There is a strong foundation in the thought that God, who could if He
desired withdraw all life, but on the other hand sustains it, must rule
according to a law of perfect righteousness. If this principle were kept
in the front and followed up we should have a fruitful argument. But
the philosophy of it is beyond this thinker, and he weakens his case by
pointing to human rulers and arguing from the duty of subjects to abide
by their decision and at least attribute to them the virtue of justice.
No doubt society must be held together by a head either hereditary or
chosen by the people, and, so long as his rule is necessary to the
well-being of the realm, what he commands must be obeyed and what he
does must be approved as if it were right. But the writer either had an
exceptionally favourable experience of kings, as one, let us suppose,
honoured like Daniel in the Babylonian exile, or his faith in the Divine
right of princes blinded him to much injustice. It is a mark of his
defective logic that he rests his case for the perfect righteousness of
God upon a sentiment or what may be called an accident.
And when Elihu proceeds, it is with some rambling sentences in which
the suddenness of death, the insecurity of human things, and the
trouble and distress coming now on whole nations now on workers of
iniquity are all thrown together for the demonstration of Divine
justice. We hear in these verses (20 to 28) the echoes of disaster and
exile, of the fall of thrones and empires. Because the afflicted
tribes of Judah were preserved in captivity and restored to their own
land, the history of the period which is before the writer's mind
appears to him to supply a conclusive proof of the righteousness of
the Almighty. But we fail to see it. Eliphaz and Bildad might have
spoken in the same terms as Elihu uses here. Everything is assumed
that Job by force of circumstance has been compelled to doubt. The
whole is a homily on God's irresponsible power and penetrating wisdom
which, it is taken for granted, must be exercised in righteousness.
Where proof is needed nothing but assertion is offered. It is easy to
say that when a man is struck down in the open sight of others it is
because he has been cruel to the poor and the Almighty has been moved
by the cry of the afflicted. But here is Job struck down in the open
sight of others; and is it for harshness to the poor? If Elihu does
not mean that, what does he mean? The conclusion is the same as that
reached by the three friends; and this speaker poses, like the rest,
as a generous man declaring that the iniquity God is always sure to
punish is tyrannical treatment of the orphan and the widow.
Leaving this unfortunate attempt at reasoning we enter at verse 31 on
a passage in which the circumstances of Job are directly dealt with.
"_For hath any one spoken thus unto God,
'I have suffered though I offend not:
That which I see not teach Thou;
If I have done iniquity I will do it no more'?
Shall God's recompense be according to thy mind
That thou dost reject it?
For thou must choose, and not I:
Therefore speak what thou knowest._"
Here the argument seems to be that a man like Job, assuming himself to
be innocent, if he bows down before the sovereign Judge, confesses
ignorance, and even goes so far as to acknowledge that he may have
sinned unwittingly and promises amendment, such a one has no right to
dictate to God or to complain if suffering and trouble continue. God
may afflict as long as He pleases without showing why He afflicts. And
if the sufferer dares to complain he does so at his own peril. Elihu
would not be the man to complain in such a case. He would suffer on
silently. But the choice is for Job to make; and he has need to
consider well before he comes to a decision. Elihu implies that as yet
Job is in the wrong mind, and he closes this part of his address in a
sort of brutal triumph over the sufferer because he had complained of
his sufferings. He puts the condemnation into the mouth of "men of
understanding"; but it is his own.
"_Men of understanding will say to me,
And the wise who hears me will say:--
Job speaks without intelligence,
And his words are without wisdom:
Would that Job were tried unto the end
For his answers after the manner of wicked men.
For he addeth rebellion to his sin;
He clappeth his hands amongst us
And multiplieth his words against God._"
The ideas of Elihu are few and fixed. When his attempts to convince
betray his weakness in argument, he falls back on the vulgar expedient
of brow-beating the defendant. He is a type of many would-be
interpreters of Divine providence, forcing a theory of religion which
admirably fits those who reckon themselves favourites of heaven, but
does nothing for the many lives that are all along under a cloud of
trouble and grief. The religious creed which alone can satisfy is one
throwing light adown the darkest ravines human beings have to thread,
in ignorance of God which they cannot help, in pain of body and
feebleness of mind not caused by their own sin but by the sins of
others, in slavery or something worse than slavery.
XXVI.
_THE DIVINE PREROGATIVE._
CHAPS. xxxv.-xxxvii.
After a long digression Elihu returns to consider the statement
ascribed to Job, "It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight
himself with God" (chap. xxxiv. 9). This he laid hold of as meaning
that the Almighty is unjust, and the accusation has been dealt with.
Now he resumes the question of the profitableness of religion.
"_Thinkest thou this to be in thy right,
And callest thou it 'My just cause before God,'
That thou dost ask what advantage it is to thee,
And 'What profit have I more than if I had sinned'?_"
In one of his replies Job, speaking of the wicked, represented them as
saying, "What is the Almighty that we should serve Him? and what
profit should we have if we pray unto Him?" (chap. xxi. 15). He added
then, "The counsel of the wicked be far from me." Job is now declared
to be of the same opinion as the wicked whom he condemned. The man who
again and again appealed to God from the judgment of his friends, who
found consolation in the thought that his witness was in heaven, who,
when he was scorned, sought God in tears and hoped against hope for
His redemption, is charged with holding faith and religion of no
advantage. Is it in misapprehension or with design the charge is made?
Job did indeed occasionally seem to deny the profit of religion, but
only when the false theology of his friends drove him to false
judgment. His real conviction was right. Once Eliphaz pressed the same
accusation and lost his way in trying to prove it. Elihu has no fresh
evidence, and he too falls into error. He confounds the original
charge against Job with another, and makes an offence of that which
the whole scope of the poem and our sense of right completely justify.
"_Look unto the heavens and see,
And regard the clouds which are higher than thou.
If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him?
Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him?
If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him?
Or what receiveth He at thy hands?_"
Elihu is actually proving, not that Job expects too little from religion
and finds no profit in it, but that he expects too much. Anxious to
convict, he will show that man has no right to make his faith depend on
God's care for his integrity. The prologue showed the Almighty pleased
with His servant's faithfulness. That, says Elihu, is a mistake.
Consider the clouds and the heavens which are far above the world.
Thou canst not touch them, affect them. The sun and moon and stars
shine with undiminished brightness however vile men may be. The clouds
come and go quite independently of the crimes of men. God is above
those clouds, above that firmament. Neither can the evil hands of men
reach His throne, nor the righteousness of men enhance His glory. It
is precisely what we heard from the lips of Eliphaz (chap. xxii. 2-4),
an argument which abuses man for the sake of exalting God. Elihu has
no thought of the spiritual relationship between man and his Creator.
He advances with perfect composure as a hard dogma what Job said in
the bitterness of his soul.
If, however, the question must still be answered, What good end is
served by human virtue? the reply is,--
"_Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art;
And thy righteousness may profit a son of man._"
God sustains the righteous and punishes the wicked, not for the sake
of righteousness itself but purely for the sake of men. The law is
that of expediency. Let not man dream of witnessing for God, or
upholding any eternal principle dear to God. Let him confine religious
fidelity and aspiration to their true sphere, the service of mankind.
Regarding which doctrine we may simply say that, if religion is
profitable in this way only, it may as well be frankly given up and
the cult of happiness adopted for it everywhere. But Elihu is not true
to his own dogma.
The next passage, beginning with verse 9, seems to be an indictment of
those who in grievous trouble do not see and acknowledge the Divine
blessings which are the compensations of their lot. Many in the world
are sorely oppressed. Elihu has heard their piteous cries. But he has
this charge against them, that they do not realise what it is to be
subjects of the heavenly King.
"_By reason of the multitude of oppressions men cry out,
They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty;
But none saith, Where is God my Maker,
Who giveth songs in the night,
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,
And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
There they cry because of the pride of evil men;
But none giveth answer._"
These cries of the oppressed are complaints against pain, natural
outbursts of feeling, like the moans of wounded animals. But those who
are cruelly wronged may turn to God and endeavour to realise their
position as intelligent creatures of His who should feel after Him and
find Him. If they do so, then hope will mingle with their sorrow and
light arise on their darkness. For in the deepest midnight God's
presence cheers the soul and tunes the voice to songs of praise. The
intention is to show that when prayer seems of no avail and religion
does not help, it is because there is no real faith, no right
apprehension by men of their relation to God. Elihu, however, fails to
see that if the righteousness of men is not important to God as
righteousness, much less will He be interested in their grievances.
The bond of union between the heavenly and the earthly is broken; and
it cannot be restored by showing that the grief of men touches God
more than their sin. Job's distinction is that he clings to the
ethical fellowship between a sincere man and his Maker and to the
claim and the hope involved in that relationship. There we have the
jewel in the lotus-flower of this book, as in all true and noble
literature. Elihu, like the rest, is far beneath Job. If he can be
said to have a glimmering of the idea it is only that he may oppose
it. This moral affinity with God as the principle of human life
remains the secret of the inspired author; it lifts him above the
finest minds of the Gentile world. The compiler of the Elihu portion,
although he has the admirable sentiment that God giveth songs in the
night, has missed the great and elevating truth which fills with
prophetic force the original poem.
From verse 14 onward to the close of the chapter the argument is
turned directly against Job, but is so obscure that the meaning can
only be conjectured.
"_Surely God will not hear vanity,
Neither will the Almighty regard it._"
If any one cries out against suffering as an animal in pain might cry,
that is vanity, not merely emptiness but impiety, and God will not
hear nor regard such a cry. Elihu means that Job's complaints were
essentially of this nature. True, he had called on God; that cannot be
denied. He had laid his case before the Judge and professed to expect
vindication. But he was at fault in that very appeal, for it was still
of suffering he complained, and he was still impious.
"_Even when thou sayest that thou seest Him not,
That thy cause is before Him and thou waitest for Him;
Even then because His anger visiteth not,
And He doth not strictly regard transgression,
Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity,
He multiplied words without knowledge._"
The argument seems to be: God rules in absolute supremacy, and His will
is not to be questioned; it may not be demanded of Him that He do this
or that. What is a man that he should dare to state any "righteous
cause" of his before God and claim justification? Let Job understand
that the Almighty has been showing leniency, holding back His hand. He
might kill any man outright and there would be no appeal nor ground of
complaint. It is because He does not strictly regard iniquity that Job
is still alive. Therefore appeals and hopes are offensive to God.
The insistence of this part of the book reaches a climax here and
becomes repulsive. Elihu's opinions oscillate we may say between Deism
and Positivism, and on either side he is a special pleader. It is by the
mercy of the Almighty all men live; yet the reasoning of Elihu makes
mercy so remote and arbitrary that prayer becomes an impertinence. No
doubt there are some cries out of trouble which cannot find response.
But he ought to maintain, on the other hand, that if sincere prayer is
addressed to God by one in sore affliction desiring to know wherein he
has sinned and imploring deliverance, that appeal shall be heard. This,
however, is denied. For the purpose of convicting Job Elihu takes the
singular position that though there is mercy with God man is neither to
expect nor ask it, that to make any claim upon Divine grace is impious.
And there is no promise that suffering will bring spiritual gain. God
has a right to afflict His creatures, and what He does is to be endured
without a murmur because it is less than He has the right to appoint.
The doctrine is adamantine and at the same time rent asunder by the
error which is common to all Job's opponents. The soul of a man
resolutely faithful like Job would turn away from it with righteous
contempt and indignation. The light which Elihu professes to enjoy is a
midnight of dogmatic darkness.
* * * * *
Passing to chap. xxxvi. we are still among vague surmisings which appear
the more inconsequent that the speaker makes a large claim of knowledge.
"_Suffer me a little and I will show thee,
For I have somewhat yet to say on God's behalf.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words are not false:
One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee._"
Elihu is zealous for the honour of that great Being whom he adores
because from Him he has received life and light and power. He is sure
of what he says, and proceeds with a firm step. Preparation thus made,
the vindication of God follows--a series of sayings which draw to
something useful only when the doctrine becomes hopelessly
inconsistent with what has already been laid down.
"_Behold God is mighty and despiseth not any;
He is mighty in strength of understanding.
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 on the throne,
He setteth them up for ever, and they are exalted.
And if they be bound in fetters,
If they be held in cords of affliction,
Then He showeth them their work
And their transgressions, that they have acted proudly,
He openeth their ear to discipline
And commandeth that they return from iniquity._"
"God despiseth not any"--this appears to have something of the humane
breadth hitherto wanting in the discourses of Elihu. He does not mean,
however, that the Almighty estimates every life without contempt,
counting the feeblest and most sinful as His creatures; but that He
passes over none in the administration of His justice. Illustrations
of the doctrine as Elihu intends it to be received are supplied in the
couplet, "He preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth right
to the poor." The poor are helped, the wicked are given up to death.
As for the righteous, two very different methods of dealing with them
are described. For Elihu himself, and others favoured with prosperity,
the law of the Divine order has been, "With kings on the throne God
setteth them up for ever." A personal consciousness of merit leading
to honourable rank in the state seems at variance with the hard dogma
of the evil desert of all men. But the rabbi has his own position to
fortify. The alternative, however, could not be kept out of sight,
since the misery of exile was a vivid recollection, if not an actual
experience, with many reputable men who were bound in fetters and held
by cords of affliction. It is implied that, though of good character,
these are not equal in righteousness to the favourites of kings. Some
errors require correction; and these men are cast into trouble, that
they may learn to renounce pride and turn from iniquity. Elihu
preaches the benefits of chastening, and in touching on pride he comes
near the case of Job. But the argument is rude and indiscriminative.
To admit that a man is righteous and then speak of his transgressions
and iniquity, must mean that he is really far beneath his reputation
or the estimate he has formed of himself.
It is difficult to see precisely what Elihu considers the proper frame
of mind which God will reward. There must be humility, obedience,
submission to discipline, renunciation of past errors. But we remember
the doctrine that a man's righteousness cannot profit God, can only
profit his fellow-men. Does Elihu, then, make submission to the powers
that be almost the same thing as religion? His reference to high
position beside the throne is to a certain extent suggestive of this.
"_If they obey and serve God,
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._"
Elihu thinks over much of kings and exaltation beside them and of
years of prosperity and pleasure, and his own view of human character
and merit follows the judgment of those who have honours to bestow and
love the servile pliant mind.
In the dark hours of sorrow and pain, says Elihu, men have the choice to
begin life anew in lowly obedience or else to harden their hearts
against the providence of God. Instruction has been offered, and they
must either embrace it or trample it under foot. And passing to the case
of Job, who, it is plain, is afflicted because he needs chastisement,
not having attained to Elihu's perfectness in the art of life, the
speaker cautiously offers a promise and gives an emphatic warning.
"_He delivereth the afflicted by his affliction
And openeth their ear in oppression.
Yea, He would allure thee out of the mouth of thy distress
Into a broad place where is no straitness;
And that which is set on thy table shall be full of fatness.
But if thou art full of the judgment of the wicked,
Judgment and justice shall keep hold on thee.
For beware lest wrath lead thee away to mockery,
And let not the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
Will thy riches suffice that are without stint?
Or all the forces of thy strength?
Choose not that night,
When the peoples are cut off in their place:
Take heed thou turn not to iniquity,
For this thou hast chosen rather than affliction._"
A side reference here shows that the original writer dealing with his
hero has been replaced by another who does not realise the circumstances
of Job with the same dramatic skill. His appeal is forcible, however, in
its place. There was danger that one long and grievously afflicted might
be led away by wrath and turn to mockery or scornfulness, so forfeiting
the possibility of redemption. Job might also say in bitterness of soul
that he had paid a great price to God in losing all his riches. The
warning has point, although Job never betrayed the least disposition to
think the loss of property a ransom exacted of him by God. Elihu's
suggestion to this effect is by no means evangelical; it springs from a
worldly conception of what is valuable to man and of great account with
the Almighty. Observe, however, the reminiscences of national disaster.
The picture of the night of a people's calamity had force for Elihu's
generation, but here it is singularly inappropriate. Job's night had
come to himself alone. If his afflictions had been shared by others, a
different complexion would have been given to them. The final thrust,
that the sufferer had chosen iniquity rather than profitable
chastisement, has no point whatsoever.
The section closes with a strophe (vv. 22-25) which, calling for
submission to the Divine ordinance and praise of the doings of the
Almighty, forms a transition to the main theme of the address.
* * * * *
Chap. xxxvi. 26--xxxvii. 24. There need be little hesitation in
regarding this passage as an ode supplied to the second writer or simply
quoted by him for the purpose of giving strength to his argument.
Scarcely a single note in the portion of Elihu's address already
considered approaches the poetical art of this. The glory of God in His
creation and His unsearchable wisdom are illustrated from the phenomena
of the heavens without reference to the previous sections of the
address. One who was more a poet than a reasoner might indeed halt and
stumble as the speaker has done up to this point and find liberty when
he reached a theme congenial to his mind. But there are points at which
we seem to hear the voice of Elihu interrupting the flow of the ode as
no poet would check his muse. At chap, xxxvii. 14 the sentence is
interjected, like an aside of the writer drawing attention to the words
he is quoting,--"_Hearken unto this, O Job; stand still and consider the
wondrous works of God._" Again (vv. 19, 20), between the description of
the burnished mirror of the sky and that of the clearness after the
sweeping wind, without any reference to the train of thought, the
ejaculation is introduced,--"_Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for
we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told Him
that I speak? If a man speak surely he shall be swallowed up._" The
final verses also seem to be in the manner of Elihu.
But the ode as a whole, though it has the fault of endeavouring to
forestall what is put into the mouth of the Almighty speaking from the
storm, is one of the fine passages of the book. We pass from "cold,
heavy and pretentious" dogmatic discussions to free and striking
pictures of nature, with the feeling that one is guiding us who can
present in eloquent language the fruits of his study of the works of
God. The descriptions have been noted for their felicity and power by
such observers as Baron Humboldt and Mr. Ruskin. While the point of view
is that invariably taken by Hebrew writers, the originality of the ode
lies in fresh observation and record of atmospheric phenomena,
especially of the rain and snow, rolling clouds, thunderstorms and
winds. The pictures do not seem to belong to the Arabian desert but to a
fertile peopled region like Aram or the Chaldæan plain. Upon the fields
and dwellings of men, not on wide expanses of barren sand, the rains and
snows fall, and they seal up the hand of man. The lightning clouds cover
the face of the "habitable world"; by them God judgeth the peoples.
In the opening verses the theme of the ode is set forth--the greatness
of God, the vast duration of His being, transcending human knowledge.
"_Behold God is great and we know Him not,
The number of His years is unsearchable._"
To estimate His majesty or fathom the depths of His eternal will is far
beyond us who are creatures of a day. Yet we may have some vision of His
power. Look up when rain is falling, mark how the clouds that float
above distil the drops of water and pour down great floods upon the
earth. Mark also how the dark cloud spreading from the horizon obscures
the blue expanse of the sky. We cannot understand; but we can realise to
some extent the majesty of Him whose is the light and the darkness, who
is heard in the thunder-peal and seen in the forked lightning.
"_Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds,
The crashings of His pavilion?
Behold He spreadeth His light about Him;
And covereth it with the depths of the sea.
For by these judgeth He the peoples;
He giveth meat in abundance._"