Job 34:1 - Meaning and Application

Here, Elihu humbly turns to the people listening and tries, like a careful speaker, to win their goodwill and attention. He calls them wise men and people who have knowledge, because it is easier to reason with those who understand sense (Job 34:2). Elihu disagreed with them, but he still honored them as wise. Quarrelsome people often call everyone else foolish, but we should still give credit where it is due, even when we do not agree.

He also appeals to their judgment, so he is willing for them to test what he says (Job 34:3). A thoughtful ear can judge whether words are true or false, right or wrong. Just as we should test what we hear, we should also welcome testing of what we say. Elihu does not act like the only authority on the matter. Instead, he invites them to search it out together, laying aside anger, old feuds, prejudice, and stubbornness, and choosing sound judgment so they can find what is good.

Then Elihu strongly accuses Job for words that, in his view, dishonored God’s rule and government. He asks the listeners whether Job should not be called to account for them. He says Job had insisted on his own innocence, saying, “I am righteous,” and had refused to admit guilt, saying in effect, “Should I lie about my case?” (Job 34:5, Job 34:6). Job had also said that God had taken away his justice, meaning that he felt God had treated him unfairly (Job 27:2). Elihu adds that Job had spoken as if his wound were hopeless, even though he claimed no wrongdoing, and as if God would not help him (Job 16:16, Job 16:17).

Elihu further says that Job seemed to imply that serving God brings no benefit (Job 34:9). He grants that there is real joy in religion, because to delight ourselves in God means to enjoy fellowship with him, agree with him, and walk with him as Enoch did. That is a true picture of godliness, and it shows why God’s ways are good. Still, Job’s words seemed to deny any profit in serving God, much like those who said, “It is useless to serve God” (Malachi 3:14). Elihu draws this conclusion from Job’s words, even though Job may not have meant it so strongly. As Mr. Caryl notes, good people sometimes say more than they mean, and a good person will often bear more blame than he deserves rather than excuse himself when he has done wrong.

Elihu then makes the charge more severe. He says, in effect, “What man is like Job?” (Job 34:7). He means, “Did you ever hear anyone speak so wildly?” He describes Job as one who “drinks up scorn like water,” meaning either that Job spoke with bold contempt against God and his friends, or that he eagerly listened to scornful talk about others, or that his foolish words made him an easy target for ridicule. In any case, Elihu thinks Job’s speech exposed him to reproach and damaged the honor of religion itself. We should pray that God never leaves us to ourselves, so that we do or say anything that brings shame on us before the foolish (Psalm 39:8).

Elihu also says that Job was acting like someone who walks with the wicked and stands with sinners, because he seemed to favor them in his judgment (Job 34:8). He does not mean that Job kept company with them in daily life, but that his opinion appeared to support them and strengthen their hands. If, as Job seemed to suggest, it profits a person nothing to delight himself in God, then why should he not give free rein to his desires and join the workers of evil? A person who says, “I have cleansed my hands in vain,” does more than offend God’s people, he also encourages God’s enemies and repeats their way of speaking (Psalm 72:13, Psalm 72:14).