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[0:00] Amen. Job chapter 34 is the continuation of Elihu's speech, which he began properly in the 33rd chapter.

[0:10] ! He was introduced to us in chapter 32. He addresses Job personally in chapter 33.

[0:41] In chapter 34, he shifts his address and he begins to address the friends or the wise counselors of Job. In his address, he will begin to make a response which he thinks that they have failed to make.

[0:56] His problem with the friends of Job is that they have not answered accurately. That they have brought accusations and assumptions against the person of Job because of what they see before them.

[1:12] But they have given no biblical foundation, no grounds of truth for the assumptions which they have taken. They have said by their own admonition that surely because Job is suffering, he must be a great sinner.

[1:25] But they have not been able to validate that claim. Elihu has issue with that. He has major issues with Job. With Job's doubt of God in the midst of all of this suffering and pain.

[1:40] Here in the 34th chapter, Elihu will begin to respond not only to the friends of Job, but also to Job himself. As we will see a transition there in that chapter. It will continue into chapter 35, which we will not get to tonight, but I will show you the continuation of it.

[1:57] The word of God says, Then Elihu continued and said, Hear my words, you wise men, and listen to me, you who know. For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

[2:10] Let us choose for ourselves what is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good. For Job has said, I am righteous, but God has taken away my right. Should I lie concerning my right?

[2:21] My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression. What man is like Job, who drinks up derision like water, who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men?

[2:32] For he has said, It profits a man nothing when he is pleased with God. Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong.

[2:44] For he pays a man according to his work, and makes him find it according to his way. Surely God will not act wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Jesus, who gave him authority over the earth, and who has laid on him the whole world.

[2:58] If he should determine to do so, if he should gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. By the way, now let me just go ahead and say this aside.

[3:10] Verses 14 and 15 of this chapter are some of my favorite verses in all of the Old Testament, and really, in a nutshell, show us our utter reliance upon the Lord God Almighty for our very existence.

[3:23] We'll come back to that in just a minute. I just had to stop right there. Verse 16. But if you have understanding, hear this. Listen to the sound of my words. Shall one who hates justice rule?

[3:35] And will you condemn the righteous, mighty one? Who says to a king, worthless one? To nobles, wicked ones? Who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich above the poor?

[3:46] For they are all the work of his hands. In a moment they die, and at midnight people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away without a hand. For his eyes are upon the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.

[4:02] There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves, for he does not need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment. He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and sets others in their place.

[4:17] Therefore he knows their works, and he overthrows them in the night, and they are crushed. He strikes them like the wicked in a public place, because they turned aside from following him, and has no regard for any of his ways, so that they cause the cry of the poor to come to him, and that he might hear the cry of the afflicted.

[4:35] When he keeps quiet, who then can condemn? And when he hides his face, who then can behold him? That is, in regard to both nation and man. So that godless men would not rule, nor be snares of the people.

[4:50] For has anyone said to God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more. Teach me what I do not see. If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again. Shall he recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it?

[5:04] For you must choose, and not I. Therefore declare what you know. Men of understanding will say to me, and as a wise man who hears me, Job speaks without knowledge, and his words are without wisdom.

[5:15] Job ought to be tried to the limit, because he answers like wicked men. For he adds rebellion to his sin. He claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.

[5:26] Job chapter 34. I will have to admit and confess that studying the speeches of Elihu is more difficult than any other portion of the book of Job.

[5:40] We can understand Job's pain and misery. We can understand his complaints. We can understand it because we have been given the privilege of knowing what transpires in the courtroom of heaven before any of the events take place on earth.

[5:56] We can relate to the reality that Job is indeed innocent, at least by the standards of his counselors. That he is a man of completeness.

[6:08] That does not mean he is a man of perfection or complete innocence, for he bears the sin of all mankind. But we understand that his deeds do not necessarily deserve the punishment that is displayed upon his life.

[6:21] So we can understand Job. We can look at his friends and from a vantage point understand how they could perceive matters in the way that they do.

[6:32] We understand inevitably retribution theology. Because a man does reap what he sows. And we can understand it for we can look at people and say, well, they're just getting what they deserve.

[6:47] And that is retribution theology. We don't want to be rigid in it because sometimes it is not a deserved consequence, but rather it is a work of God. But when we get to Elihu, he is neither speaking retribution theology, nor is he declaring Job's utter innocence.

[7:09] He seems to be a man apart from the conflict. He is a man interjected into the conflict who really is not taking party with either side.

[7:19] But he is, as he had said in the chapter prior to this, that if a messenger would come and would speak into the situation, then wisdom would be gained.

[7:33] It is even more difficult when I realize, and by the way, this is just my personal admittance to you, that much of my interpretation differs from interpretations of other counselors that I read.

[7:51] And I have a hard time reconciling their take on it and my take on it. I'm just going to be honest. Many will read Elihu and have wrote commentaries of him and said, well, here is a man who is young and foolish and is speaking foolishness, and therefore we must just dismiss all that he has said.

[8:15] In the chapter before us, they declare that he shows his own foolishness and is puffed up in pride and is speaking retribution theology as much as anyone else.

[8:28] But just to be really transparent with you, I don't see that. I don't understand that.

[8:38] And so I wrestle. And I wrestle with the passages. And I've told you this before. It's hard to find critical commentaries on the book of Job because Job is a very difficult and deep book.

[8:52] And this would be one of the reasons why. But this is why we study it together and we look at the fullness of the word of God. And so in my own practice, I reread again the book of Job.

[9:06] And I want to see what God has to say about Elihu, which is nothing. There's no accusations. There's no judgment. There's no condemnation for false practice as there is for the other three.

[9:20] There's no pleading and praying of Job on behalf of Elihu in intercession so that Job can be restored and the other three be forgiven.

[9:30] But much of what Elihu declares comes to fruition when God begins to speak. Much of what he declares is a foreshadow of what God is going to proclaim.

[9:48] And so I think when we read it, we need to come to it in the simplicity of Scripture.

[10:03] And we need to take him at his word. He's not picking sides. But he's going to declare truth. And in the midst of that truth, there will be moments where it seems as if he is joining the accusations of his friends and saying Job is guilty.

[10:25] But then there will be moments where it seems as if he is standing on the side of Job and saying, but he does not deserve it. And there's this battleground in our minds.

[10:41] And I believe it is because, just to be quite frank, Elihu is not concerned to speak about Job as Job's three friends were.

[10:56] Go back and read their speeches. They had a lot to say about him. He is not concerned to speak about the wisdom of the world. Rather, Elihu speaks about the Lord God.

[11:11] And his focus is always set somewhere else. And here, in the chapter before us, we see a defense for God's justice.

[11:27] There are actually two matters that Elihu is going to address that Job has proclaimed in the midst of his suffering.

[11:40] One of them was very forward. Job said it. The other one is kind of a summarization of all of Job's complaints. We find those two matters very early on in chapter 34, where it says, in verse 4, let us choose for ourselves what is right.

[11:59] That word right there literally just means what is just. So let us declare what is just. And the second matter is this. And let us know among ourselves what is good.

[12:13] So what Elihu is going to answer in the 34th chapter is what is just. And what he's going to answer in the 35th chapter is what is good.

[12:25] And the reason he's asking these two questions is because Job has said, notice verse 5, Job has said, I am righteous, but God has taken away my right.

[12:40] Should I lie concerning my right, my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression. So what Job has said is that what God is doing to me is not just. My situation does not appear to be just.

[12:58] I am just. But what God is doing is not. So the first question to the Elihu wants to answer is, let us choose for ourselves what is just.

[13:11] The second one is found in the summary statement of verse 9, for he has said, that is, Job has said, it profits man nothing when he is pleased with God. Job had not literally said that.

[13:22] Some accuse Elihu of lying here and profaning. But he is summarizing everything that Job has said in the midst of all of his accounts. And if we were to go back and read every one of Job's speeches, it would read in this manner.

[13:35] What good has it been for me to do good? What good is there in doing right? And we can say that's a pretty fair summary statement of Job's argument.

[13:47] And so Job has said, it profits man nothing if he is pleasing to God. So Elihu is going to answer in chapter 35, let us know among ourselves what is good.

[14:00] So in chapter 35, he's going to say, is it really good to be righteous? Is it really good to do right and not do wrong?

[14:11] In chapter 34, he's going to answer the first question, what is just? Or the better one would be, who is just?

[14:26] In the light of the situation before us, in the light of Job's suffering, though he is innocent, in the light of our misunderstanding of retribution theology, who is just?

[14:42] Is Job just in declaring his innocence and therefore not being deserved of this suffering and this pain and this misery? Are his three friends just in declaring that Job must be guilty because he is indeed suffering?

[14:58] And they can see the visible evidence that was so appalling to him that they sat in silence and they put their hand over their mouth and they could not even comprehend the level of his suffering. Are they just in declaring that Job is indeed a sinner who is just?

[15:14] And Elihu answers in chapter 34, God is just. It's neither Job nor his friends.

[15:32] And in case we think that this is a false accusation, I'll remind you that the greatest commentary on Scripture is Scripture. And by the time we get to the end of this argument, Elihu seems to make a statement that the commentaries will say this, and I say this because we are people who want to study the Word and know the Word and we can be challenged by it, that the statement that Elihu makes at the end of this speech, at the end of 34, where he declares that Job is a sinner, that they say, see, retribution theology.

[16:00] Well, in case we miss the point that when God speaks, Job puts his hand over his mouth and says, Woe is me. And Job, by his own actions, declared that I indeed am not the just one.

[16:16] And so Elihu defends the justice of God without declaring or trying to give an answer.

[16:37] Today, it just so happened that in the midst of my day, and I'm not going to give you any more details than I do, so don't ask me for them later, that I received a phone call from probably the most unlikely of persons, someone that I hadn't spoken to in eight or nine years, that I thought that I would never speak to again.

[17:04] And this individual called me, asking me very difficult questions concerning their life and some choices ahead of them, and said the very reason they called me is because there were two preachers that came to their mind, and they knew that I would give a biblical answer.

[17:26] They were afraid that the other one may give a legalistic answer, but they knew that I would give a biblical answer.

[17:39] And it was one of those things that's a gray area. I'm not even going to tell you what the matter is concerned. It's a gray area. And so I spent the next 20 minutes answering this individual with a very difficult situation with Scripture because it didn't matter their feelings, nor anyone else's feelings, or anyone else's opinions.

[18:09] All that mattered is what Scripture said. It didn't matter my thoughts, and I have thoughts and opinions, nor my desires, but rather, this is what the Word of God says.

[18:30] Job's three friends stood before him and told them what they thought. Job continuously declared what he knew, which was limited.

[18:44] Elihu wants to talk about God. And he defends the justice of God.

[18:56] Let us know, and let us choose for ourselves, what is just, what is right. That's what Elihu says.

[19:09] Some take offense because he presents himself as a wise man. That is so prideful, they will say. How dare he? Well, if it doesn't offend God enough to rebuke him for it, then why does it offend us other than the fact that we misunderstand him?

[19:27] And maybe I'm wrong. I would love for you to study it and let me know if I'm wrong. I would love for iron to sharpen iron, because I wrestle over these things. It's not very often that I open myself up like this to you, but I do wrestle.

[19:40] But notice what he tells us. He tells us, first of all, that often doubt will creep in in the midst of chaos. That doubt will creep in in the midst of chaos.

[19:55] He says, you wise men. He's addressing the wise men, the friends of Job. Listen to my speech and taste it like your tongue tastes food.

[20:08] Discern whether or not it's right or wrong. Don't be offended by his imagery there. Let us take his own counsel and taste and see if what he says has some truth and bearing to it.

[20:20] He says, you wise men, listen to me and let one who is wise speak. Job has said, I am righteous. I have no guilt. And God has done me wrong.

[20:31] Now, here's the question. Here's how we know where and what is just or what is good. Job's statement is, I am righteous.

[20:43] And what God is doing to me is just not right. Now, let's think about that for just a moment. You say, yes, Job is righteous.

[20:54] God himself, he said it, that he is righteous. And I will say, amen. God did say Job was complete in all of his ways. But even in light of that, who are we to say that what God is doing is not right?

[21:16] Our righteousness means very little in dictating God's justice. But what we understand, and the first concept that we have to wrestle with is that often doubts of God's justice creep in in the midst of chaos.

[21:49] And God's not afraid of that because he has one to speak to that. And in this case, it's a lie. If you were just to be honest and transparent with yourself, have you ever in the midst of a chaotic situation or difficult situation or in the midst of pain and suffering or uncertainty, have you ever in your heart, or maybe like Job, in the audible words that came out of your mouth, say, God, this is just not right.

[22:23] What are you doing? I don't deserve this. And that's okay.

[22:40] Because here are the limitations of mankind. And those doubts will creep in. And the very thing that we doubt is whether or not God is just.

[22:55] Why? Because what was the very first doubt ever put into the brain of mankind? Did God say? Does he not know that the moment you take from the tree of the knowledge of the good and evil, you will become like him?

[23:14] See, it is doubting the justice of God. And that way, every moment we enter into chaos, which the enemy is always the creator of chaos, and do not lose sight of that, that the enemy was present, the son of God came and stood before him, and the adversary did as well.

[23:32] And the adversary asked permission to create chaos. And chaos is going on in the life of Job, just like it does in our lives, in his workings, when he is moving about, roaming to and fro.

[23:43] And the very first thing that pops into our mind is the doubt of God's goodness, and justice, and whether or not this is fair.

[23:54] And for that matter, we have to praise God for men like Elihu that we don't always agree with, because he comes before that.

[24:09] These other people, by the way, never defend God's justice. They spend too much time trying to convince Job of his sinfulness. And if we're going to just really be truthful, we don't need anyone to convince us of how sinful we are.

[24:26] We already know. That's the Spirit's job. We understand that. This is pre-Holy Spirit. We get that. Not pre-Holy Spirit, not that he was not in existence, but this is not the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, okay?

[24:37] The Holy Spirit is still moving and hovering over the depths of the earth. We get that. He's still present. He is fully God. He's a part of the Trinity. He's eternal. We get that. He's moving in various ways, but he's not indwelling.

[24:49] So it's not like Job had this indwelling conviction of the Holy Spirit that you and I would have. But there was still the sacrificial system. He was making atonement for his children. He understood the weight of sin, the consequence, but we don't need someone to convince us of our own sinfulness, even in the midst of trials and tribulations.

[25:08] At times, what we need is someone to come before us and convince us of God's justice. Even if it doesn't make sense.

[25:20] Why? Because doubts arise in the midst of chaos. So don't ever build your doctrine or your theology, that is what you believe about God, in the midst of chaotic times.

[25:37] Put it in the furnace of trials and chaos and put it in the furnace of tribulations and put it in the furnace, but you take your doctrine and theology into it. If you're on the mountaintop, write your theology there.

[25:49] Know what you believe about God before you get to the midst of the struggle because you carry that with you. I've encouraged you to do this before and I literally want you to do it and I can take you to my office and I can pull mine out right now and I can hand it to you.

[26:05] This is what I believe. And write it down. Why? Because when you are in the middle of it, you need to pull out what you believe because the enemy begins to speak lies and begins to bring doubt and begins to bring uncertainties.

[26:20] And in the midst of all that, you're like, I don't, I'm right. God's wrong here. Surely he's not just. But that's a natural thing.

[26:32] So Elihu's going to speak into that and he's going to defend the justice of God. And he starts where we should.

[26:44] Why do you write down, this is what I believe? Notice, Elihu starts with the sufficiency of his character. The character of God is sufficient to answer the doubts in the midst of the chaos.

[26:59] See what he says. Verse 10. Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.

[27:11] Far be it from God to do wickedness and from the Almighty to do wrong. There's no circumstantial attachments to this.

[27:22] He doesn't say, God's not doing wrong in Job's life. God's not acting wickedly towards Job.

[27:33] He says, it is an utter impossibility for God to do wickedness or the Almighty to do wrong. Therefore, anything that comes from God cannot be wicked or wrong.

[27:47] It is a character attribute of the Almighty. and it is sufficient to answer the doubt.

[27:59] He says, far be it. He says in verse 11, for he pays man according to his work. Some people say, oh, see, that's retribution theology. He gives man what they deserve. But notice how he does it.

[28:10] For he pays man according to his work. This isn't retribution theology, by the way. He says, and makes him find it according to his way. What does he say there? He says, he lets man find his own misery.

[28:26] We would call that you're going to reap what you sow. Sometimes you're going to just walk into the mess and it's a mess you created. There are times where people will say, well, God just took that away from me or God did that and God did that and I want to look and say, and I do it at times and I feel like it's the right opportunity.

[28:46] No, God didn't take that away. Your choices took that away. You did. And he lets you find it. He didn't have to bring any judgment upon you.

[28:57] You got what you wanted to get out of it. He quit intervening. He let you find it. That's not retribution theology. That's just a natural law of sowing and reaping.

[29:11] But it's impossible. Look at what he says. Surely, God will not act wickedly and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Elihu doesn't defend it.

[29:24] He declares it. Listen, friend, don't defend the character of God. Declare the character of God. God is good.

[29:35] He will not do unrighteousness or wickedness. And if someone says, why? I say, because he is God. There is no defense for that.

[29:46] It is a declaration of who he is. Too many times we try to defend and define things that are just literal truths.

[29:58] You don't have to defend the truth. Parents, you know it. If a kid comes to you and they're talking a lot and they're giving a lot of explanation for why they did what they did and they're giving all these extra words, extra words usually imply what?

[30:11] Guilt or a lie and you say, well you're not telling me the truth right now and I know you're not telling me the truth because you're giving me a bunch of words but if you come to me and you just give me simple statements and profound statements I'm saying, I'm prone to believe that.

[30:22] Now kids, you say, well I'm learning that and they don't learn it long enough because we all want to defend ourselves when we know we're wrong. In a multitude of words a fool is found, right? We understand that.

[30:35] Don't defend God's goodness, declare it. Elihu just says he can't do wickedness. What he does is good. Why?

[30:45] Because that's the character of God. That's who he is. And we need to understand the character of God because it is sufficient to meet the doubt and the miss of the chaos.

[31:01] when God reveals his character and his attributes and who he is and we see this all throughout scripture that God is just opening himself up and God is showing himself and God is doing all this other and he's showing us who he is.

[31:14] He's not just doing it so we can go, oh wow, check that out. He's doing it so we know about him and we know his ways and we understand him. God's character does not change. Our circumstances change.

[31:28] Our experiences change. sometimes the craziness around us changes but the one unchangeable thing in the midst of all of that is the character of God.

[31:38] God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That is why Christ is declared to be the anchor in the storm. Because his character is sufficient to answer, is he just?

[31:53] And for that we have to say yes. I can't understand it, but yes. You say, why do you know he's just? Because that's just who he is. And I have to accept that.

[32:07] Even if I don't feel like it, even if I don't understand it, it's who he is. He is just. He cannot do wrong.

[32:21] It is the sufficiency of his character. character. But notice also the accuracy of his considerations.

[32:34] Because the question still remains, what about Job? Look what's going on in Job's life. And we're still talking about the justice of God. Is God just to do this? But God does not misjudge any circumstance.

[32:47] He doesn't mess up. His considerations of man are spot on. I love what it tells us in John 3, 16.

[32:58] You understand John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. You understand that, right? But we know that Christ is speaking to Nicodemus right there.

[33:08] But I love what it says about Nicodemus way before that, all the way in the beginning of John 3, 1. It's a good way of saying that before Nicodemus asked the question, Jesus already knew what he wondered in his heart.

[33:31] Jesus didn't need Nicodemus to ask a question. He could go ahead and give him the answer. That's the accuracy of his considerations. What does it say here in the book of Job? But if you have understanding, look at verse 16, if you have understanding, hear this, listen to the sound of my words, shall one who hates justice rule and will you condemn the righteous mighty one against the character of God?

[33:54] How righteous is he? Who says to a king, worthless one, to nobles, wicked ones, who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich above the poor? What is he saying? The lot of he's saying is that God does not take social or economic status into consideration when he thinks about you.

[34:13] He's not going to pass judgment on how everybody else sees you. He's not going to pass judgment on who you are in the world. He's not going to see you through those tainted lenses of popularity.

[34:31] Why? For they all are the work of his hands. He knows what he has made, knit together and fashioned in the mother's womb.

[34:44] All mankind is the work of his hands. And if he has taken his time to knit us together and fashion us, and if we are all the work of his hands, then we understand that he knows us more than we know ourselves.

[35:00] It tells us that he calls the stars forth by name and tells them where to go in the heavens. He knows the name of every star. And he knows the place that they should shine.

[35:14] How much more does he accurately know every man and woman? He goes on. He says, in a moment they die, at the midnight, people are shaken and pass away.

[35:27] The mighty are taken away without a hand. He says, something happens. We don't understand it. We don't know why all this is going on. For his eyes are upon the ways of man. Nothing is done in secret.

[35:38] There's nowhere that anybody can hide from anything they do. Think about that for just a moment. His eyes are on our ways. There's no darkness, no depth, no place we could go to hide from his piercing view.

[35:56] And he goes a little bit further because what has been the heart cry of Job, oh I wish that I could have a day appointed that I could stand before the almighty and I could plead my case and I could declare God while I'm righteous.

[36:07] This is what he's cried out, right? Job says, I want that, I want a counselor to stand before me. Well he's got a counselor, a messenger in Elihu here and Elihu says it like this, verse 23, for he does not need to consider a man further that he should go before God in judgment.

[36:23] What does he say? God doesn't need you to stand before his judgment bar so that he can think about your case a little bit better. He already knows it. God doesn't The day of judgment appointed to each one of us, which I believe there is a day.

[36:38] For the believer in Christ we will stand before our Lord and Savior and we will give an account for all that we have done since knowing him as such. But the day of judgment is not so that God or Christ sitting on the throne could review the works of our lives and think about it for just a moment and consider what he should do with us.

[37:02] Rather the day of judgment is where he reveals to us what he already knows about us. It is a revelation to ourselves of what is fully known to him for all of eternity.

[37:15] It would not be so that we can get up and give a defense for we have no defense but the blood of Christ. It would not be so that we could stand and plead our case for we have no case to plead. We would be just like every other one in scripture that says woe is me I do not deserve to be here.

[37:30] We would declare our worthiness only in the price that the judge on the seat has paid for us. He would not need to tell us about ourselves. We would not need to tell him all the good things we have done because we could be like those in Matthew chapter 7 who said Lord Lord did we not do this and do we not do this.

[37:51] They tried to plead their case. What did he say? Depart from me for I never knew you. You can tell me what you know and did about me but I never knew you. I already know. God's assessment of mankind is always accurate.

[38:13] We do not need to plead with him to have an interview so that we can convince him that we are not deserving of what we are going through. And we say this because if his character dictates to us that he is indeed just then the trials and tribulations that we are walking through are flowing from his just character based upon his accurate assessment of who we are.

[38:37] Sometimes it is to strengthen us as such with Job. Sometimes it is to warn us as we find in Job 32 from going further or Job 33.

[38:48] Sometimes it is to refine us and to remove even those impurities that we were not aware that were in our lives. sometimes it is just to draw us closer to him.

[39:03] And sometimes it is to correct us. But for whatever the reason we need to know that God is absolutely accurate in his assessment.

[39:18] His considerations of me are better than I consider myself. why? Because I love me a lot of me. That's real bad English I know.

[39:31] I'm pretty good at convincing myself and everyone around me that I'm okay. But he knows me better than that. So even though I may say God this isn't fair he may be saying but you have a problem you don't know about yet.

[39:51] But I do. oh how accurate are his considerations. And fourth and finally Elihu reminds us and it ought to be the period at the end of the sentence as we define and defend the justice of God.

[40:12] Look at how sovereign is his control. we see that doubts do arise in the midst of chaos. Sufficient is the character of God to calm us.

[40:30] Accurate are his considerations of us. But then we see how sovereign is his control.

[40:42] Elihu asked a question. and he asked a question there in verse 13. Who gave him authority over the earth?

[40:54] You ever thought about that? Who gave God authority over the earth? Well the answer is no one. Who told him he could rule over the whole land?

[41:06] No one. But so authoritative is his control. Here's the verses I pointed out a minute ago. So powerful is his rule that no one gave him but he took upon himself.

[41:24] So mighty and sovereign is his control that if he so determined that if God just said let me call my spirit back to myself all creation would die.

[41:48] That's absolute total control that no one gave him nor can anyone take it away.

[42:01] If you have been appointed a leader or a ruler then someone can remove you. If you have been given an office someone can take it back.

[42:17] If you have been elected then someone else can be elected in your place. If you have been called as a pastor the church could vote you out and call another for you are not the sovereign authority.

[42:34] But if you have rule that is just yours not because you took it nor because you were given it but because it's yours then no one or nothing can take it away.

[42:57] Elihu reminds us that God is sovereign and that if he should so determine at any moment to call his spirit back to himself all of mankind and all of creation would die.

[43:11] And here's the thing we can't say that's not fair. Why? Because we are reminded in this verse that our existence is dependent upon his rule.

[43:27] We exist because he wants us to exist. so great is his rule. And with that in mind Elihu asked a little bit later in verse 29 when he keeps quiet who then can condemn?

[43:48] If God is that sovereign just because he doesn't answer who are we to say that's not fair? and when he hides his face who then can behold him?

[44:07] Elihu reminds us that we are not in control. We do not understand it all nor will we ever be able to understand it all.

[44:18] he cautions us against trying to take control for he says in verse 33 shall he recompense or judge on your terms?

[44:32] What he is saying is do you get to declare to God how he should judge you? And the answer is no. You don't declare to the sovereign ruler how he should condemn or judge.

[44:48] He tells us that he is greater than nations and all mankind. And in case Job didn't get it that's the very thing God highlights when he begins to speak.

[45:04] Were you there? when I created him. Do you know where the rain and the hail and the lightning and the thunder bolts come from?

[45:17] Do you understand the days of the animals as they give birth? Do you have complete control over all of creation?

[45:29] And it is the realization of that that makes Job put his hand over his mouth and say I have heard but I had never seen. God highlights his sovereignty and the fact that he alone is in control.

[45:46] And so who are we to say that's not fair? or who are we to say he's not just?

[45:58] Because God indeed is just. Even if our circumstances and situations make it seem as if he is not, he knows what he's doing far more than we could ever imagine.

[46:17]  And we find that in Job chapter 34. Thank you my brothers. Thank you