Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.
Elihu has just said what a humbled man would tell God: I have taken my punishment, and I will not offend again. Job never said it — so if he rejects God's dealings, must God redo them until Job approves?
God's Terms, Not Ours
Who sets the terms when God deals with a man? One writer puts the rejecting and the choosing back where they belong.
William KellyMan — Job — should have humbled himself to God instead. He should have bowed to His hand and owned his fault, wanting to be taught, and to sin no more. Was God to repay according to Job's mind? It was Job who rejected, and Job who chose, not Elihu. It was for Job, then, to speak what he knew.
The Answer Job Never Gave
Elihu refuses to accuse Job of what Job's conscience honestly denies. But a clear conscience does not give a man the right to dictate terms to God.
J. G. BellettElihu will not join in laying to Job's charge what his conscience truthfully resisted. But he will tell Job this. The thoughts of conscience are not to rule his judgment, or dictate his speeches. Job should have allowed the divine wisdom in all this severe discipline, instead of concluding that God was arbitrary in it, just because his conscience was clear. He tells Job that this should have been his word to God: "I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more."
The Choice Laid on Job
"You must choose, and not I" hands the decision straight back to the sufferer. Elihu will not make it for him, because it is Job, not Elihu, who is under trial.
Leslie M. GrantShould God repay Job according to Job's terms — just because Job did not approve? (v.33). Elihu therefore tells Job, "You must choose, and not I." It was Job who was being tested. Would he choose to criticise God or to submit to God? So Elihu invited him to "speak what you know." When Job criticised God, he did not know what he was talking about. He spoke only what he suspected might be true. How good to remember that the Lord Jesus always spoke what He knew (John 3:11).
Who Was Choosing
Did Job ever take that humbled place? One writer looks back over the whole debate to answer.
Samuel RidoutHad Job done this? A glance at the controversy and at Job's long speech shows the opposite. Job had found fault with God's judgments because they did not match his own shortsighted expectations. So it was Job who was choosing his own affliction, not Elihu. Elihu longs for Job to speak out and clear himself.
The Root of the Complaint
How could an upright man rebel against God's hand? One writer traces it not to hypocrisy, but to self-will.
J. N. DarbyIn Job we have an example of a strong and upright soul, not understanding grace, with a great deal of self-will. He knew he was not a hypocrite but was upright: God said so of him, and Job knew it. But there was a great deal of self-righteousness, self-complacency, and self-will. His piety made him attribute what came upon him to God, and his pride made him rebel against it.
What Replaces the Complaint
Job's clear conscience was real, but it was not the whole of what God wanted from him.
William KellyHe had a perfectly good conscience, but that is not enough. There is the great principle of self-judgment. There is the grand principle also of full submission to God, and of vindicating Him. He is right and wise in all, not only in what He does, but in what He allows. It is all for good. It may be very bad on the part of others, as it was on the part of Job's friends, but God had a good purpose for Job in it all.
Summary
- Reject — Job rejected God's dealings. Elihu's point is simple: the rejecting and the choosing were Job's, not his.
- Repay — God does not redo His dealings until a man approves. He does not repay on our terms.
- Choose — "You must choose, and not I" leaves Job one decision: criticise God or submit to Him. No one can make it for him.
- Declare — Elihu called Job to say what he knew, because he had been speaking what he only suspected about God.
- Submit — Under the complaint lay self-will in an upright man. The cure is self-judgment, and owning that God is right in what He does and in what He allows.