He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.
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?
No Investigation Needed
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.
Samuel RidoutHe 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 Right to Remove and Replace
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.
William KellyNo 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.
Judgment on God's Timetable
If God needs no inquiry, why do many powerful wrongdoers die quietly in their beds? One writer answers that God alone fixes the hour.
Leslie M. Grant"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 Hand Inside the Family
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.
J. N. DarbyIn 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.)
The Lesson for Job
Elihu turns all of this on Job himself. He sets two responses side by side.
Samuel RidoutIf 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)?
Summary
- 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."