Job 36:18-21

Elihu had almost finished his advice for Job. But in these verses, Elihu warned Job about three dangerous ideas:

• In verses 18-19, Elihu spoke about money. Many people fail to obey God because of money (Matthew 6:24; 2 Timothy 4:10). Job’s friends thought that God gives money to good people. And that, if God rescued Job, Job would become wealthy again. These ideas are wrong. Our security should always come from God, not money. Many good Christians are not rich (James 2:5). But if we are wealthy, we must not trust our money.

• Verse 20 is a difficult verse to translate. We think that Elihu was speaking about death. Job often said that he wanted to die (Job 10:18-22; Job 17:13-16). He merely wanted his troubles to end. But this attitude was not good. Paul knew that after death, he would go to heaven. And he knew that heaven is a much better place than earth. But Paul wanted to be a loyal servant of God. So he was happy to do God’s work on earth, although he would have to wait for heaven (Philippians 1:20-25). And Paul explained that death is not a good thing. Death is like an enemy of God. In the end, God will defeat death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). In other words, nobody will die in heaven. And in the end, God will change his people on this earth so that they will not die (1 Corinthians 15:50-52).

• Verse 21 Sometimes an evil person seems to have a better life than a good person. Sometimes Job suggested that an evil person’s life was better than his. But these are unwise ideas. We must always think about God. God has a plan for our lives. God never wants anyone to do evil things. We must not allow money or anything else to tempt us. ‘It is better to suffer troubles than to behave in an evil way.’ Read Luke 6:20-26.

God is great

v22 God is great. And he is powerful. He is the best teacher. v23 Nobody can guide God! Nobody can say to God, ‘Your actions are wrong.’ v24 Remember to praise God for his work. And praise him with songs.

v25 Every person sees God’s good work. They stare from a far place to see God’s work. v26 God is so great that we cannot explain him. We cannot even count his age.