Job 35: An Empty Cry

And Elihu answered and said:
2     “Do you think this to be just?
Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’
3     that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?
How am I better off than if I had sinned?’
4     I will answer you
and your friends with you.
5     Look at the heavens, and see;
and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.
6     If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7     If you are righteous, what do you give to him?
Or what does he receive from your hand?
8     Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,
and your righteousness a son of man.
9     “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10    But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11    who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
12    There they cry out, but he does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.
13    Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almighty regard it.
14    How much less when you say that you do not see him,
that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!
15    And now, because his anger does not punish,
and he does not take much note of transgression,
16    Job opens his mouth in empty talk;
he multiplies words without knowledge.”
 
Meditation
This week a desperate man told me he cried out to Jesus in pain but did not hear or see a response. His question- does Jesus hear? Does God care?
 
Elihu’s speech is a direct response to this man’s question. The straight-shooting speech is truth in love, wounds from a friend intended to heal (Proverbs 27:6).
 
Elihu summarizes a statement Job made (1-4), basically asking the point of a pious and penitent life if God was going to allow this level of pain and problems. Elihu answers in two ways. First, God’s transcendence over everything exposes the fault of the question, assuming our moral performance can obligate Him to bless us in any way (5-8). Second, the cry for help was not a cry of faith (9-16). The cry came from a place of entitlement rather than faith. God will not hear an “empty” cry (12-13). The word “empty” means “deceitful” and “worthless.” The proud deceive themselves with empty cries because they take their moral performance too seriously. The proud have an empty cry because it is not a cry of faith.
 
Elihu does not go too far in pointing out Job’s words are “without knowledge” (16) as the Lord will use this exact phrase when He speaks (38:2). The diagnosis is accurate, aimed at restoration to re-center faith at the center of our cries. Jesus hears the cry of faith, as the persistent widow demonstrates (Luke 18:1-10). Grace invites us to turn from pious pride so God will hear our cry of faith.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Where do you identify with Job, approaching God with entitlement as if your moral performance obligates God to pause your pain and problems?
 
-Why does a proud heart put a ceiling on your prayers?
 
-How does this rebuke highlight God’s grace, inviting God’s people to turn from our pride to humble ourselves before Him? Where do you need to apply this truth? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
13    Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it.