Job 34:26 Commentary and Bible Study

God shows them to be what they are by treating them as they deserve and so revealing their character. He punishes them openly for all to see because his justice is a warning to others not to do down the same path. This is the case even though many judgments await the final day and have not yet been carried out. His judgment is his verdict and the conclusion of the process of justice, since his examination of them was unseen for the most part and only the implementation of the punishment is visible. The sin was often committed only in secret and God alone saw it and this is a major reason why we cannot understand the process of justice for we only have a very small part of the picture. They turned back from following him and their hearts rebelled though they may have tried to maintain a semblance of religion. God even judges his true people when they behave like this (1 Kings 22:43; 2 Chronicles 16:7-12); how much more those who never really knew him.They turned back from following him. We read in John 6:66 that ‘from that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more’. This happened because they were offended at his teaching and could not accept that he could be a true teacher because he said things that made no sense to them. Doubt crept into their minds and it grew to such an extent that they now thought it right to conclude that they had been mistaken in thinking that he was a great teacher and worthy of their trust. When they met with this obstacle they felt foolish continuing to believe in a man who the majority disregarded, for they trusted more in men than in the Son of God. Others turn back from following Christ because they begin for the first time to see the cost of following him which they had only superficially consider before. Now they catch a sight of what it will mean in terms of lost friends, of bearing shame and scoffing for Christ, of being thought fools by those who consider themselves wise. All this is more than they can bear.