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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Moreover Elihu answered and said, |
Elihu – The youngest of four friends of Job who called upon him in his adversity to comfort him. R5878:2
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2 Hear my words, ye wise men;
And give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
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My words – As wise, or wiser, than any spoken by Job's comforters, but they were merely human wisdom. R5402:6, R5878:2
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3 For the ear trieth words,
As the palate tasteth food.
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Ear trieth words – The ear is the mouth of the mind by which it receives the word. R2949:2*
Mouth tasteth meat – Meat that goes no further than the mouth cannot nourish. R2949:2*
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4 Let us choose for us that which is right:
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
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5 For Job hath said, I am righteous,
And God hath taken away my right:
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6 Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar;
My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
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7 What man is like Job,
Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
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8 Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walketh with wicked men?
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9 For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing
That he should delight himself with God.
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10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:
Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness,
And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
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11 For the work of a man will he render unto him,
And cause every man to find according to his ways.
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12 Yes, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,
Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
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Not do wickedly – God is responsible for evil (calamity, trouble) in the sense of permission and arrangements as the penalty for violating his laws; but not in the sense of being the author of it. R871:6
Pervert judgment – The punishment must have some relation to the enormity of the offense--a principle out of harmony with the eternal torment theory. R523:4*
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13 Who gave him a charge over the earth?
Or who hath disposed the whole world?
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14 If he set his heart upon himself,
If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
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15 All flesh shall perish together,
And man shall turn again unto dust.
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16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
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17 Shall even one that hateth justice govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?
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18 Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,
Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
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19 That respecteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;
For they all are the work of his hands.
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20 In a moment they die, even at midnight;
The people are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without hand.
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21 For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And he seeth all his goings.
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22 There is no darkness, nor thick gloom,
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
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23 For he needeth not further to consider a man,
That he should go before God in judgment.
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24 He breaketh in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out,
And setteth others in their stead.
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25 Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works;
And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
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26 He striketh them as wicked men
In the open sight of others;
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27 Because they turned aside from following him,
And would not have regard to any of his ways:
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28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him,
And he heard the cry of the afflicted.
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29 When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?
And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?
Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:
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When he – Jehovah; the "God of all comfort." (2 Cor. 1:3) R2058:2*, R5403:1
Although these words (of Elihu) are not inspired, they are very wise. R5403:1
Giveth quietness – The children of God take these words in a very different sense from that suggested to Job by Elihu. We have quietness and rest of heart even in severe trouble. R5879:1
The Lord's people have a peace and rest of mind through the knowledge of God's plan and his justice, mercy and love. R5403:2
Precious balm of Gilead for wounded spirits on the battlefield of life; the gentle whisper of hope and love and courage when heart and flesh are almost failing. R5803:1
Knowing that when our hearts are loyal and true, our God does not mark against us the unavoidable blemishes of our earthen vessel. R5802:5
There is a cry which never fails to bring this quietness. It is the prayer for sweet, trustful, loving acquiescence to the will of God. R2058:3*
When God purposes to give peace, the whole universe will be in obedience to his laws and none can make trouble. R5403:1
Can make trouble – Job's calamity was not accidental. R5878:3, R5403:1
God permitted trial to come to test his servant, just as he permits trouble to come upon his Church. R5878:6
While the world is troubled, God's children have a peace that the world knows not of and can neither give nor take away. R5403:3
Trouble is not necessarily a sign of the disfavor of God. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." (Psa. 34:19) R5879:4
God did not always give our Lord Jesus quietness, but allowed trouble, like a great flood, to sweep over his soul. Some of the Lord's followers may have similar experiences. R5403:4
He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear (1 Cor. 10:13). R5878:6
To the world it might appear that the trials, testings, scoffs, to which faithfulness to the Lord exposes, would rob life of all its pleasures. But not so. R4103:1
The spirit which once tossed restlessly in chafing winds of lesser trials sinks in sweet submission under heavier griefs. R2058:6*
Against a man – Satan could not have sent all those calamities unless God had permitted it. Similarly we are under special divine care. R5403:1
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30 That the godless man reign not,
That there be none to ensnare the people.
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31 For hath any said unto God,
I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
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32 That which I see not teach thou me:
If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?
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33 Shall his recompense be as thou wilt, that thou refusest it?
For thou must choose, and not I:
Therefore speak what thou knowest.
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34 Men of understanding will say unto me,
Yes, every wise man that heareth me:
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35 Job speaketh without knowledge,
And his words are without wisdom.
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36 Would that Job were tried unto the end,
Because of his answering like wicked men.
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37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin;
He clappeth his hands among us,
And multiplieth his words against God. |
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