so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted —
Job had charged God with denying him justice. Elihu answers that charge, and here he names what moves God to strike the wicked in open view: the cries of the people they have crushed have reached Him. That raises a hard question for anyone who is suffering. Does God really hear? And if He does, why is the answer so slow?
The cry that brings the blow
The judgment in the verses just before this one is not random. One commentator explains why the blow falls, and whom it is for.
William KellyHe takes notice of their deeds. He overturns them in a night, and they are crushed as wicked men. He strikes them openly before others, for their deliberate contempt of Him and His ways, and to vindicate the poor and oppressed who cried to Him. He is truly sovereign, and at the same time just and merciful. It makes no difference whether a nation or a single man is in view, for He is above both. He acts so that no corrupt man may reign and trap the people.
So who are the "they" at the start of the verse?
Leslie M. GrantThese were those who oppressed the poor.
A Judge with no favourites
A few verses earlier Elihu had said that God shows no partiality to princes. That cuts straight at Job's own complaint.
Leslie M. Grant"Yet He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor" (v.19). Job had been rich, but he should have observed that God did not favour him above others who were poor. In fact, he imagines that God showed partiality by allowing him to suffer rather than others. But this only exposed his lack of discernment. However, all men are "the work of His hands." God is doing a very wise work with every individual.
Nothing hidden, no one beyond reach
Hearing the cry of the afflicted is one half of a pair. The same God who hears also sees, and the wicked cannot get out of range of either.
F. B. HoleElihu goes on to speak of the searching judgment of God. There is no darkness or deep shadow where those who do evil may hide themselves. He went on to say that God's judgments are always right. He acts as seems good in His sight, breaking in pieces and overthrowing mighty men, yet on the other hand hearing the cry of the afflicted.
Their cause remembered
One writer links God's memory of the poor to the safety of everyone God has acquitted.
Samuel RidoutLastly, Elihu with few words reminds his hearers of God's actual judgments. He strikes evildoers who depart from Him; He remembers the cause of the poor and needy. So too, if He acquits and gives quietness, who can condemn? "It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?" (Rom. 8:33-34). If He hides His face, who can look upon Him?
The unpaid and the ignored
This has a sharp edge for anyone able to make others cry out. The same principle shows up in a warning about unpaid wages.
C. H. MackintoshDo you want to know what God thinks of such behaviour? Then listen to these words of holy indignation: "Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." (James 5:4) "The Lord of hosts" hears the cry of the wronged and disappointed labourer. God will not let anyone heartlessly toss aside the claims of the poor.
Job's own cry
Elihu is not only talking about oppressors and their victims. He is answering the man in front of him, who felt God was ignoring him.
Leslie M. GrantDid God hear the cry of the poor? Yes indeed! Did God hear the complaints of Job? Job did not think so. But God does hear, and He will answer in His own time and way… At the moment God had not given quietness to Job, though He certainly did so later.
Summary
- Cause — oppressors themselves send the cry of the poor up to God. Their own cruelty puts the case of the poor before Him.
- Heard — God hears the cry of the afflicted, and He remembers the cause of the poor and needy.
- Impartial — God shows no partiality to princes. He does not put the rich above the poor. All are the work of His hands.
- Exposed — no darkness hides those who do evil. God overturns them and strikes them in front of everyone.
- Timing — God does hear, but He answers in His own time and way. Job found that out later, when God gave him quietness.