Job 35 - Introduction

Elihu's Third Reply to Job. Job's complaint that a man is in no way profited by his righteousness more than if he had sinned is made without knowledge. Neither righteousness nor sin affects God; their influence must be felt among men. Apparent exceptions can be explained

Job's complaint that under God's government of the world it availed a man nothing to be righteous, to which Elihu had referred, ch. Job 34:9, is now taken up and disposed of.

The passage has three parts:

First, Job 35:1, Elihu states Job's complaint that godliness avails a man nothing, and undertakes to answer it.

Second, Job 35:5, his answer. Neither godliness nor irreligiousness can affect God, who is too exalted to be touched by anything human. Their influence therefore must be on men, to their advantage or hurt.

Third, Job 35:9, having made this philosophical retort, Elihu proceeds to dispose of some cases that might seem exceptions to his principle or anomalies. There are cases where apparently religious men are not heard when they cry to God: men cry out because of oppression and there is no answer. But why? Because they cry amiss. Their appeal to heaven is the mere instinctive cry of suffering like that of the lower creatures, without trust in God they say not, Where is God my Maker?

And the controversialist ends as in ch. 34 with a charge of foolish talk against Job.