Job 34:29 Commentary and Bible Study

In answer to prayer God gives quietness of soul. The reasoning is very similar to Romans 8: ‘What shall we say to these things?’ We are completely and utterly at God’s disposal, says Elihu, and what he decides to do with us is what will happen to us. Why worry about any other factor when his favour towards us is the one thing that matters? It is not by education or by great lands and prosperity or by power and influence that a man is promoted and blessed, but only by the favour of the Lord. Therefore let us not be foolish by giving attention to all those others things and neglecting entirely the approval of the Lord. We cannot disregard him and put in his place other things that will guarantee our happiness on earth. God has a thousand ways of frustrating our rebellious plans. Conversely, when he gives peace to a man, then his enemies are not able to disturb him, for they cannot touch the source of his blessing which is not known to them. God may act in this way towards a nation or an individual. He may bless a whole nation so that peace and happiness fill it, or he may take an individual and bless him in the midst of a situation of turmoil. No one is immune from his judgment and no one is beyond the reach of his blessing.God in his mercy may act to prevent some great evil coming about. There are few things more burdensome and out of place than for a hypocrite to reign over others. No one less deserves to rule over men. If he has obtained a position of authority, it is because he has hidden his true character from those around him, for if people knew him they would not have chosen him to rule. Even the unbeliever knows that without some degree of sincerity it is impossible to rule effectively. The hypocrite serves only himself. He has no real concern for the welfare of his subjects. Everything is considered as to how it will benefit himself. Through long practice he has perfected an approach to life that sacrifices the good of all others to his own good and he does not mind how much harm he does to others in the process. Once he is in power, he uses that power to protect his position and to prevent anyone removing him. He is happy to corrupt the institutions of the land and turn everything into a device to enrich and glorify himself.