https://youtu.be/BMuYL8MAEgQ?si=1OpnMgQ1ldmZ_k5m
Elihu continues his response to Job, defending God's justice and challenging Job’s complaints. He argues that God repays people fairly and cannot do wrong. Elihu criticizes Job for speaking arrogantly and urges him (and the listeners) to consider God's wisdom and justice seriously.
Job 34:1–4
Then Elihu answered and said: “Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know; for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.”
Elihu invites the wise to listen and evaluate his words carefully. He encourages group discernment—testing words like food—to seek what is right and true.
Job 34:5
“For Job has said, ‘I am in the right, and God has taken away my right;’”
Elihu summarizes Job’s position: that Job claims to be righteous while accusing God of denying him justice.
Job 34:6
“in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.”
Job sees himself as wronged and falsely accused. Elihu is implying that Job has gone too far in asserting his innocence.
Job 34:7–8
“What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men?”
Elihu criticizes Job’s speech, likening it to mockery and aligning him with the wicked in attitude—even if not in deed.
Job 34:9
“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’”
He accuses Job of saying that serving God is useless. Elihu sees this as a serious theological error.
Job 34:10–12
“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.”
Elihu emphatically defends God's justice. God repays each person fairly, and He is never guilty of wrongdoing.
Job 34:13–15
“Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world? If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.”
God sustains all life. If He were to withdraw His Spirit, humanity would perish. This shows how dependent people are on Him.
Job 34:16
“If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.”
Elihu again calls for discernment and careful listening, emphasizing the weight of what he’s saying.
Job 34:17–18
“Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty, who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’”
He points out that God, the true ruler, is completely just and shows no favoritism—even calling out kings and nobles when necessary.
Job 34:19–20
“who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands? In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.”
God treats everyone equally. Life and death are in His hands, and He can bring down the powerful in an instant.
Job 34:21–23
“For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves. For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.”
God sees everything—no one can hide from Him. He doesn't need a formal hearing to understand a person; His knowledge is complete.
Job 34:24–25
“He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place. Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.”
God brings judgment on the powerful without delay, and their downfall often comes swiftly and unexpectedly.
Job 34:26–27
“He strikes them for their wickedness in a place for all to see, because they turned aside from following him and had no regard for any of his ways,”
Their punishment is public and deserved, for they rejected God's ways.
Job 34:28
“so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted—”
God hears the cries of the oppressed, and He responds in justice when the powerful cause suffering.
Job 34:29
“When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man—”
If God chooses silence or absence, no one can challenge Him. His ways are not subject to human approval.
Job 34:30
“that a godless man should not reign, that he should not ensnare the people.”
Even when wicked leaders are allowed to rule, it serves God’s purpose—often as a warning or form of discipline.
Job 34:31–32
“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?”
Elihu suggests the right response to suffering is humility: to ask God for insight and commit to change, rather than self-justification.
Job 34:33
“Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.”
God does not tailor His justice to human preference. Elihu challenges Job to consider this carefully.
Job 34:34–35
“Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say: ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.’”
Elihu claims that anyone wise would agree that Job is speaking rashly and without true understanding.
Job 34:36
“Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men.”
Elihu desires Job to be further tested, believing his words reflect rebellion rather than righteousness.
Job 34:37
“For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
Elihu concludes by saying that Job’s continued defense only deepens his guilt, as he speaks more arrogantly about God.
Takeaways from Job 34:
God’s justice is flawless.
Elihu affirms that God never perverts justice, even if humans can't understand His ways.
Human pride can distort suffering.
Elihu warns that Job’s focus on his own innocence blinds him to the possibility of deeper issues God may be addressing.
God is sovereign and sees all.
Nothing escapes His sight—whether hidden sins, oppression, or personal faithfulness.
Humility is the right response to suffering.
Elihu encourages repentance and teachability over accusation and self-righteousness.
Be cautious with your words about God.
Elihu takes Job’s words seriously and shows that what we say about God in our pain matters deeply.
The lesson in Job 32 is that true wisdom comes from the Spirit of God, not merely from age or experience. Elihu, though younger, realizes that the older men have failed to give Job righteous counsel or defend God's justice properly. His boldness to speak reveals that spiritual insight is not bound by seniority, and that silence, while sometimes respectful, can become harmful when truth is at stake. This chapter teaches us that when others misrepresent God or twist truth, it is right to speak up—not to elevate ourselves, but to restore honor to God's character. Elihu’s intervention reminds us to seek divine understanding above human reasoning, and to prioritize defending God's righteousness over justifying ourselves in times of confusion or suffering.