Job Chapter 35 – Explanation and Analysis
Introduction to Chapter 35
Job Chapter 35 continues the speeches of Elihu, a younger man who speaks after Job's three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) have failed to provide a convincing answer to Job’s complaints. Elihu is portrayed as passionate and full of conviction, claiming to speak with wisdom given by God. Chapter 35 is part of his ongoing argument, specifically addressing Job's claims about the apparent futility of righteousness and the seeming indifference of God to human suffering.
Elihu aims to correct Job’s perception of God by arguing that human behavior, whether righteous or wicked, does not affect God in a way that would compel Him to act like a man. This chapter continues to build Elihu’s theological point: that God is transcendent, just, and that His actions are not determined by human morality or complaints.
Verses 1–3: Elihu Summarizes Job’s Complaint
1 Then Elihu continued and said:
2 “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’
3 Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’”
Elihu begins this speech with a direct confrontation. He accuses Job of justifying himself rather than God, which is a theological inversion in Elihu’s eyes. According to Elihu, Job has implied that being righteous yields no benefit, especially since God appears to ignore both his integrity and his suffering.
Job had indeed questioned the value of righteousness in previous chapters (e.g., Job 9:22–24; 21:7–15), especially when he observed that the wicked prosper and the innocent suffer. Elihu frames Job’s statements as implying that godliness has no reward—a dangerous position in Elihu’s theological worldview.
Verses 4–8: The Transcendence of God
4 “I will answer you and your friends with you.
5 Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.
6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.”
In these verses, Elihu offers a cosmic perspective. He appeals to the grandeur of the heavens to emphasize God's transcendence—He is exalted far above the realm of human affairs. Elihu makes a radical claim: God is unaffected by human righteousness or wickedness. Whether people sin or live righteously, it does not impact God personally.
This echoes a kind of theocentric theology—God is self-sufficient. Humans cannot bribe Him with righteousness or provoke Him with sin in the way they would a human judge or king. Instead, the consequences of human behavior fall primarily upon other humans. Righteousness benefits society; wickedness harms others—but God remains unscathed.
However, this viewpoint, while emphasizing divine transcendence, can come off as cold or distant, lacking in the relational aspect that many other scriptures affirm—that God cares deeply for individuals and does respond to righteousness and evil (see Psalm 34:15–16).
Verses 9–13: The Cry of the Oppressed
9 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’
12 He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked.
13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.”
Elihu addresses the problem of unanswered prayer, particularly in situations of oppression and suffering. People cry out because they are in pain, but Elihu claims that their motivation is self-centered—they cry for relief, not to genuinely seek God.
Elihu contrasts this with what he believes should be the right attitude: seeking God as the giver of wisdom and joy (“songs in the night”). In this view, God wants people to turn to Him not merely as a last resort or as a painkiller, but out of genuine relationship and awe.
Verse 12 suggests that if God does not answer, it is because the cries come from those full of pride or arrogance. Elihu interprets their prayers as “empty pleas,” implying a lack of repentance or spiritual sincerity. This highlights Elihu’s conviction that God is just, and if He seems silent, it is not because He is unjust but because the human heart is not in the right place.
Verse 14: The Call to Trust in God’s Timing
14 “How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him and you must wait for him,”
Here, Elihu chastises Job directly. Job has said he cannot perceive God’s presence and that he must wait for God to answer his case (Job 23:8–9). Elihu argues that if God doesn’t answer even the cries of the wicked, how much less will He answer someone who doubts His justice or accuses Him of injustice?
Elihu insists that Job must wait on God’s timing. This is an important theme—divine silence is not divine absence. God’s justice may not operate on a human timeline, but it is sure. Elihu urges Job (and the reader) to trust that God will act in the right time, even if He seems hidden in the present.
Verse 15–16: Elihu’s Final Rebuke
15 “And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take note of transgression,
16 so Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”
In closing, Elihu criticizes Job for talking too much without understanding. He believes Job speaks presumptuously because God has not yet acted in judgment. Elihu sees Job’s speeches as filled with ignorance and arrogance, assuming that God’s patience or silence means approval or indifference.
Elihu accuses Job of using "empty talk"—words lacking reverence or truth. In essence, Elihu warns that Job is testing the limits of divine patience. His underlying message is: just because God has not punished Job does not mean Job is right.
Themes in Job 35
1. God’s Transcendence
Elihu paints a picture of God as wholly other, unaffected by human actions. This aligns with certain theological traditions that emphasize God's self-sufficiency and immutability. It challenges human pride by reminding us that God is not dependent on us.
2. The Purpose of Prayer and Suffering
Elihu suggests that prayers motivated by pain alone, without humility or a genuine seeking of God, are not effective. He implies that suffering should lead people to deeper spiritual reflection, not just desperate cries for relief.
3. Justice on God’s Terms
Job had pleaded for justice, but Elihu argues that justice does not always look like immediate vindication. Instead, divine justice is slow, deliberate, and always righteous—even if it seems delayed from a human perspective.
4. The Danger of Presumption
Elihu criticizes Job not for asking questions, but for assuming he has the moral high ground over God. He sees this as a dangerous presumption, and warns against concluding that silence from God means endorsement of one’s position.
Theological Reflection
Elihu offers a valuable perspective: he defends God's justice and sovereignty, rebuking Job's apparent entitlement to divine answers. His argument that God is not answerable to human standards is a cornerstone of biblical theology.
However, Elihu also oversimplifies Job’s struggle. He does not fully engage with Job’s deeper emotional and spiritual pain. His theology, though logically consistent, lacks pastoral sensitivity. He reduces complex suffering to cause-and-effect, failing to appreciate Job’s integrity or the nuances of divine-human relationship.
In this way, Elihu’s speech serves as both a corrective and a caution: it corrects an overly human-centered view of divine justice, but it also cautions us against reducing faith to formulas. While God is indeed just and transcendent, He is also intimately involved in human suffering, as seen later when God speaks directly and affirms Job.
Conclusion
Job Chapter 35 is a thought-provoking chapter that challenges readers to think deeply about the nature of divine justice, human suffering, and the motivation behind prayer and righteousness. Elihu’s speech raises valid points about God’s independence and our tendency to presume upon His justice. However, his rigid theology does not fully capture the relational and compassionate aspects of God revealed in other parts of Scripture.
Ultimately, the chapter sets the stage for God’s own speech, which will both affirm some of Elihu’s points and yet move far beyond them. In the end, the book of Job affirms that God's ways are higher than ours, and that faith sometimes means trusting even when there are no immediate answers.
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