Audio Links

Video Links

---

Job 34:1 Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
Job 34:2 Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
Job 34:3 For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.
Job 34:4 Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.
Job 34:5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Job 34:6 Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
Job 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Job 34:8 Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.
Job 34:9 For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
Job 34:10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
Job 34:11 For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
Job 34:12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
Job 34:13 Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
Job 34:14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Job 34:16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
Job 34:17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
Job 34:18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
Job 34:19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.

Introduction

God has granted Job’s request for God to just talk to him and tell him his offense. He has answered that request via a man who has been listening to this entire exchange between Job and his friends. Job had made this request:

Job 31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
Job 31:36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
Job 31:37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

And this is how the scriptures tell us that God, through a young man named Elihu, answered Job’s request:

Job 33:6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay.

Elihu wastes no time answering Job’s request for an answer:

Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.
Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.

Why do we strive against our own Creator who is infinitely greater than all men of all time, and who does not give mankind any accounting of His actions? Here is how the apostle Paul frames this same question:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

“The same lump” is not referring to Christ and Hitler being made of the same lump of clay, so much as it is referring to the old man and the new man, within each of us. It is referring to “every man in his own order”, being formed “of the same… marred… lump”. Our “old man” is a vessel of dishonor, while our “new man” is a vessel of honor unto God.

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure [“the new man… Christ in you”] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We were also first made as “marred… vessels of clay… in the Potter’s hand”.

Jer 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

That is Elihu’s answer to Job’s request that God answer him concerning his offense. Job has never yet learned that “God is greater than man [ and] He gives not account of any of His matters“.

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.

This answer is repeated in the New Testament:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

In today’s study, Elihu will reveal to Job just how much greater than man God is, and he will emphasize how utterly foolish and counterproductive it is to “reply against God, or to even think about reproving, contending with, or God forbid, condemning our own Creator:

Job 34:1 Furthermore Elihu answered and said,
Job 34:2 Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
Job 34:3 For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.

Those who are wise and who have knowledge will hear Elihu’s words. They will try Elihu’s words and find that they are of God. Wise men are not gullible. Wise men weigh every word, and they do not permit themselves to be misled by personalities or by the worldly elevation or position of the man who is speaking. Elihu calls this “trying words, as the mouth tastes meat [ food]”. The New Testament calls this “try[ ing] the spirits to see whether they are of God”.

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

So here we have an Old Testament witness to a very clear New Testament doctrine. “You wise men… you that have knowledge… try words as the mouth tastes meat”.
And when we “try the spirits” and we find them to be the words of a false prophet who has “gone out into the world”, what, then, are we to do? Does anyone even care what the scriptures tell us to do? Job’s answer is:

Job 34:4 Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.

Elihu’s advice is that we should “choose to us judgment”, and according to God’s Word, judgment is God’s chastening grace.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

So when we “try the spirits”, and if we discover that they are not of God, we are commanded to “choose to us judgment”. This is the same as telling us to “Try the spirits to see whether they are of God”, rather than continue on in our state of being deceived. Here is how this principle is expressed in the book of proverbs:

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

But instead of “choosing to us judgment” against the lies which we discover when we “try words as the mouth tastes meat”, our natural inclination is to simply tolerate the lies within those words rather than confront and withstand those who are bringing a lie into our midst.
Here is what has become the mantra of the entire ecumenical Christian movement, in opposition to “choosing to us judgment”:

“IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON- ESSENTIALS LIBERTY [ tolerance], IN ALL THINGS CHARITY.”

Those words sound so very loving and profound to the old self- righteous Job within all of us. According to http:// www9. georgetown. edu/ faculty/ jod/ augustine/ quote. html this quotation “is a pan- denominational maxim, quoted as authoritative in a dizzying variety of incompatible Christian traditions.”
“Pan- denominational” does not mean that there are no groups anywhere who disagree with these words, but they are truthfully “quoted as authoritative in a dizzying variety of incompatible Christian traditions” which place unity above the Truth of the Word of God. That Babylonian mantra has absolutely no authority when tried against the Word of God which instructs us to “try words as the mouth tastes meat [ and] try the spirits to see whether they are of God [ knowing] that many false prophets have gone out into the world”.
While it is not a scriptural quotation, it is certainly scripturally true that “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error, [ and] it is better to speak the truth which hurts and then heals than a lie which comforts and then kills”.
So what does the Truth of God’s Word teach concerning a spirit, a doctrine which we have “tried” and has been found to be the doctrine of a “false prophet [ who] has gone out into the world”? Here is what the truly authoritative Word of God has to say about that ecumenical mantra:

2Jn 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Here is how the apostle Paul applied that doctrine of our Lord:

1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Contrast the spirit of those words with this spirit:

“IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON- ESSENTIALS LIBERTY [ tolerance], IN ALL THINGS CHARITY.”

Here is what this very same seductive spirit produced within the church of Corinth:

1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

So it will always be a person who does not believe those authoritative words of our Lord in Mat 18:15-17 or the words of 2Jn 1:10-11, which will be informing you what is to be counted as “essential” doctrine and which doctrines of the Word of God are to be accounted as “non- essentials”. In other words, it will always be a false prophet who encourages us to show a spirit of tolerance and liberty when it comes to what is “the doctrine of Christ”. It will always be a false prophet who will be telling you that tolerating differences and showing liberty in doctrine is a matter of charity. Nothing could be further from the Truth of God’s Word which tells us the exact opposite:

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
2Th 3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

The same principle is to be found in the Old Testament:

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

“Hereby know we the spirit of Truth and the spirit of error [ only if we] try the spirits to see whether they are of God”. Yet we are being advised by the harlot who has been given to “deceive the whole world” that it is a matter of charity to tolerate doctrinal differences, rather than to follow the words of Christ and His apostles and abide uncompromising when it comes “the doctrine of Christ”.
“Have no company with him, that he may be ashamed” is said to be uncharitable and intolerant. Intolerant of heresy it is indeed:

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

But ‘unloving’ it is not:

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

Elihu continues his revelation to us of what is the mind of God concerning His judgment of our rebellious, self- righteous, old man.

Job 34:5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Job 34:6 Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
Job 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Job 34:8 Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.
Job 34:9 For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.

This is God’s characterization of Job’s reproof of, contending with, and condemnation of his own God. God tells us that when we are doing that, we are “workers of iniquity, and walk with wicked men”. That certainly is not how Job thought of himself:

Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 27:2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
Job 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Job, who typifies each of us, has openly proclaimed God to be his enemy, who has set Job as His mark:

Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Job 16:12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

Then as the type of us, Job tells us:

Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Yes indeed, when we contend with our own God, we are indeed those…

Job 34:8 Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men.

God considers us to be without understanding to be so insane as to withstand Him or accuse Him of being a wicked God.

Job 34:10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

Yet God wants us to know and to acknowledge that it is He who is working all things after the counsel of His own will, and “His… will” entails much evil in this physical realm and in this age.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

God makes no apologies for what He is doing. ‘He gives no account of any of His matters’, and yet He is insistent that we acknowledge that He is sovereign over all good and all evil in all of His creation.

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

The Hebrew word translated ‘evil’ here is ‘ra’. It is the same word translated evil in this verse:

Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil [ Hebrew, ‘ra’].

God tells us that the Truth is that “even the wicked” are his handiwork, and no one is capable of resisting His will:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

But God also reveals to us that though “He gives not account of any of His matters” yet He informs us that His purpose for all the evil in this world is to produce good, using the same principle by which dung is used to produce a nutritious crop.

Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Luk 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

This verse 20 of Gen 50, and the sum of all of God’s Word, explains the purpose for all the evil which the Lord has ever worked within the hearts of mankind. “God meant it unto good”, and God alone is capable of calling light out of darkness and causing evil to bring forth good.

2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We are even informed by our Maker that He never intended these physical bodies of clay to be His end product or that physical bodies of flesh and blood would inherit His kingdom. From “before the world began” God has intended that all men first ‘bear the image of the earthy”, and then put off these earthy bodies and “bear the image of the heavenly”.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

While God takes the responsibility for “all things”, yet He has ordained that mankind will be judged and that he will “give an accounting” of all the evil done in these bodies of clay. Yet mankind is never held responsible for any of his actions, and while he will be “judged [ and will] give an accounting”, mankind is never once is scripture said to be ‘accountable’ for his own actions.
God caused Adam and Eve to give an accounting to Him of their disobedience of His commandment to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

In the same manner, all men will give an accounting “in the[ ir own] day of judgment”.

Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

That “day of judgment” is even now upon the house of God:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is for that reason that we are told that it is our own wickedness which places us “in company with the workers of iniquity” and will indeed reprove us and correct us in our own appointed time.

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Elihu affirms the words of both Christ and Peter:

Job 34:11 For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
Job 34:12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

Because God alone is capable of giving life after death, and bringing good out of evil, and because He has informed us that He is in the process of saving all who are in Adam, He can truly say that He “will not do wickedly [ nor] pervert judgment”. If God were not to redeem mankind, then He would indeed be an unjust monster, but such is not the case, and we are plainly told that all in Adam will be given life, “even as… all… in Adam… die” (1Co 15:22).

Job 34:13 Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?

“Who [ pray tell, could possibly] give [ God] charge over the earth? or who has disposed the whole world?” If God must seek to others for anything, be it the power to have charge over the earth, or be it the wisdom to form this earth, then He would not be a sovereign God. But the Truth is that no one has ever given God the charge of this earth, or disposed the whole world, but God Himself. Therefore:

Job 34:14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

King David repeats this Truth in Psa 104:

Psa 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Psa 104:25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
Psa 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Psa 104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
Psa 104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath [ Hebrew, ruach], they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit [ Hebrew, ruach], they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

It is very instructive to know that the word translated ‘breath’ in verse 29 is the same Hebrew word, ‘ruach’, which is translated ‘spirit in the very next verse. What this tells us is that “it is the spirit that gives life”. When God withdraws His spirit, man and beast both die and “return to their dust” from which they came.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, are are life. (ASV)

King Solomon adds these words on this subject:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Elihu pleads with us just as the apostle Paul does. Here is how Elihu pleads with us:

Job 34:16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.
Job 34:17 Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?

God says that as long as we continue to condemn Him who is “most just”, that in reality we “hate right” and are therefore unfit to govern.
Paul is inspired to give us the very same message:

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

“Who has resisted his will” refers to this verse of scripture:

2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

“None is able to withstand Thee” certainly includes all of us. “[ So] the thing formed say[ ing] to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?” is therefore inconceivable. So Elihu asks us:

Job 34:18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
Job 34:19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.

Elihu is demonstrating for us the insanity of reproving our own God for His ways. God through Elihu is pleading with us through this story of Job, to see the insanity of calling our own God “wicked” and “ungodly”. We may indeed, as natural, carnal- minded men, not like any of God’s ways. God Himself tells us:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

But in the end God will adjust the attitudes of the most bitter, most infuriated, most mentally disturbed, or even the most rebellious of men, and they will be not even a challenge for the God who made them as they are for His own purposes. Notice how effortlessly God adjusted the attitude of one of His chief opponents, when it fit His purpose to do so:

Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

We are nothing more or less than clay in the hands of the great Potter of the universe, who tells us as much:

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Next week we will see that “Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:”

Job 34:20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
Job 34:21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Job 34:22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 34:23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
Job 34:24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
Job 34:25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
Job 34:26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
Job 34:27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
Job 34:28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
Job 34:29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
Job 34:30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Job 34:31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Job 34:32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
Job 34:33 Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.
Job 34:34 Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
Job 34:35 Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.
Job 34:36 My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men.
Job 34:37 For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.