Job Chapter 36
Elihu Teaches Job about God
A. Elihu teaches Job about the justice and righteousness of God
1. Job 36:1–4 — Elihu: “There are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.”
“Elihu also proceeded, and said,
Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.” (Job 36:1–4, KJV)
Elihu continues his discourse with confident insistence. His opening plea, “Suffer me a little,” reveals that he senses resistance from his audience. His prior speeches were pointed, confrontational, and lengthy. Now he requests continued patience, claiming he has not yet fully represented God’s case. He positions himself not merely as a commentator on Job’s suffering, but as an advocate “on God’s behalf.” This is a bold claim. Unlike Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who appealed to ancient tradition and conventional wisdom, Elihu asserts a kind of immediacy and divine insight. He speaks not from inherited proverbs but from what he claims is revelation.
His statement, “I will fetch my knowledge from afar,” suggests that he believes his understanding transcends common reasoning. It implies elevated perception, possibly even prophetic insight. Yet the assertion that “he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee” must be interpreted carefully. The most natural reading identifies the “perfect in knowledge” as God Himself, not Elihu. This interpretation is confirmed later in Job 37:16, where Elihu explicitly attributes perfect knowledge to God:
“Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” (Job 37:16, KJV)
If Elihu refers to God in Job 36:4, then he is claiming divine alignment, not divine perfection. However, even that posture is dangerous. Claiming to speak for God requires accuracy and humility. Elihu’s confidence borders on presumption. This is the recurring tension in his speeches. He often speaks true theological principles, yet applies them incorrectly to Job’s situation.
There is also a practical lesson here. Elihu promises brevity, yet continues for multiple chapters. Scripture often models directness in communication. Truth does not require unnecessary embellishment. Sound doctrine delivered clearly is more powerful than extended verbosity. Still, the Spirit of God preserves Elihu’s words in the canon, indicating that his contribution, though flawed in application, contains theological substance.
2. Job 36:5–12 — God rewards the obedient and the disobedient perish
“Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.
He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.
And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;
Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.” (Job 36:5–12, KJV)
Elihu now presents a theological framework rooted in divine justice. He begins with a powerful truth: “God is mighty, and despiseth not any.” The greatness of God does not produce contempt for man. On the contrary, His omnipotence is matched by moral perfection. The Lord is not indifferent to the lowly. This aligns with the broader testimony of Scripture:
“Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” (Psalm 138:6, KJV)
Divine majesty does not negate divine compassion. Because God is infinite, He can govern all without neglecting any.
Elihu affirms that God does not preserve the wicked but gives justice to the oppressed. This reflects covenantal justice. Scripture consistently affirms that ultimate preservation belongs to the righteous:
“For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Psalm 1:6, KJV)
However, Elihu oversimplifies the timing of that justice. He assumes that visible circumstances always reveal moral standing. That assumption is precisely what the Book of Job challenges.
When Elihu states, “He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous,” he implicitly contradicts Job’s complaint. Job repeatedly felt abandoned:
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.” (Job 23:8–9, KJV)
Elihu interprets Job’s felt abandonment as evidence of guilt. In his theology, the righteous are exalted, even enthroned with kings. If they experience affliction, it is corrective discipline, not punishment. According to Elihu, affliction functions as instruction. God “openeth also their ear to discipline.” This concept is biblically sound:
“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the LORD, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Hebrews 12:5–6, KJV)
Affliction can indeed be disciplinary. God may bind a righteous man “in fetters” to reveal hidden pride or transgression. Yet Elihu assumes that every case of affliction fits this corrective pattern. That is the flaw. The prologue of Job has already revealed that Job’s suffering was not disciplinary but demonstrative, designed to glorify God before the adversary.
Elihu then presents a conditional formula: obedience results in prosperity and pleasure, disobedience results in death. This mirrors Deuteronomic covenant language:
“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” (Deuteronomy 30:15, KJV)
Under the Mosaic covenant, national obedience brought temporal blessing. Yet even within that covenant, righteous individuals sometimes suffered unjustly. Elihu’s theology is orthodox in principle but rigid in application.
His warning is unmistakable: “If they obey not, they shall perish by the sword.” This is directed toward Job. Elihu urges repentance before destruction comes. Yet the reader knows Job is not under threat of divine wrath. He is under divine testing.
The key theological tension here is the difference between general principle and specific case. It is true that God ultimately exalts the righteous and judges the wicked. It is true that discipline can refine believers. It is true that rebellion brings destruction. What Elihu fails to grasp is that Job’s suffering does not fit the pattern of punitive justice. God’s purposes are sometimes larger than immediate moral causation.
Thus, Elihu presents a strong affirmation of God’s righteousness, divine oversight, moral government, and disciplinary grace. His doctrine of divine justice is accurate in broad theological terms. His misstep lies in assuming that providence always reveals moral status in real time. The book will ultimately show that God’s sovereignty transcends human formulas.
3. Job 36:13–15 — The sad fate of the hypocrite
“But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.
They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.” (Job 36:13–15, KJV)
Elihu now sharpens his tone and moves from general theology to pointed warning. The phrase “hypocrites in heart” reveals the core of his accusation. He is no longer speaking abstractly about the wicked. He is aiming at Job. In Elihu’s judgment, Job’s refusal to confess hidden sin proves that his righteousness is superficial. To Elihu, persistence in self defense equals rebellion against God.
When Elihu says the hypocrites “heap up wrath,” he echoes a broader biblical principle that persistent rebellion accumulates divine judgment. The Apostle Paul later expresses this same truth:
“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” (Romans 2:5, KJV)
The idea is not that God is impulsive, but that unrepentant resistance intensifies eventual judgment. In Elihu’s reasoning, Job’s continued insistence on innocence is not integrity but defiance. Therefore, each speech of protest increases his liability before God.
Elihu adds that such men “cry not when he bindeth them.” In his theology, affliction is a divine summons to repentance. The righteous respond with humility and prayer. The hypocrite responds with stubborn silence or complaint. This contrasts with David’s posture in affliction:
“I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” (Psalm 3:4, KJV)
True suffering, in Elihu’s framework, produces supplication. Failure to cry out signals spiritual corruption. Yet this again misreads Job. Job has cried out repeatedly. He has lamented, questioned, and sought audience with God. His problem is not silence but anguish.
The statement “They die in youth” reflects the ancient assumption that premature death signals divine displeasure. Under the Mosaic covenant, longevity was often presented as covenant blessing:
“Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12, KJV)
Elihu applies that principle rigidly. Early death, in his reasoning, equals divine judgment. He further intensifies the warning by stating, “their life is among the unclean.” The term translated “unclean” carries connotations of moral corruption, cultic impurity, and association with degraded practices. In ancient Near Eastern idolatry, ritual prostitution was often attached to pagan worship systems. Thus, Elihu paints a humiliating end, not merely death but disgrace.
The implication toward Job is unmistakable. Persist in resistance, and you will share the fate of the morally corrupt. This is a severe escalation from theological correction to moral indictment.
Yet Elihu immediately balances the warning with a statement about divine compassion: “He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.” This is an important theological assertion. God uses affliction as instruction. Suffering can function as revelation. The Lord refines through pressure:
“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” (Psalm 119:67, KJV)
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:71, KJV)
Affliction, rightly received, produces spiritual awakening. God “openeth their ears.” The imagery suggests that suffering breaks spiritual deafness. It is a severe mercy.
The theological strength of Elihu’s statement lies in its recognition that God disciplines for restoration. The weakness lies in his assumption that Job’s suffering must be corrective punishment rather than sovereign testing. The reader already knows from the heavenly scene that Job’s affliction is not wrath stored up but a demonstration of steadfast faith before the adversary.
Elihu’s argument therefore contains truth in principle but error in diagnosis. Hypocrisy does store up wrath. Persistent rebellion does end in ruin. God does use suffering to awaken the humble. Yet Job’s lament is not hypocrisy, and his suffering is not the accumulation of secret wrath.
B. Elihu teaches Job about the greatness of God
1. Job 36:16–21 — Elihu to Job: “What God would have done for you”
“Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.
But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.
Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.
Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.
Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.” (Job 36:16–21, KJV)
Elihu now shifts from principle to personal application. He tells Job what God “would have” done, implying that Job’s suffering is not inevitable but self inflicted. In Elihu’s reasoning, repentance would have changed everything. The imagery is powerful. God would have removed Job “out of the strait into a broad place.” The narrow place represents confinement, pressure, and anguish. The broad place symbolizes freedom, safety, and divine favor. This language echoes other biblical imagery:
“He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19, KJV)
Elihu believes Job forfeited this deliverance through stubbornness. He adds that Job’s table would have been “full of fatness,” meaning abundance and blessing. Under covenant theology, obedience often resulted in material prosperity:
“Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.” (Deuteronomy 28:3, KJV)
Yet Elihu applies covenant patterns mechanically. He assumes suffering automatically signals disobedience.
His accusation becomes explicit in verse 17: “thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked.” In Elihu’s mind, Job is not merely suffering like the wicked, he is suffering because he is wicked. “Judgment and justice take hold on thee.” That is a severe charge. It contradicts the divine assessment given at the beginning of the book:
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8, KJV)
Elihu’s theology of justice is correct in principle, but wrong in diagnosis. He does not have access to the heavenly prologue. Therefore he misinterprets providence.
Verse 18 introduces a warning: “beware lest he take thee away with his stroke.” Elihu suggests that Job stands on the brink of fatal judgment. He insists that “a great ransom cannot deliver thee.” No payment, no strength, no wealth could rescue Job if God determined to strike him. This reflects a true theological principle. No human resource can overturn divine decree:
“None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” (Psalm 49:7, KJV)
Elihu assumes Job trusts in former wealth and strength. “Will he esteem thy riches?” This is a common human tendency. Scripture frequently warns against trusting in riches:
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17, KJV)
But Job never placed ultimate trust in wealth. When he lost everything, he said:
“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21, KJV)
Elihu’s assumption does not match Job’s recorded response.
Verse 20 warns against desiring “the night,” possibly meaning longing for death or escape. Earlier, Job had indeed expressed a desire for death:
“Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?” (Job 3:11, KJV)
Elihu interprets that longing as sinful rebellion. He concludes with the accusation: “for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.” In other words, Job chose iniquity over humble endurance. From Elihu’s perspective, Job’s complaints are worse than the suffering itself.
This is precisely the kind of counsel that intensifies Job’s agony. It demands false confession. It asks him to renounce his integrity to fit a theological system. Yet Job maintains consistency. Though he will later repent of words spoken rashly, he refuses to fabricate guilt.
This section demonstrates Elihu’s unwavering belief in moral cause and effect. He sees suffering as consequence, not mystery.
2. Job 36:22–25 — Elihu again remembers the greatness of God
“Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?
Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.” (Job 36:22–25, KJV)
At this point, a noticeable shift occurs. Elihu’s tone becomes less accusatory and more exaltational. He lifts his gaze from Job’s supposed failure to the majesty of God. “God exalteth by his power.” Divine authority is intrinsic, not granted. No one instructs Him. No one assigns Him a path. No one can legitimately accuse Him of wrongdoing.
This reflects a foundational truth about divine sovereignty:
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (Romans 11:34, KJV)
And again:
“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?” (Isaiah 40:13, KJV)
Elihu is correct here. God’s ways are not subject to human review. No creature can summon the Creator to court. In this respect, Elihu anticipates the coming speeches of the LORD in Job 38 through 41.
He commands Job to “magnify his work.” This is worship language. Scripture repeatedly calls men to exalt the works of God:
“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:3, KJV)
God’s works are visible, observable, undeniable. “Every man may see it.” Creation itself testifies:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” (Psalm 19:1, KJV)
As the narrative progresses, a storm approaches. The imagery of power, visibility, and divine majesty begins to intensify. Elihu’s words transition from theological debate to awe filled reflection. Soon, the LORD Himself will speak “out of the whirlwind”:
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said.” (Job 38:1, KJV)
There is a profound contrast emerging. As the storm gathers, Job grows silent. The weight of divine presence humbles him. Elihu, by contrast, continues speaking. Even if portions of his speech align with truth, maturity often manifests in reverent silence before the Almighty.
The greatness of God becomes the dominant theme. Power, sovereignty, wisdom, and unchallengeable authority define Him. Elihu is correct to exalt God. Where he errs is in assuming that exalting God requires condemning Job.
3. Job 36:26–33 — The unsearchable greatness of God expressed in the storm
“Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.” (Job 36:26–33, KJV)
Elihu now reaches the theological summit of his speech. He declares, “Behold, God is great, and we know him not.” This is a profound statement of divine transcendence. God is not merely greater than man in degree, but greater in kind. His being is unsearchable. His duration is eternal. “Neither can the number of his years be searched out.” This reflects the doctrine of divine eternality:
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2, KJV)
Elihu’s central point is that finite creatures cannot fully comprehend the infinite Creator. Job had longed for answers, even for a hearing before God. Elihu responds that God is beyond human investigation. This principle is biblically sound:
“Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?” (Job 11:7, KJV)
And again:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9, KJV)
Where Elihu errs is not in the doctrine of transcendence, but in its application. He assumes Job’s questions arise from arrogance rather than anguish.
He then turns to the storm itself as a living illustration of divine greatness. “He maketh small the drops of water.” Elihu describes the water cycle in remarkable observational detail. Water evaporates, forms vapor, condenses into clouds, and falls as rain. Though the ancient world lacked scientific terminology, the phenomenon was clearly observable. Scripture elsewhere affirms the same process:
“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” (Ecclesiastes 1:7, KJV)
God governs this entire system. Rain does not fall randomly. It falls “according to the vapour thereof.” The clouds “distil upon man abundantly.” This reflects both divine power and divine provision. Rain sustains life:
“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17, KJV)
Elihu asks, “Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds?” The answer is implied. No one can fully grasp their formation, movement, or weight. The “noise of his tabernacle” refers to thunder, the rumbling canopy of heaven. The storm becomes God’s pavilion. This anticipates the Lord’s own appearance out of the whirlwind in Job 38.
“Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it.” Lightning flashes across the sky. It illuminates even “the bottom of the sea,” suggesting that nothing is hidden from divine power. Scripture often connects lightning and thunder with divine majesty:
“The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.” (Psalm 29:3, KJV)
Storm imagery consistently symbolizes sovereignty.
Elihu states, “For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.” The same storm that nourishes crops can also destroy them. Rain blesses, floods judge. This dual function reveals God’s providential control. Nature is not autonomous. It is governed. God uses creation both to sustain and to discipline.
“With clouds he covereth the light.” God can obscure the sun at will. Light and darkness are not independent forces but instruments in His hand:
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)
Finally, “The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.” Even animals sense the coming storm. Creation responds instinctively to shifts in the atmosphere. The entire natural order testifies to divine governance. Thunder announces the storm. Livestock grow restless before rainfall. These observations reinforce the point: if man cannot fully comprehend the mechanics of weather, how much less can he comprehend the counsels of God?
This section marks a significant elevation in Elihu’s tone. The harsh rebuker becomes the contemplative theologian. He moves from accusation to awe. The storm gathering in the sky becomes a sermon in itself. Soon, the LORD will speak from that very whirlwind.
The theological truth here is weighty and correct. God is great. His years are unsearchable. His governance of nature is precise and powerful. His works are both beautiful and terrifying. What remains unresolved is Job’s personal case. Elihu has described divine majesty accurately. He has not yet explained divine purpose in Job’s suffering.
