The Book of Job

Word Study

"mighty," Hebrew kabbir (כַּבִּיר), great, mighty, powerful. Elihu states a truth of great beauty, and it begins with God's sheer greatness: "Behold, God is mighty." The word speaks of one who is vast and abundant in power, so much so that He might be expected to have no interest in the small.

"despiseth," yim'as (יִמְאָס), reject, spurn, hold in contempt. But the opposite is true: "and despiseth not any." God's infinite power might seem to make Him distant and disdainful of small, weak creatures, yet His greatness is joined to tenderness. This is the wonder of the God of the Bible: "though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly" (Psalm 138:6); "for thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity... I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isaiah 57:15). Human greatness tends to breed contempt for the small; divine greatness overflows in compassion.

"strength," koach (כֹּחַ). The first half of the second line, "he is mighty in strength": God is supreme in raw power. Elihu's word is a comfort to every lowly, suffering, insignificant soul, for that strength is engaged on behalf of even the least of His creatures.

"wisdom," lev (לֵב), literally "heart," here strength of understanding. The Hebrew locates understanding in the heart, so that God's might is a might of mind as well as arm. He is supreme in both power and understanding, yet He looks with care upon the lowest. The greatest of all beings is not too great to care for the least. However small you feel, however overlooked by the world, the mighty God has not overlooked you and does not hold you in contempt.

Explanation

Elihu states a truth of great beauty: "God is mighty, and despiseth not any." His infinite power might seem to make Him distant and disdainful, but the opposite is true, the mighty God despises no one. His greatness is joined to tenderness (Psalm 138:6; Isaiah 57:15). Human greatness tends to breed contempt for the small; divine greatness overflows in compassion. This is comfort for every lowly, suffering soul: however small or overlooked you feel, the Almighty has not overlooked you and does not hold you in contempt.

Gospel Focus

"God is mighty, and despiseth not any", this union of might and tenderness is perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ, the Almighty who came in gentleness to the lowly. Though He is Lord of all, He "despised not" the least: He welcomed little children, touched lepers, ate with publicans and sinners, and said, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench" (Matthew 12:20). The mighty God who "despiseth not any" took flesh and stooped lower than all, "he humbled himself" (Philippians 2:8), to save the despised. He came not for the self-sufficient but for the needy: "they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (Matthew 9:12). And God hath chosen "base things of the world, and things which are despised" (1 Corinthians 1:28), that no flesh should glory. So no one need fear that they are too small, too sinful, or too broken for God. The mighty God despises not any; the Lord Jesus receives all who come. If you feel worthless in the eyes of the world, or crushed under your own sin and sorrow, look to the mighty Saviour who despised not the lowly, but came, and died, to lift them up. His strength and wisdom are engaged for your salvation, and He will never despise a contrite heart: "a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17).

Word Study

"delivereth," Hebrew yechalletz (יְחַלֵּץ), rescues, draws out. Elihu speaks one of the most important truths in the whole book about the meaning of suffering: "He delivereth the poor in his affliction." Note the preposition. God delivers the afflicted in their affliction; He is at work within the suffering, not only in removing it.

"the poor," ani (עָנִי), the afflicted, humble, oppressed. The word is broader than poverty; it names anyone bowed down by hardship, which is exactly where Job is. These are the people God draws out.

"openeth their ears," yigel oznam (יִגֶל אָזְנָם), uncovers their ear, so they hear. The Hebrew is vivid: God uncovers the ear, as one might push back a covering so a word can get through. This is the redemptive purpose of suffering that Elihu grasps more clearly than the three friends ever did. Earlier he had said that God binds men in affliction, and "then he sheweth them their work... He openeth also their ear to discipline" (v8-10).

"oppression," lachatz (לַחַץ), pressure, distress. And this is the instrument He uses: the very pressure of affliction opens the ear that would not listen in ease. Suffering can be God's chisel and God's megaphone, breaking through the deafness of comfortable hearts to make them hear. "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word" (Psalm 119:67); "it is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" (Psalm 119:71). Affliction is not always punishment for sin, as the friends insisted; often it is God's gracious instruction, opening ears that prosperity had stopped. God delivers the poor not merely from affliction but through it, using the oppression itself to draw them near and make them hear His voice.

Explanation

Elihu speaks a key truth about suffering: "He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression." God is at work within the suffering, not only in removing it, and He uses the very pressure of affliction to open the ear that would not listen in ease. This is the redemptive purpose of suffering the friends never grasped: affliction can be God's chisel and megaphone, breaking through the deafness of comfortable hearts (Psalm 119:67, 71). Often suffering is not punishment but gracious instruction, drawing us near to hear God's voice.

Gospel Focus

"He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression", the redemptive purpose of suffering that Elihu glimpsed is unfolded fully in the Gospel, where God works all our afflictions for good and uses them to conform us to Christ. "We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). Our light affliction "worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). God our Father chastens us "for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness" (Hebrews 12:10), and "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Hebrews 12:11). Even the Lord Jesus, our sinless Saviour, "learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8), and through His own affliction, the cross, wrought our deliverance. So the believer need not despair in trouble, nor conclude that suffering means God's rejection. Often it is His deepest mercy, opening ears deaf in prosperity, drawing us from the world to Himself, deepening our faith and hope. God delivers us not only from affliction but through it, and even in it. If your ears have been opened in oppression, if trouble has driven you to God as ease never did, then affliction has done its gracious work. The God who delivers the poor in their affliction is making you like His Son, and will bring you at last through every trial into glory.

Word Study

"great," Hebrew sagi (שַׂגִּיא), exalted, beyond measure. As Elihu turns to contemplate God in creation, the rain, the clouds, the thunder, he bows before the incomprehensible greatness of God: "Behold, God is great." The word means not merely large but past all measuring. "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: and his greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3).

"we know him not," velo neda (וְלֹא נֵדָע), we do not fully know. This is the humble confession of true theology: we can know God truly, but never exhaustively. He is greater than all our thoughts of Him, and "his understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5).

"the number of his years," mispar shanav (מִסְפַּר שָׁנָיו). Elihu turns from God's greatness to His eternity. His years cannot be counted because they have no beginning and no end.

"searched out," cheqer (חֵקֶר), investigation, fathoming. No investigation can reach the bottom of Him. This is a fitting climax to Elihu's speeches and a preparation for God's own voice from the whirlwind in the next chapters. This unsearchable greatness is not a cause for despair but for worship. Elihu is right to end by lifting Job's eyes from his own troubles to the vast greatness of God, for often our sufferings shrink to their proper size only when set against the immeasurable God. "God is great, and we know him not" is not the end of the search but the beginning of awe, and it prepares the heart to bow when God Himself shall speak.

Explanation

Contemplating God in creation, Elihu bows before His incomprehensible greatness: "God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out." God is so great we cannot fully know Him; His eternity cannot be measured (Psalm 145:3; 147:5). This is the humble confession of true theology: we can know God truly, but never exhaustively. His unsearchable greatness is not cause for despair but for worship, and it prepares the heart to bow when God Himself speaks from the whirlwind in the chapters to come.

Gospel Focus

"God is great, and we know him not", the incomprehensible God whom no searching can fathom has, in the Gospel, made Himself truly known in Jesus Christ, without ceasing to be infinite. We cannot know God exhaustively, "how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33), yet we can know Him truly and savingly, for "the only begotten Son... he hath declared him" (John 1:18), and "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). The eternal One, whose years cannot be numbered, entered our time, "the Ancient of days" (Daniel 7:9) taking flesh, so that the God we could never search out has drawn near to be known and loved. This is the wonder that Elihu could not yet see: the great God, unsearchable in His greatness, is also the God who so loved us that He gave His Son. And knowing Him now in part, we look forward to knowing Him more: "now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). The greatness of God is not a wall shutting us out but an ocean inviting us in, a greatness we will explore with joy for all eternity. Bow, then, before the God who is great beyond knowing, and rejoice that in Christ this unsearchable God has become your Father and Friend. "God is great, and we know him not," yet in Jesus we know Him, and shall know Him for ever.