“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.
Elihu has just quoted Job's own bitter words back to him. With this verse he turns from listening to answering. Everything that follows in the chapter rests on one claim: God cannot do wickedness. Elihu does not argue it from Job's suffering. He points to who God is.
The charge that forced Elihu to speak
Job had spoken wrongly about God. He had also made light of how well wicked people do in the world. One writer shows why Elihu could not let that pass:
William KellyJob had spoken so wrongly about God on the one hand, and on the other so lightly about the way wicked people do well in the world, that Elihu could not help saying, "He goes in company with scorners," with those who do evil, "and walks with wicked men." That was just the kind of talk that would please them. It was talk that would weaken conscience and encourage sinners, as much as it would grieve those who love God.
An appeal aimed wider than the argument
Elihu calls out to "men of understanding." Who did he mean?
Samuel RidoutElihu does not seem to be addressing the three friends as "wise men," nor any particular group. Some have thought he is speaking to the crowd that had gathered to listen to the argument. That may be true, but his words look like a general appeal to the judgment of the wise everywhere and for all time. Elihu is dealing with principles that apply to everyone. The examination of Job's attitude is only what prompted him to state them.
The reason: God's own being
Elihu builds no defence on Job's record. He argues from God Himself. The same writer traces that line through the rest of the chapter:
Samuel RidoutGod is righteous: (a) Because He is God (verses 10-12). (b) Because of His kind care (verses 13-15). (c) Because of His greatness (verses 16-20). (d) Because He knows everything (verses 21-25). (e) Because of His judgment (verses 26-30).
The first of these is the ground of all the rest. To ask whether God might do wrong is to ask whether God is God:
Samuel RidoutThe very fact that God exists denies that He is unrighteous. The One who is perfect in every way could not think or do evil. So James says, "God cannot be tempted with evil" (James 1:13). Mark this way of reasoning well. It turns away from all secondary causes, away from the hard problems and dark puzzles of the world, to Him who is light.
What almighty power cannot do
The verse names Him twice — God, and the Almighty. That second title might seem to make anything possible, but power is not the whole of His nature:
Samuel RidoutThis way of thinking finds its rest in God; blessed rest. "Far be it from God to do evil." "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). The Almighty — the One with all power — can do everything, but "He cannot lie." "He cannot deny Himself." That is what makes His dealings with people perfectly and evenly just... This does not mean that Job's friends were right in their charges. It means that God is dealing with Job in complete justice, making him learn the lessons he needed. How could God act wickedly or twist what is right? He would not be God if that were possible.
Certain repayment, unstated timing
Verse 11 follows: God repays each person according to his work. Notice what Elihu does not say:
Leslie M. GrantJob should not have had the slightest doubt about this, no matter how much he had suffered... He does not say when God repays a man, because that depends on God's wisdom, which we cannot search out. But God will never do wickedly or pervert justice (v.12), the way Job had concluded God had done in his case.
Where this leaves the sufferer
If God is righteous, the answer is not further argument but a change of posture. That was the step Job still had to take:
The Bible TreasuryIf God were not righteous — indeed the very source of righteousness — how could He govern?... Elihu urges Job to understand that God is righteous, and that in His righteousness He can act as He wills... Since this is so, the true place for Job was confession.
Summary
- Charge — Job's words hinted that God had wronged him. Such talk pleases scorners, weakens conscience and grieves those who love God.
- Ground — Elihu answers from who God is, not from Job's record. The One who is perfect could not think or do evil.
- Limit — the Almighty can do everything, yet He cannot lie and cannot deny Himself. That is what makes His justice even-handed.
- Timing — God repays each person according to his work. Elihu never says when. The delay belongs to a wisdom we cannot search out.
- Response — if God is righteous, there is nothing left to argue. Confession is the sufferer's true place.