🤩 Bible Stories to Marvel At
Where God’s miracles become great – for little and big children
☁️ Job Chapter 35 – Elihu Speaks About God, Humanity, and Prayer
🙏 When Prayer Is More Than a Cry for Help
🌅 Introduction
In the previous chapter, Elihu had spoken strongly about God’s justice. He had said that God does no evil and never perverts justice. God sees kings and the poor, the powerful and the weak. No one is too important before Him, and no one is too insignificant.
Yet Elihu was still not satisfied with Job’s words. To him, it sounded as though Job were saying: I am righteous, but it does me no good. I have sought God, yet my life is still filled with suffering. What benefit is there, then, in living uprightly?
Elihu now responds to this thought. He directs Job’s eyes upward. He says: Look toward heaven. See the clouds that are higher than you. God is greater than humanity. Human sin does not make God smaller, and human righteousness does not make God greater. God is not dependent upon us.
But this does not mean that people are unimportant to God. Elihu wants to show that what human beings do primarily affects other human beings. Evil harms people. Good helps people. God remains perfect in His greatness, yet He certainly sees how people treat one another.
This chapter also speaks about prayer. Elihu describes people who cry out in their distress because they are being oppressed. But he asks: Are they truly seeking God, their Creator? Or are they calling out only because they want to escape their trouble quickly? In this way, we learn that prayer is more than a cry for help. Genuine prayer seeks God Himself.
📖 The Biblical Story
❓ Elihu Questions Job’s Thoughts
Elihu begins by asking Job a question. He asks whether Job believes that he is more righteous than God. To Elihu, Job’s complaint sounded as though Job were accusing God’s actions too strongly.
In his pain, Job had often said that he could not give up his claim to innocence. He did not want to confess guilt falsely. He had also asked why he had to suffer so deeply when his friends were accusing him unjustly.
Elihu hears danger in this. He believes that Job is focusing too much on his own righteousness and too little on God’s greatness. Therefore, he wants to remind Job that no human being can fully comprehend God.
Yet it is important to remember here as well: Job is not a cold-hearted rebel against God. He is a suffering man who is seeking God. His questions arise from pain. Elihu wants to correct him, but Job’s wound remains deep.
⚖️ What Benefit Is There in Being Righteous?
Elihu takes up a thought he believes he hears in Job’s words: What benefit is there for me if I do not sin? What do I gain from seeking to live righteously if I must suffer anyway?
This is a difficult question. People often desire good behavior to be rewarded immediately and visibly. Those who are honest should have peace. Those who seek God should experience no pain. Those who avoid evil should remain protected.
Yet Job’s story shows that life does not always appear so simple. A person can love God and still experience difficult days. A person can be sincere and still be misunderstood.
Elihu now wants to show Job that righteousness is not worthless merely because it does not bring immediate visible gain. Yet God must not be viewed as someone whom human beings enrich through their good behavior.
☁️ Elihu Says: Look Toward Heaven
Elihu urges Job to look toward heaven. He is to consider the clouds that are higher than he is. This image is simple and powerful. A human being stands upon the earth, small and limited, while a vast sky stretches overhead.
Clouds can appear enormous. They drift high above people. We can see them, but we cannot simply reach out and touch them. They remind us that some things are higher than we are.
For young and grown-up hearts, we could say: When we look upward, we realize that we are not the center of everything. The sky reminds us to become humble.
Elihu uses this image to point toward God’s greatness. If even the clouds are higher than we are, how much greater must God be, who created them?
👑 God Is Greater Than Human Sin
Elihu says: If you sin, what do you accomplish against God? If your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him? He does not mean that sin is unimportant. He means that God does not become weak, smaller, or less divine because human beings sin.
People can hurt one another. They can lie, steal, insult others, behave harshly, or cause harm. Yet God’s glory is not destroyed by this. God remains holy even when people act wrongly.
This should humble us. We should not imagine that our decisions could remove God from His throne. God is not fragile like a human being.
Yet precisely because God remains holy, sin is serious. It does not destroy God, but it destroys relationships, trust, peace, and the human heart.
🌱 God Is Also Greater Than Human Righteousness
Elihu also says: If you are righteous, what do you give to God? What does He receive from your hand? He means that God is not poor and does not need our good works in order to become richer or more complete.
When a child gives their mother a small flower, the mother does not become wealthy through it. But she rejoices in the child’s love. In a similar way, our good deeds cannot make God greater, but they can show that our hearts honor Him.
God does not need our righteousness as though He were incomplete without us. Yet He delights in a heart that seeks truth, love, and mercy.
Elihu wants to remind Job that righteousness is not a business transaction in which human beings give God something and immediately receive a comfortable life in return. Righteousness is the response of a heart that takes God seriously.
👥 Our Actions Affect Other People
Elihu says that a person’s wickedness primarily affects people like themselves and that their righteousness benefits other human beings. This means that what we do has consequences for others.
When someone lies, God does not suffer as though He could be damaged. But people lose trust. When someone behaves cruelly, another heart is wounded. When someone steals, another person loses something.
The same is true of good actions. When someone is honest, trust grows. When someone shares, a person in need is strengthened. When someone offers comfort, a sorrowful heart becomes lighter.
This is easy for children to understand: A kind word can brighten another person’s day. A cruel word can make it difficult. Our actions do not remain with us alone.
😢 People Cry Out Under Oppression
Elihu then speaks of people who cry out under severe oppression. They call for help because powerful people are oppressing them. They suffer under violence, injustice, and heavy burdens.
Job himself had spoken much about injustice in the world. He had seen the poor, widows, orphans, and the weak suffering. Elihu now also acknowledges such cries.
When people are oppressed, they cry out. This is understandable. Pain seeks a voice. Those who suffer call for help, rescue, and an end to their distress.
Yet Elihu asks a deeper question: Are these people calling out only because they want to escape their trouble? Or are they truly seeking God, their Creator?
🙏 Where Is God, My Creator?
Elihu says that many people cry out but do not ask: Where is God, my Creator, who gives songs in the night? This is a very beautiful and serious statement.
God is not merely a helper for difficult moments. He is the Creator. He gave us life. He knows the night, and He can give a song even during dark times.
For young and grown-up hearts, this means: Prayer is more than an emergency call. Of course, we may ask God for help. But genuine prayer seeks God Himself. It does not ask only: How can I escape this trouble as quickly as possible? It also asks: God, where are You? Reveal Yourself to me.
Elihu wants to show that some people cry loudly during distress, yet their hearts do not truly turn toward God. They desire help, but not necessarily closeness to God.
🎶 God Can Give Songs in the Night
Elihu describes God as the One who gives songs in the night. Here, the night represents darkness, fear, worries, and difficult times. A song in the night is something special.
When everything is bright, singing is easier. When life is going well, gratitude comes more naturally. But when darkness surrounds us and a song still arises in the heart, that is a gift from God.
This does not mean that sorrowful people must always sing joyfully. Job wept much, and his lament is recorded in the Bible. Yet God can give a spark of hope in the midst of darkness.
A song in the night can also be a quiet expression of trust: God, I cannot see You clearly, but I am holding on to You. I do not understand everything, but I want to seek You.
🦅 God Teaches Us More Than the Animals
Elihu says that God teaches us more than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky. Animals can do many things. Birds build nests, travel long distances, and find food. Animals possess remarkable abilities.
Yet human beings can know God, think about good and evil, pray, give thanks, and accept responsibility. This is a special gift.
For children, we could say: A bird can sing beautifully, but it does not write a prayer. An animal can find its way, but it does not ask about God’s will. Human beings may consciously seek God.
Elihu reminds us that if God has given us so much understanding, we should not merely cry out like animals when we are in pain. We should seek God as our Creator.
🤐 Why Some Cries Remain Unanswered
Elihu says that people cry out, but God does not answer because of the pride of evildoers. He means that not every loud cry is automatically a humble prayer.
A person can be in distress and still remain proud. They can desire help without desiring God. They can cry, “Take away my pain!” without saying, “Show me Your way.”
This is a serious warning. God is not a tool to be used only when we need something. He is the living God whom we are to honor, love, and seek.
Yet we must also be careful here. We should not say to every suffering person, “God is not answering because you are proud.” Such quick judgments were precisely what wounded Job when his friends spoke. Elihu’s words are a warning, but they must not be applied without compassion.
🌫️ Empty Crying Is Not the Same as Trust
Elihu says that God does not listen to empty cries and that the Almighty does not regard them. He is referring to crying out without genuine trust, repentance, or a sincere search for God.
There is a difference between using God only as a final emergency solution and truly opening one’s heart before Him. A genuine prayer can be very short, perhaps only one sentence. But it comes from a heart that turns toward God.
For children, we could say: When you are kind to someone only because you want something from them, that is not true friendship. God does not want merely to be used; He desires to be sought.
Elihu wants to show that God looks at the heart behind the words. It is not volume that makes a prayer genuine, but sincerity.
👀 Job Says He Cannot See God
Elihu now speaks more directly to Job again. In essence, he says: Even though you say that you cannot see God, your case is still before Him. Therefore, you should wait for Him.
This is an important thought. Job had sought God and had not found Him. He had said that God appeared to be hidden. Elihu reminds him: Even when you cannot see God, your situation is not outside His sight.
Waiting is difficult, especially when a person is suffering. A child waiting for help feels every minute. A sick person waiting for recovery experiences time as very long. Job knows this painful waiting.
Elihu says: Wait for God—not because your questions are insignificant, but because God is greater than what you can presently see.
⏳ When God’s Answer Has Not Yet Come
Elihu believes that God has not yet visibly displayed His anger and has not fully dealt with human arrogance. His words are difficult to understand, but they show that Elihu does not regard God’s actions as complete.
Job wants an answer. Elihu says: God’s answer does not always come immediately. The fact that you cannot see it now does not mean that God knows nothing or will do nothing.
This can offer some comfort, but it can also be difficult to hear. Those who suffer do not want to hear only, “Wait.” They long for closeness, help, and light.
Therefore, such words must be spoken with great compassion. Waiting for God is true and important, but it should never be thrown coldly or harshly at a suffering person.
⚠️ Elihu Considers Job’s Words Empty
At the end, Elihu says that Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge. Once again, this is a very harsh conclusion.
Elihu believes that Job is speaking too much out of his pain and does not understand God’s ways correctly. He wants to call Job to humility.
Yet as readers, we remember that Job was not simply speaking empty words. He had suffered deeply, lamented honestly, and sought God. His words were sometimes difficult, but they came from a genuine wound.
This conclusion once again reveals the tension in Elihu’s speeches. He says important things about God’s greatness, prayer, and humility. Yet his words can still sound harsh to Job.
🌟 Prayer Seeks More Than Immediate Help
Job chapter 35 shows us an important truth: God is greater than humanity. Our sin does not make Him smaller, and our righteousness does not make Him greater. Yet our actions affect other people and reveal the condition of our hearts before God.
The chapter also shows that prayer is more than a cry during distress. Of course, we may call upon God in trouble. But genuine prayer also asks for God Himself: Where are You, my Creator? What do You want to show me? How can my heart draw near to You?
God can give songs in the night. Sometimes He does not remove the darkness immediately, but He can give hope in its midst. He can teach a heart to wait, seek, and refuse to let go.
For young and grown-up hearts, this thought remains: Do not seek God only because of His help, but because of who He is. For the greatest comfort is not merely that God gives us something, but that God is present.
🌅 What This Chapter Shows
This chapter shows that God is greater than human sin and human righteousness. Human beings cannot make God smaller or greater. Yet what people do affects other people.
This chapter also shows that prayer is more than a loud cry for help. Elihu asks whether people in their distress are truly seeking God, their Creator. God can give songs and hope even in the night.
🟣 Summary
In Job chapter 35, Elihu continues speaking and questions Job’s thoughts. He says that God is greater than humanity and urges Job to look toward heaven and the clouds. Human sin does not make God smaller, and human righteousness does not make God greater. Yet a person’s actions affect other people: Evil harms, and good helps. Elihu also speaks of people who cry out under oppression but do not truly seek God, their Creator. He reminds Job that God can give songs in the night and grants human beings greater understanding than animals. At the end, Elihu urges Job to wait for God even when he cannot see Him.
💚 Message for Young and Grown-Up Hearts Today
We learn that God is greater than we are. We cannot make Him smaller or greater through our actions. Yet our decisions still matter because they can help or hurt other people.
We also learn that prayer is more than calling out only when we need something. Genuine prayer seeks God Himself. Even during dark times, we may ask: God, where are You? Help me to seek You and wait for You.
💭 Questions for Reflection
🔸 Why does Elihu urge Job to look toward heaven and the clouds?
🔸 Why does our good or evil conduct especially affect other people?
🔸 What does it mean not only to ask God for help, but truly to seek Him?
🧒 👧 👦
💌 Invitation to Job Chapter 36
🌩️ Elihu Continues Speaking About God’s Greatness
Elihu has spoken about God, humanity, and prayer. He has reminded Job that God is greater than human beings and that genuine prayer is more than a quick cry for help during distress.
Now Elihu will continue his speech. He will speak about God’s justice, God’s discipline, and God’s tremendous power in nature. His words will direct our attention more and more toward the sky, the clouds, the rain, and the thunder.
What can nature tell us about God’s greatness?
Come along and discover the next chapter!
🔔 Teaser for Job Chapter 36
⛈️ When God’s Greatness Can Be Heard in the Storm
Elihu will continue speaking and show that God is mighty, just, and infinitely great. He speaks about how God instructs people and how His power is revealed in rain, clouds, and thunder.
👉 Why does Elihu say that God is great and that no one can fully understand Him?
👉 How can suffering call people to repentance?
👉 And why do clouds, rain, and thunder lead us to marvel at God?
✨ In the next chapter, we will hear Elihu’s great speech about God’s power and be prepared for God’s own answer.
