If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
Elihu has just asked who put God in charge of the world, and now he presses further: what if God drew back the spirit and breath He gives? The question is sharp — Job's own next breath comes from the God he accuses of unfairness.
Elihu's Argument Against Job's Charge
Elihu is defending God's justice. No one appointed God to His office. So no one can call Him to account for it, and the world He keeps alive is His own.
William KellyElihu dismisses the thought that there is any wrong in God, the Judge of all. And who or what was man, to sit in judgment on the Almighty? Was it he, or anyone else, who put God in charge of the earth? And who founded the universe? Creation owes its existence and its continued life to God's unselfish goodness. He would only have to draw His care back into Himself and gather up His life-giving Spirit. Then all flesh would breathe its last, and man, the highest creature here below, would return to dust.
"Set His Heart" — Upon Man Or Upon Himself?
Commentators differ over the opening clause. The wording above reads "set his heart to it." Older English versions read "if he set his heart upon man." Several writers prefer "upon Himself" — God turning His attention inward and thinking only of Himself.
Samuel RidoutSuppose He turned His heart only to Himself, instead of remembering the need of the creation that depends on Him. He is completely self-sufficient. He needs nothing from outside. In all the past of eternity, God — Father, Son and Spirit — found enough delight in the Divine circle. Suppose, says Elihu, He were to turn back into that Divine Sufficiency. Suppose He set His heart not upon man, as in our version, but upon Himself. What would become of His creation?
Read that way, the verse measures God's greatness.
F. B. HoleOthers translate verse 14, "If He only thought of Himself, and gathered to Him His spirit and His breath." The result would then be this: all flesh would die together, and man would return to the dust. Such is the greatness as well as the rightness of God.
No Self-Running World
Many people assume the world runs on its own laws and momentum. Elihu assumes the opposite. God's direct action holds creation in being every moment.
William KellyThere is not a doubt God gives an impulse to all the heavenly bodies, and the earth among the rest. He gave them their motion; but then it is God who keeps it up. Men attribute this to second causes. But it is not in the nature of motion to be perpetual. That is all a great mistake; there is no such thing. It is God who keeps everything going. If God withdrew the direct action of His power for a moment, everything would collapse. That is what Elihu teaches here.
"His Spirit And His Breath"
The two words in the verse have drawn different readings. Some see the pairing as evidence that the breath God breathed into the first man is the human spirit.
Hamilton SmithElihu also refers to the material and the spiritual when he speaks of God. He says that if God were to "gather to Himself his spirit and his breath," then "all flesh shall perish together, and man shall return again to dust" (Job 34:14-15). This Scripture gives us further light. It links the spirit with the thought of breath. That suggests the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 is the spirit of a man.
Others reject that reading. Some argue from this verse that a man's spirit is only his breath. One writer answers that the verse names both:
Frederick W GrantJob 34:14 has been treated in the same way. But it is hard to see how he can quote "his spirit and his breath" to prove that the two are one. The opposite would seem self-evident.
Why It Humbles Us
The verse strikes at human pride.
Leslie M. GrantIn fact, if God so desired, He could "gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath" by which He gives life to all mankind. What would happen then? "All flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust" (vv.14-15). How withering a rebuke to the pride of man! How plainly this tells us that we always depend on the power of God. He did not only create us; He keeps us alive at every moment.
Summary
- Accountable — No one gave God charge of the earth. So no one can charge Him with wrong. Man answers to God, not God to man.
- Self-sufficient — He needs nothing from outside Himself. If He turned His heart inward, all flesh would breathe its last.
- Sustaining — He does not turn inward, so everything keeps going. Withdraw His power for a moment and it all collapses.
- Dependent — Your spirit and breath are God's to give and to gather back. That is the rebuke to pride.
- Good — Creation exists, and keeps existing, because of God's unselfish goodness; your next breath is His gift.