Job 35:9-16
“Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.
But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
There they cry out, but he does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almighty regard it.
How much less when you say that you do not see him,
that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!
And now, because his anger does not punish,
and he does not take much note of transgression,
Job opens his mouth in empty talk;
he multiplies words without knowledge.”
Tag: How long Oh Lord
When we cry out for relief from pain, we often only really want: Relief from pain. In most cases, when we are under duress, we don’t cry out for a deeper relationship with God. We cry out for freedom from the struggle. The best caption of the above verses is found in the Word Biblical Commentary on this section. Note:
In chapter 35, Elihu expressly disavows that Job is innocent. But unlike Eliphaz (22:5–9), he does not compose a list of sins Job must
fundamental presumption. To take but one example: Job assumes that when people are oppressed they cry to God for help, and charges that God does not answer. Not so, insists Elihu: one is far more likely to find people crying out “under a load of oppression” and vaguely pleading “for relief from the arm of the powerful” (35:9), but still not praying. They want relief, but do not turn to God and pray. They cry for freedom, “[but] no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker . . . ?’ ” (35:10). God does not listen to such empty pleas (35:13). What makes Job think, then, that God will answer him when the assumption underlying his entire approach to God is that God owes him an answer, and may well be guilty of injustice (35:14–16)?
Job is suffering. He has spent the most of that suffering crying out to God for answers. This friend, Elihu, tells him his thinking is wrong. He should not cry out for answers, but that this time of suffering will give him a deeper understanding of the grace, mercy and love of God. We ought not to cry for relief but for strength. We ought not to cry for answers but for insight. We ought not to cry for freedom from the pain, but for the grace of God to endure and see the hand of God in our lives. That is the message every believer has to live. God allows pain into our lives so that we can have a clearer and more visible understanding of His divine strength and grace.
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