Job 36:8 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters | Metropolitan Tabernacle

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Job 36:8

Comments

If the righteous are bound in fetters or held in the cords of affliction, God is acting towards them in a way that works for their good. It is the fatherly hand of God, and, even if pain is not one hundred percent chastisement, there is always some chastisement in it. Elihu has a very different approach to the three comforters since he makes room for the work of sanctification in the life of the believer. Trials and hardships do not come for one reason only, as the friends have said, proving Job to be a wicked man. They come also to chastise and correct the believer and to bring him to a better spiritual state; they may have this positive and remedial objective. This is much more helpful to Job and where he could not accept the crass mishandling of his case by Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, he should be willing to accept this word spoken in sympathy and kindness. Clearly this is Elihu’s meaning for in the previous verse he has already distinguished between the righteous and the wicked and what is said here must apply to the righteous. This is not to be seen as Elihu following the doctrine of the friends here.The righteous are bound in fetters, either actually or metaphorically, until this discipline succeeds n turning them back to God. The reason this is necessary is that conscience, which has already been in operation, has been ignored and therefore a stronger correction is needed. Its discomfort has been ignored by the wayward; now a stronger pain is required to turn them. They have become ‘as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle’ (Psalm 32:9). Though this matter did not arise in the discussion between God and Satan at the beginning of the book and Job was only considered in terms of his excellence above other men, God had a secret purpose in allowing these trials to further sanctify Job a way that was not otherwise possible, but this was no business of Satan’s. Job must show himself to be living proof that God’s children will not deny him even if their earthly comforts are removed. We always see any type of affliction as an opportunity to review our ways.

Application

God reminds the wayward of their work and their transgressions; he speaks to them through these chastisements and they are expected to read them aright. Conscience teaches them that these trials are more than just the vicissitudes of life which have to be shared with all men as a consequence of living in a fallen world. The righteous have acted defiantly by ignoring God’s first message to them about their conduct. They knew God was telling them that their path was wrong but they persisted. It is not right to say that the difference between the believer and the unbeliever with regard to sin is that the believer never sins deliberately; if they never sinned deliberately this further correction would not be necessary. We have to go through trials so that we face up to our sins.

God is never short of ways to speak to us, and when we ignore his gentle reproach, his voice gets stronger. There is a gradation in the Lord’s discipline and if we continue to ignore him, his voice gets louder and speaks with more force. It is wise for us to respond early and not to persist until he has to come to us with great force. God is obliged to command us to turn from iniquity, and who can resist the voice of him who commanded the not yet existing world to come into existence.

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Job 36:8 Commentary and Bible Study