Job 35 Douay-Rheims Meaning & Chapter Analysis

The Benefit of Piety and the Songs in the Night

Elihu challenges Job on another point, asking if he thinks it is right to say, "I am more righteous than God," or to ask, "What profit do I have if I am righteous? What do I gain more than if I had sinned?" Elihu answers by telling Job to look at the heavens and see how high the clouds are above him. He argues that "man’s sin" does not "harm God" and "man’s righteousness" does not "add anything to Him." God is the "Transcendent Sovereign" whose "being" is not "dependent on the human behavior." Instead, Elihu suggests that our "wickedness and righteousness" only "affect our fellow human beings."

Elihu then addresses the "problem of the unanswered cry." He notes that people "cry out under the weight of the oppression" and "groan for help" from the hand of the mighty. But the reason they receive no answer, according to Elihu, is that "no one asks, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night?'" They cry out because of the "pride of the wicked men," but it is an "empty cry" that God does not listento. He suggests that Job’s "complaint of not seeing God" is "baseless," and that "Job's case" is "already before the Almighty," but Job has "opened his mouth in empty talk" and "multiplied words without knowledge."

This chapter reveals the "internal nature of the true worship," where "piety" is not a "bargaining chip" for the "prosperity" but a "recognition of the Reality." Elihu’s "Songs in the Night" is a "key image of the faith" that "finds its melody" in the "middle of the darkness." It shows that "God’s transcendence" does not mean "He is indifferent," but that "He is unmanipulatable." The "empty cry" is a "warning" that "pain" does not "automatically lead to the prayer," and "suffering" can sometimes "harden the pride" instead of "softening the soul." Elihu is urging Job to "wait for the Melody" rather than "demanding the Invoice."

The "Song in the Night" that Elihu spoke of was perfectly sung by Jesus Christ on the night he was betrayed, as He went to the cross for our sake (Matthew 26:30). While Elihu argued that our "righteousness" does not "add to God," the Gospel tells us that God "rejoices in the righteousness of His Son" and "attributes that righteousness to us" as a gift (Romans 5:17). This chapter teaches us that "true profit" is found not in avoiding the "oppression," but in "knowing the Maker" who "enters into it with us." We are invited to "cry out with a full heart," trusting that our "case" is "held by the one" who "gives the morning stars their song" (Job 38:7). Our "Night" is "shattered by the Grace" of the one who "descended from the clouds" to be our "Melody." We are people who "sing in the Shadow."