In the self-assurance of his competency to give wisdom to Job, and to correct his errors and to solve the mystery of his affliction, Elihu continues his speech and invites reply. "If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up." He makes his accusation against Job that he has not only affirmed his own innocence, but that he has also made charges against God. He then proceeds to vindicate the purposes of God in human affliction. "God speaketh once, yea twice;" the error is on man's part, who "perceiveth it not." He gives a view of the Divine corrections.
I. AS TO THEIR METHOD. The God that "is greater than man," who worketh secretly and "giveth not account of any of his matters," giveth instruction:
1. In a dream, in the visions of the night; opening the ears of men, and sealing their instruction.
2. By the severities of affliction; when man is "chastened with pain upon his bed." This is applicable to Job; and the former may have been mentioned gently to introduce this.
II. AS TO THEIR PURPOSE. This is always gracious. It is to save from impending danger, and to lead in safe and good ways.
1. To restrain man from evil paths. "To withdraw him from his purpose."
2. To hide pride from man. To bring down the high looks of the self-complacent and the wicked.
3. To save from untimely death, and from the weapons of destructive violence. To keep "his life from perishing by the sword." Sin tends to death both by natural causes and by violence. Then Elihu views these corrections -
III. IN THEIR HAPPY RESULT.
(1) Should the mediating Counsellor be near, and the way of life, the right way - the way of righteousness - be pointed out; and
(2) the smitten one return with repentance, saying, "I have sinned, and perverted that which was right;" and
(3) lifting up his voice "pray unto God;" then
(4) shall the Divine deliverance come:
(a) in an expression of the Divine forbearance;
(b) in admission to the Divine favour - "he shall see his face with joy;"
(c) in a gracious restoration, delivering "his soul from going into the pit'" and bringing him to rejoice in the light.
This is the Divine response to repentance which Elihu urges upon Job. Happy is every smitten one who, returning to God, finds a ransom price paid for his soul, and rejoices in a deliverance which restores to him the days of his youth, when "his very flesh becometh fresher than a child's." - R.G.
Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches.
Here is the great failure in the case of the three friends and Elihu: they speak broad generalities; they are sure the doctrine is right. With these, as mere utterances, we have no fault to find; but where was the wisdom which could apply the doctrine to the individual case? Where the holy skill that could touch the wound without aggravating it? Where that learned and eloquent tongue that could speak a word in season to him that is weary, and speak as if he were singing? Who could utter himself without making any noise; who could declare a judgment without perpetrating a violence? Such condolence is the very balm of heaven, but such comfort was never associated with bald generalities, rough, vague statements of truths, however profound; such condolence, such solace, can only be applied out of the heart that has itself become rich in experience, and learned through many a long school day to suffer and be strong. Common places, however profound and beautiful, cannot touch the agony of life. By "common places" is here meant statements which may for their truthfulness pass without challenge; they have become amongst the established truths of the world; they are accepted; the Church listens to them as to falling rain; they excite no surprise; they come and operate as by a gracious necessity. But what we want is particular application, study of every individual case; each heart has its own history, each spirit knows its own want. So, in listening to great broad declarations from the pulpit, we must each receive these declarations according to our individual need: they cease to be merely general when they become definitely and personally applied.
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Attention, Ear, Hearken, Howbeit, However, Job, Listen, Note, O, Pay, Please, Speech, Speeches, Utterances, Wherefore, YetOutline
1. Elihu offers himself instead of God to reason with Job8. He excuses God from giving man an account of his ways, by his greatness14. God calls man to repentance by visions, by afflictions, and by his ministry31. He incites Job to attentionDictionary of Bible Themes
Job 32:22 5531 skill
Job 32:21-22
5863 flattery
Library
The Host of Heaven and of Earth.
"The Spirit of God hath made me."--Job xxxiii. 4. Understanding somewhat the characteristic note of the work of the Holy Spirit, let us see what this work was and is and shall be. The Father brings forth, the Son disposes and arranges, the Holy Spirit perfects. There is one God and Father of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things; but what does the Scripture say of the special work the Holy Spirit did in creation and is still doing? For the sake of order we examine …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy SpiritThe Creaturely Man.
"The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."-- Job xxxiii. 4. The Eternal and Ever-blessed God comes into vital touch with the creature by an act proceeding not from the Father nor from the Son, but from the Holy Spirit. Translated by sovereign grace from death unto life, God's children are conscious of this divine fellowship; they know that it consists not in inward agreement of disposition or inclination, but in the mysterious touch of God upon their spiritual …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit
Whether the Testimony of the Father's Voice, Saying, "This is My Beloved Son," was Fittingly Added?
Objection 1: It would seem that the testimony of the Father's voice, saying, "This is My beloved Son," was not fittingly added; for, as it is written (Job 33:14), "God speaketh once, and repeateth not the selfsame thing the second time." But the Father's voice had testified to this at the time of (Christ's) baptism. Therefore it was not fitting that He should bear witness to it a second time. Objection 2: Further, at the baptism the Holy Ghost appeared under the form of a dove at the same time as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether for the Justification of the Ungodly is Required a Movement of the Free-Will?
Objection 1: It would seem that no movement of the free-will is required for the justification of the ungodly. For we see that by the sacrament of Baptism, infants and sometimes adults are justified without a movement of their free-will: hence Augustine says (Confess. iv) that when one of his friends was taken with a fever, "he lay for a long time senseless and in a deadly sweat, and when he was despaired of, he was baptized without his knowing, and was regenerated"; which is effected by sanctifying …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether Divination by Dreams is Unlawful?
Objection 1: It would seem that divination by dreams is not unlawful. It is not unlawful to make use of divine instruction. Now men are instructed by God in dreams, for it is written (Job 33:15,16): "By a dream in a vision by night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, and they are sleeping in their beds, then He," God to wit, "openeth the ears of men, and teaching instructeth them in what they are to learn." Therefore it is not unlawful to make use of divination by dreams. Objection 2: Further, those …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether Nocturnal Pollution is a Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that nocturnal pollution is a sin. For the same things are the matter of merit and demerit. Now a man may merit while he sleeps, as was the case with Solomon, who while asleep obtained the gift of wisdom from the Lord (3 Kings 3:2, Par. 1). Therefore a man may demerit while asleep; and thus nocturnal pollution would seem to be a sin. Objection 2: Further, whoever has the use of reason can sin. Now a man has the use of reason while asleep, since in our sleep we frequently …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether Pride is a Special Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that pride is not a special sin. For Augustine says (De Nat. et Grat. xxix) that "you will find no sin that is not labelled pride"; and Prosper says (De Vita Contempl. iii, 2) that "without pride no sin is, or was, or ever will be possible." Therefore pride is a general sin. Objection 2: Further, a gloss on Job 33:17, "That He may withdraw man from wickedness [*Vulg.: 'From the things that he is doing, and may deliver him from pride']," says that "a man prides himself when …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
The Christian Man
Scripture references: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7; 9:6; Job 33:4; Psalm 100:3; 8:4-9; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Acts 17:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Hebrews 2:6,7; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Corinthians 2:9. WHAT IS MAN? What Shall We Think of Man?--Who is he? What is his place on the earth and in the universe? What is his destiny? He is of necessity an object of thought. He is the subject of natural laws, instincts and passions. How far is he free; how far bound? …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Material Universe.
There are many who think of the work of the Holy Spirit as limited to man. But God reveals to us in His Word that the Holy Spirit's work has a far wider scope than this. We are taught in the Bible that the Holy Spirit has a threefold work in the material universe. I. The creation of the material universe and of man is effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit. We read in Ps. xxxiii. 6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." We …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Whether a Movement of the Free Will is Required for the Justification of the Ungodly
Whether a Movement of the Free Will is required for the Justification of the Ungodly We proceed to the third article thus: 1. It seems that a movement of the free will is not required for the justification of the ungodly. For we see that infants are justified through the sacrament of Baptism without any movement of the free will, and sometimes adults also. Augustine indeed says that when one of his friends lay sick of a fever, "he lay for long unconscious in a deathly sweat, and when given up in …
Aquinas—Nature and Grace
Whether the Precept of Fraternal Correction Demands that a Private Admonition Should Precede Denunciation?
Objection 1: It would seem that the precept of fraternal correction does not demand that a private admonition should precede denunciation. For, in works of charity, we should above all follow the example of God, according to Eph. 5:1,2: "Be ye followers of God, as most dear children, and walk in love." Now God sometimes punishes a man for a sin, without previously warning him in secret. Therefore it seems that there is no need for a private admonition to precede denunciation. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit as Revealed in his Names.
At least twenty-five different names are used in the Old and New Testaments in speaking of the Holy Spirit. There is the deepest significance in these names. By the careful study of them, we find a wonderful revelation of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. I. The Spirit. The simplest name by which the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible is that which stands at the head of this paragraph--"The Spirit." This name is also used as the basis of other names, so we begin our study with this. …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
The Order of Thought which Surrounded the Development of Jesus.
As the cooled earth no longer permits us to understand the phenomena of primitive creation, because the fire which penetrated it is extinct, so deliberate explanations have always appeared somewhat insufficient when applying our timid methods of induction to the revolutions of the creative epochs which have decided the fate of humanity. Jesus lived at one of those times when the game of public life is freely played, and when the stake of human activity is increased a hundredfold. Every great part, …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus
"Let any Man Come. "
[7] "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."--John 7:37-38. THE text which heads this paper contains one of those mighty sayings of Christ which deserve to be printed in letters of gold. All the stars in heaven are bright and beautiful; yet even a child can see that "one star differeth from another in glory" …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times
The Deity of the Holy Spirit.
In the preceding chapter we have seen clearly that the Holy Spirit is a Person. But what sort of a Person is He? Is He a finite person or an infinite person? Is He God? This question also is plainly answered in the Bible. There are in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments five distinct and decisive lines of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit. I. Each of the four distinctively Divine attributes is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. What are the distinctively Divine attributes? Eternity, omnipresence, …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Its Source
Let us here review, briefly, the ground which we have already covered. We have seen, first, that "to justify" means to pronounce righteous. It is not a Divine work, but a Divine verdict, the sentence of the Supreme Court, declaring that the one justified stands perfectly conformed to all the requirements of the law. Justification assures the believer that the Judge of all the earth is for him, and not against him: that justice itself is on his side. Second, we dwelt upon the great and seemingly insoluable …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification
The Care of the Soul Urged as the one Thing Needful
Luke 10:42 -- "But one thing is needful." It was the amiable character of our blessed Redeemer, that "he went about doing good," this great motive, which animated all his actions, brought him to the house of his friend Lazarus, at Bethany, and directed his behavior there. Though it was a season of recess from public labor, our Lord brought the sentiments and the pious cares of a preacher of righteousness into the parlor of a friend; and there his doctrine dropped as the rain, and distilled as the …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield
The Sick Person Ought Now to Send for Some Godly and Religious Pastor.
In any wise remember, if conveniently it may be, to send for some godly and religious pastor, not only to pray for thee at thy death--for God in such a case hath promised to hear the prayers of the righteous prophets, and elders of the church (Gen. xx. 7; Jer. xviii. 20; xv. 1; 1 Sam. xii. 19, 23; James v. 14, 15, 16)--but also upon thy unfeigned repentance to declare to thee the absolution of thy sins. For as Christ hath given him a calling to baptize thee unto repentance for the remission of thy …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety
"That the Righteousness of the Law Might be Fulfilled in Us. "
Rom. viii. 4.--"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." God having a great design to declare unto the world both his justice and mercy towards men, he found out this mean most suitable and proportioned unto it, which is here spoken of in the third verse,--to send his own Son to bear the punishment of sin, that the righteousness of the law might be freely and graciously fulfilled in sinners. And, indeed, it was not imaginable by us, how he could declare both in the salvation …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
Conversion.
THE DIFFICULTY OF CONVERSION. CONVERSION to God is not so easy and so smooth a thing, as some would have men believe it is. Why is man's heart compared to fallow ground, God's word to a plough, and his ministers to ploughmen, if the heart indeed has no need of breaking in order to the receiving of the seed of God unto eternal life? Why is the conversion of the the soul compared to the grafting of a tree, if that be done without cutting? CONVERSION THE POWER OF GOD. A broken heart is the handy-work …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan
What the Scriptures Principally Teach: the Ruin and Recovery of Man. Faith and Love Towards Christ.
2 Tim. i. 13.--"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Here is the sum of religion. Here you have a compend of the doctrine of the Scriptures. All divine truths may be reduced to these two heads,--faith and love; what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do. This is all the Scriptures teach, and this is all we have to learn. What have we to know, but what God hath revealed of himself to us? And what have we to do, but what …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
I. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 1. PERSONAL NAMES GIVEN TO THE SPIRIT. 2. PERSONAL PRONOUNS USED OF THE SPIRIT. 3. THE SPIRIT ASSOCIATED WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON. 4. THE SPIRIT POSSESSES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 5. PERSONAL ACTS ARE ASCRIBED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. 6. THE SPIRIT IS SUBJECT TO PERSONAL TREATMENT. II. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 1. DIVINE NAMES ARE GIVEN TO THE SPIRIT. 2. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 3. DIVINE WORKS. 4. NAME OF THE SPIRIT ASSOCIATED WITH NAMES OF THE DEITY. 5. COMPARISON …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible
A Prayer when one Begins to be Sick.
O most righteous Judge, yet in Jesus Christ my gracious Father! I, wretched sinner, do here return unto thee, though driven with pain and sickness, like the prodigal child with want and hunger. I acknowledge that this sickness and pain comes not by blind chance or fortune, but by thy divine providence and special appointment. It is the stroke of thy heavy hand, which my sins have justly deserved; and the things that I feared are now fallen upon me (Job iii. 25.) Yet do I well perceive that in wrath …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety
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