Question 1

Who is speaking in this passage and who is being addressed?

Accepted Answer

In this passage Elihu is speaking. He is a younger man who has listened to Job and his three friends argue about Job’s suffering and God’s justice. Here he turns directly to Job and also includes Job’s companions in his reply. Elihu believes Job has gone too far in defending himself and in his complaints about God. So Elihu steps in to correct Job’s words, remind him of God’s greatness, and call him to trust God’s justice instead of arguing his own case so strongly.

Question 2

What does Elihu mean by asking if Job’s righteousness is more than God’s?

Accepted Answer

Elihu is pushing back on the way Job has talked about his own innocence. Job never said, word for word, that he was more righteous than God, but his complaints made it sound as if God was treating him unfairly. By asking this question, Elihu is showing how wrong it would be to think a human could ever be more just than God. He is warning Job that defending himself to that point is like putting his own cause above God’s wisdom and fairness.

Question 3

What does it mean that sin and righteousness do not affect God directly?

Accepted Answer

Elihu asks, “If you sin, what do you do against him?” and then says that wickedness hurts people and righteousness helps people, not God himself. He is not saying sin does not matter to God. Rather, he is saying God’s being, power, and glory do not depend on us. Our sin does not weaken God, and our goodness does not put God in our debt. Our actions mainly bless or harm other people, while God remains above all and owes us nothing.

Question 4

Why does Elihu say many cries in trouble are not truly heard by God?

Accepted Answer

Elihu talks about people who are crushed by oppressors and cry out because of the strength of the mighty. He says they cry, but no answer comes, because they are not really seeking God himself. “None says, Where is God my Maker?” Instead of humbly turning to God, they only complain about their pain and stay proud. Elihu’s point is that prayer without turning the heart toward God and away from pride is empty. God does not regard vain, proud cries that ignore him.

Question 5

What does the phrase “God my maker, who gives songs in the night” mean?

Accepted Answer

Elihu reminds Job that God is the Maker who gives “songs in the night.” This picture shows that God can give comfort, hope, and even praise in the darkest times. Night stands for trouble and sorrow, yet God is able to put a song in a person’s heart there. Elihu also says God teaches people more than the beasts and makes them wiser than the birds. Together this means God both sustains and instructs his people in hardship, if they truly seek him.

Question 6

Why does Elihu say God will not hear vanity or regard it?

Accepted Answer

When Elihu says God will not hear vanity, he means God does not respond to empty, proud, or insincere cries. People may shout in their pain, but if they are only focused on themselves, refusing to humble their hearts or ask where God is, their words are empty. God listens to those who seek him, not just relief. Elihu is warning that arguing with God, or praying without faith and repentance, is pointless. God is not bound to answer such prayers.

Question 7

What does Elihu mean that judgment is before God, so Job should trust him?

Accepted Answer

Elihu answers Job’s complaint that he cannot see God at work. He says that even if Job feels he does not see God, “judgment is before him.” That means God’s rule and justice are still firmly in his hand, whether Job can see it or not. Because of this, Elihu tells Job to trust in God. In other words, God’s court is always in session, God has not forgotten what is right, and Job’s safest place is to rest in God’s wisdom instead of leaning on his own.

Question 8

Why does Elihu say Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge?

Accepted Answer

Elihu believes Job has moved from honest pain into speaking wrongly about God. Job has kept insisting on his own side of the story and has said things that make God’s justice look doubtful. Elihu’s words, “opens his mouth in vain” and “multiplies words without knowledge,” mean Job is using many words without true insight. Elihu is not denying Job’s pain, but he is saying that if Job really understood God’s greatness and freedom, he would be more humble in how he speaks.

Question 9

How can this passage help someone who is suffering today?

Accepted Answer

This passage reminds a suffering person that God is far above us, not controlled by our goodness or badness, and yet he is a Maker who can give “songs in the night.” It gently warns against turning pain into pride or accusation against God. Instead, it calls us to ask, “Where is God my Maker?” and to seek him honestly in trouble. It also teaches that our prayers should be humble and sincere, trusting that God’s justice is still in front of him, even when we cannot see it.

Job 35:1

Elihu spake moreover, and said,

Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

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Job 35:1

Elihu spake moreover, and said,

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Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

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