“Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.
Elihu is near the end of his long reply to Job, and he claims to speak on God's behalf. His opening line about God joins two things people usually keep apart: overwhelming might, and a refusal to look down on anyone.
Greatness That Notices
The word "any" leaves nobody out. One writer draws out what God's might means for the smallest creature on earth.
William Kelly"Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any." What a wonderful saying! People might have thought, and still think, that the greater God's majesty is, the less He notices the smallest thing on earth. It is the exact opposite. God shows His might by being able to hold everything in view, and to notice and care about the smallest insect.
An Answer to Job's Suspicions
Job had grown suspicious of God. One writer takes this single line as the answer, and as a word about how God's power treats the weak.
Samuel RidoutIn one sentence he sweeps away the wrong suspicions Job had been holding — "God is mighty, and does not despise any." His power has no limit, yet He looks with compassion on the weakest of His creatures. He is seen just as clearly in two endless directions — the endlessly great, and the endlessly small. What comfort there is in the truth, "He does not despise any!" His greatness never becomes an occasion for scorn. His wisdom has endless power, but He never uses it against the weak. He does not ignore sin. But we can be sure that He acts in perfect righteousness in all the afflictions He allows. Here Job's questions are answered. As a righteous man, he need not fear.
The same clause settles a further question: can God hate anyone?
Paul WilsonIf God "does not despise any" (Job 36:5), we can be perfectly sure He hates no one. Such an idea could not enter a mind shaped by the Word of God rather than by human reasoning.
Grace Hidden in the Words
The line says more than power. One writer hears grace in it, and reads what follows about the wicked as God bearing with them.
William Kelly"Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any." There we have a beautiful hint of the grace of God. "He does not keep the wicked alive." He bears with him. So it should not be called preserving. "He gives the afflicted their right. He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne." It does not matter whether it is the poor on one side, or the kings on the throne. They all come under the eye of God.
Mighty in Strength of Understanding
The verse also calls God "mighty in strength of understanding." One writer translates the same words more closely, and puts "heart" where the ESV has understanding:
William KellyLook! God is great, and does not despise. / Great in strength — in heart. / He does not let the ungodly live, / and gives the afflicted their right.
How God Governs His Children
This verse opens a passage about how God governs His own children. He does not drop them. He stops them.
J. N. DarbyThe second point I want you to notice is the government that God exercises over His children. He warns them by His word. If they do not listen, He steps in with His power to stop them, so that He may be able to bless them. See Job 36:5-14; chapter 33:14-30. In God's dealings salvation is never in question. He looks on His children, and disciplines those He loves.
The Weight of Despising Him
God despises nobody. One writer applies the verse to the family of Eli the priest, and to what their contempt for God cost them.
C KnappThey had dared to despise the One of whom it is written, "He is mighty, and does not despise any" (Job 36:5). For their pride, shown openly in the face of the Almighty, they had to suffer the harshest punishment the Jewish mind could imagine.
Summary
- Mighty — His might is joined to understanding, so His power is the reason He notices the smallest thing, not the reason He ignores it.
- Not despising — His greatness never turns into scorn, and He never uses His strength against the weak.
- Therefore not hating — if He despises no one, He hates no one.
- Therefore disciplining — the same might that refuses to despise you will step in and stop you. He does it so He can bless you, and your salvation is never in question.
- Therefore fear Him — contempt is a dangerous answer to a God who despises no one.