“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
Near the end of his defence of God's justice, Elihu stops arguing. He puts words in Job's mouth — what a suffering man ought to say when he cannot see why God's hand is on him.
The Ground of the Appeal: God Is Righteous
Why should Job say these words at all? Elihu's answer starts with who God is, not with Job's case.
The Bible TreasuryJob had said that he himself was righteous, and that God had taken away his judgment. If God were not righteous — yes, the fountain of righteousness — how could He govern? "Shall one who hates justice govern?" "Surely God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice." "Who gave Him charge over the earth?" Elihu urges Job to understand that God is righteous, and in His righteousness He can act as He will. "He will not lay on anyone more than is right, that he should enter into judgment with God." Since this is so, the true place for Job was confession.
What the Speech Asks For
Elihu sets two responses side by side. One bows to God's hand; the other measures God by Job's own mind.
William KellyMan — Job — should have humbled himself to God instead, bowing to His hand and owning his fault, with a desire to be taught, and to sin no more. Was God to repay according to Job's mind? It was he who rejected, and he who chose, not Elihu. It was for Job, then, to speak what he knew.
The Limits of a Clear Conscience
Job's problem was not a hidden crime. His conscience found nothing, and Elihu does not pretend otherwise. What Elihu challenges is what Job did with that clear conscience: he turned it into a verdict against God.
J. G. BellettElihu will not join in charging Job with what his conscience truthfully resisted. But he will tell Job that the thoughts of conscience are not to rule his judgment or dictate his speeches. He should have allowed for the divine wisdom in all this severe discipline, instead of concluding that God was acting without reason in it, just because his conscience was clear. He tells Job this should have been his word: "It is fitting to say to God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more."
That leaves Job a fork in the road:
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 — bold assertion of self-righteousness and accusations against God, or the humble acknowledgment that he was wrong to hold such thoughts, with the prayer, "Teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more"?
Asking Instead of Accusing
Job could not see why any of this was happening. What should a person do with that kind of ignorance?
Leslie M. GrantElihu shows that God was testing Job. It was plain that Job did not see the reasons for God's dealings with him. Why not then humbly appeal to God to teach him, rather than criticise God?
The Words Job Never Said
Some read this verse as a statement of what is fitting to say to God. The ESV reads it as a question: has anyone ever said this? (The commentators quote an older translation, with "chastisement" where the ESV has "punishment.") Gaebelein takes it as a question — and Job had never said the words.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAnd Job has not yet learned the lesson; he needs more testing. Did a word like this ever come from his sinful lips: "I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more"? Has he asked in humility to be taught? Or has he said, "If I have done iniquity I will do it no more"? Sadly, his spirit was still unbroken, despite all the affliction.
Why the Lesson Cannot Be Skipped
Elihu is not handing Job an explanation. He is asking for surrender, and without it thinking gets nowhere.
William KellyUntil conscience judges self before God, the mind labours in vain in the field of God. Be assured that there can never be real, stable blessing apart from the breaking down of ourselves.
Summary
- Righteous — It starts with God, not with Job. The One who governs cannot pervert justice, so confession is the right place to stand.
- Borne — The first words accept the blow: bowing to God's hand and owning the fault.
- Taught — Not seeing the reason is a ground for asking, not accusing. Job could have appealed to God to teach him.
- Unspoken — Job never said it. His conscience was clear, but a clear conscience must not rule his judgment of God — so the testing went on.
- Broken — The lesson is surrender, not information. No stable blessing comes until self is broken down before God.