¹⁶ “But if you have understanding, hear this; listen to the sound of my words. ¹⁷ Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous mighty One…?” (Job 34:16–17)

True words to be sure, but the context reveals their import. The charge is fired against Job’s three friends who fancied themselves his counselors. Yet who is talking? The enigmatic Elihu, a young man (see Job 32:1-6) whose anger welled up as he listened to the rhetoric of Job and his three friends, Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz. Some have suggested Elihu’s comments reflect the wisdom of God (the name Elihu means “He is God,” and Job makes no retort against him as he did with the three friends). It is possible that the writer of the book represents Elihu’s comments as the summation of righteous human reasoning (which in fact, may be right on target), but reserves for God Himself no need of logical defense. When God does speak, He is unambiguous in addressing the insolence of Job. But God does not reduce Himself to a simple defendant in a court case. Instead, He simply pulls back the curtains of the cosmos for a moment to reveal Himself and the huge gulf between Himself and Job.

No theologizing or logical argumentation can adequately address the issues Job raises in his struggle with suffering. The answer God gives is simply Himself in all His righteous, powerful sovereignty. His ways are above our ways, and His thoughts above our thoughts (Is 55:9). That is essentially God’s response to Job in Job 38-42: “Who are you, Job, to question Me?”

So Elihu raises the question, which is really a criticism of Job’s friends. While Job vigorously questions God’s actions in his life, his friends impugn God’s character. God later says to Eliphaz, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has” (Job 42:7). In the words of Elihu we see what is wrong with what they had said. Their counsel is an affront to God’s righteousness.

Job’s counselors criticize him, saying his sufferings are a direct result of God’s righteous judgment against Job’s secret sins—a logical defense of God’s righteousness applied to an unrighteous life. But their conclusion is not just false; it is a condemnation of the true nature of God’s righteousness. May we never entertain a hint of reasoning that would attribute another’s suffering or misfortune to God’s justice against the sufferer. Such is not a defense of God’s righteousness, but a condemnation of it.

Lord, I confess to giving in to false reasoning about suffering and Your judgment. Help me be gracious to those who are in the midst of that struggle.