For he doth not long consider a man, to bring him before God in judgment.
Job said his suffering was unfair. Elihu answers that God owes no man a hearing before He acts. Translations render the line in two ways: God never loads a man beyond what is right, or God needs no second look before judgment. Both readings end in the same place — God is the Judge, and man is not.
Job had claimed innocence while accusing God of treating him as an enemy. Both claims cannot stand. One writer shows how Elihu settles it:
Here is a plain contradiction. How could a holy, just, and righteous Being count a pure and innocent man His enemy? Impossible. Either Job was self-deceived, or God was unrighteous. And Elihu, as the servant of truth, does not take long to give a verdict and tell us which is which. "Behold, in this you are not right; I will answer you, for God is greater than man." What a simple truth! And yet how little it is understood! If God is greater than man, then He, and not man, must be the Judge of what is right.
"No need to consider a man further" points to God's knowledge. One commentator says this reading, not the older English one, is what the words mean:
He is Judge — the all-seeing One, and no secret can hide from Him. … His eye is on every step of man. Evil cannot hide itself from Him. He does not need to study a man's ways, but at a glance, as it were, knows him and enters into judgment with him. (This is the meaning of verse 23, rather than the reading in the older English version.) His all-seeing eye pierces to the innermost corners of the heart. How can we think of such a One as needing judgment Himself?
Nothing is hidden from God, so nothing stands between the guilty and the sentence. Another writer states what God is therefore entitled to do:
All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do — the ways of a man and all his steps. There is no darkness or shadow of death dense enough to hide those who work evil. He does not need to look a second time at a man before going to God in judgment. He has the right, without any further examination, to break the mighty and to set up others in their place.
Commentators differ here. Older English versions read the verse differently: God never puts more on a man than is fair. One writer draws a practical conclusion from that reading:
Elihu urges Job to understand that God is righteous, and that in His righteousness He can act as He wills. "He will not lay upon men more than is right, that he should enter into judgment with God." Since this is so, the right place for Job was confession. "Surely it is fitting to say to God, I have borne chastisement — I will not offend any more."
Job kept asking for a hearing before God. One writer explains what such a hearing would mean:
Do we not know that innocent people are always immune from judgment? In this world of bad government and lack of wisdom, the guiltless may be dragged before the judge, and even condemned. But such a thing is impossible in God's dealings with His creatures. No one comes into judgment unless he is guilty, and no one escapes once he is there. … The justified can never come into judgment; the judged can never be justified.
Elihu's argument lands on one conclusion, and it reaches far past Job's own case:
Elihu then shows that God is just in all His ways. Whether man sees it or not, every act of God and every permission of God is necessary, both in His dealings with a nation and with a man. … Whatever God does with the world, and however He disciplines His own children — by chastening or even by removal through death — all His ways are in righteousness and truth.
- Greater. "God is greater than man" is Elihu's whole answer. The greater One decides what is right; the lesser one does not audit Him.
- Seen. Because God is greater, He needs no second look. He knows a man at a glance, so no investigation stands between the evidence and the verdict.
- Swift. He needs no inquiry, so nothing delays the sentence. He breaks the mighty and sets up others in their place.
- Measured. The older reading shows that greatness as restraint: God never loads a man beyond what is right.
- Safe. No guilty person survives a hearing. So the safe ground is confession, not a court date — the justified never come into judgment at all.
He breaketh in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and setteth others in their stead;
Elihu is answering Job, who has charged God with wronging him, and here he points to the way rulers and strong men fall. It raises two questions: how can God overthrow anyone without an investigation, and why does He put others in their place?
The phrase "without investigation" sounds like a judge skipping the trial. Commentators read it the opposite way: God needs no process, because nothing escapes Him.
He is Judge — the all-seeing One, from whom no secret can be hidden. The psalmist wrote of Him, "You have searched me and known me" (Psalm 139). His eye is on every step of man; evil cannot hide itself from Him. He does not need to study a man's ways. He knows him at a glance, and enters into judgment with him... in verse 24, there is no need for "investigation" to determine the overthrow of evil men. He sees through their works and brings on them their crushing doom.
The verse assumes God may act on His own authority. One writer draws the threads together: no darkness hides a wrongdoer, and high rank protects no one.
No darkness or deep shadow is dense enough to hide those who do evil. He does not need to look at a man a second time before bringing him to God in judgment. He has the right, without further scrutiny, to break the mighty and to set up others in their place... He is truly sovereign, and at the same time just and merciful. Nation or man makes no difference, since He is above both. So a corrupt man may not reign and trap the people.
If God needs no inquiry, why do many powerful wrongdoers die quietly in their beds? One writer answers that God alone fixes the hour.
"Therefore He knows their works" — He has no need of patient investigation. He overthrows them, even in the night (v.25), when they think they have hidden themselves from view, "and they are crushed." This often happens, but only when God decides it. So He may strike them in their wickedness in the open sight of others (v.26), not in the dark. He gives the reason at once: "because they turned aside from following Him and had no regard for any of His ways" (v.27).
The same principle reaches past tyrants. One writer applies these verses to God's discipline of His own people, where prayer also has a place.
In some cases discipline is already under way, and it might end in death (Job 36:7-12). But the prayer of God's people may become the means of blessing. Under God's government in the Church on earth, that prayer may turn aside the threatened evil. Under this government, God would forgive the sins, spare the life of the person at fault, and set the soul right. (Job 34:23-24.)
Elihu turns all of this on Job himself. He sets two responses side by side.
If Job has unfairly charged God in this way, he has a most important lesson to learn. What is fitting for someone in his position? Should he boldly insist on his own righteousness and keep accusing God? Or should he humbly admit he was wrong to hold such thoughts, and pray, "teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more" (v.32)?
- Sees — Nothing escapes God's eye, so He needs no investigation. He knows a man at a glance.
- Strikes — Because He sees, He can break the mighty without further scrutiny. Nation or single man makes no difference.
- Times — The blow falls only when God decides. It may come at night or in open sight, and always for a stated reason: they turned aside from following Him.
- Replaces — He sets others in their place, so that a corrupt man may not reign and trap the people.
- Corrects — The same hand works inside God's family. Discipline may end in death, yet prayer may turn it aside. The right answer is not self-defence but "teach me."