Job 34:1 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters | Metropolitan Tabernacle

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Job 34:1

Comments

To prepare for what he is about to say to Job, Elihu appeals to his hearers to acknowledge that he is speaking the truth. Just as Job had paused to see if the comforters would continue to speak, so now Elihu appears to pauses to let Job answer him, but Job remains silent. This is a further confirmation that Elihu spoke the truth, and was at last addressing the real issue as far as Job was concerned. Wisdom and discernment come from God alone. The wise man is always listening and weighing up what he hears – ‘He that is spiritual judges all things.’ Using similar language to Job (Job 12:11), Elihu invites his hearers to examine what he says and to recognise that he speaks with knowledge and wisdom. He compares the ear and its ability to appreciate words to the palate and its ability to enjoy pleasant tastes. This faculty of discernment increases in power over time, for the wise man consults an ever-growing body of knowledge within him, which assesses men’s characters and their words and actions. It compares one thing with another and learns to reject the worthless and value to righteousness, power, holiness, goodness, justice and truth. It knows that what does not conform to these is not worth investigating further, for to fail in one of these attributes is fatal to wisdom. Elihu like all men of God is ready for the wise to judge what he says, and for his words to be subjected to their scrutiny (Matthew Henry). It starts with the Biblical foundation: the truth of God revelation, the fall of man and his twistedness by nature, the need for a Saviour sent from heaven, the radical nature of conversion through the work of the Spirit, God’s dealings with the soul in sanctification, and the judgment to come at the return of Christ.Elihu makes much of this – you must listen, judge, and use your mind. Job had accused God of not listening and judging right. He had quite rightly defended himself, but in doing so he had clearly gone too far. He was anger even at God. He swings into self-righteousness. Job is a saved man, but he becomes rather self-righteous and resents the way in which God deals with him. But he is are wrong. Although Elihu speaks at times of Job in the third person, the words that follow address Job specifically as the singular in verse 16 shows, but since this is a public correction then all are free to judge the value of what he says.

Application

Christians must listen carefully. Time and again we catch ourselves out, working out our guidance without seeing the principles of the Bible. It is a constant problem. If someone is faced with a with great problem, is it their great objective to be guided by the word? We may live with a haughty spirit. Everyone tempted to this by the devil. We think well of ourselves, and if corrected, we react and cannot listen. Or it may be self-righteousness. We can be outwardly humble and not prickly, but every time the word comes to us we deflect it on to another. Or we develop a bitter spirit – that is easy because there are many things around us which can embitter us. People led us down. We can start to think even the ministry is against us. Perhaps we have an argumentative spirit. It becomes a kind of habit. Let us be careful not to argue with God, with the word. If God says it, then we must obey it. An indifferent spirit – the word can put its finger on wrong things in our lives, but we take no notice because we have become indifferent. Such a person is in for great discipline. It may be a fickle spirit – your initial response is sincere, but you soon forget and go back to your old ways. Some people are stubborn, like the argumentative. They won’t argue because they might lose, but they will hold out against reproof. All these things can invade our hearts.

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Job 34:1 Commentary and Bible Study