding with a remarkable declaration: “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know him.”  This verse is easy to understand, but the truth it conveys is deep and profound.  I once heard a sermon online that was based on verse 26 and I wish I could find it again because it really gave me a deep sensitivity to this verse that I can’t otherwise explain.  I’m struggling to know what to write, because I want to share that passion with others but I don’t know how to put it into words.  I’ll just leave it at that.

Beginning in verse 27, and going to the end of the chapter, is the beginning of the end.  This is Elihu’s final remarks.  The entire next chapter follows the same theme, and it is describing God’s glory using the metaphor of a thunderstorm.  In verses 27-28 he talks about the mystery of rain, in verse 29 it is the mystery of clouds and thunder, in verse 32-33 it is lightning “declaring” God’s presence.  This subject carries on into the next chapter with greater fervor as Elihu builds towards his conclusion.

Elihu’s speech is now like a growing crescendo.  He is going to add layer upon layer in the imminence and power of the coming storm, which announces God’s soon arrival.  We can imagine Job and his friends standing in a field somewhere, observing dark clouds in the distance, lightning flashing and clouds of rain visible, and watching the storm approach.  Elihu gets more awed and excited as the storm draws near, and when the storm arrives is when God speaks.

In the next chapter, Elihu continues foreshadowing God’s arrival using that same storm as a metaphor for God’s power and glory.