If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.
Job 35:6-8 NIV
I can see this as being a grave misunderstanding. It shows the lack of understanding the love of God. I know that the people of the Old Testament viewed the importance of obedience to laws and experienced the wrath of God. Their disobedience often ended in suffering. Elihu did not understand that God’s “wrath” was really a consequence of bad choices. His love for us means that He is affected by our wickedness as well as our righteousness. As a parent I am better able to understand this. My children may have felt that I was just angry and that I didn’t care but in truth my response to their wrongdoing was very much because of how it affected me because of my love for them. As well when they did right it also affected me just as much. I am not comparing myself to God I know that He is greater than I and I cannot really understand the depth of all He feels for us. I know that He loves us eternally more than I can love my children, but that fact alone helps me to understand that even though my salvation is not by works and that I cannot lose my salvation because of my sin, what I do and don’t do, right and wrong, matters to Him. And my love for Him and knowing His love for me makes me want to do what is right.
Read James chapter 2 starting at 14. He talks about faith with and without works. He talks about people from the Old Testament who were considered righteous because of their work. Faith should result in works. We should want to please the one we love. He says even the demons know and believe who Jesus is. They however do not love Him and do not live to please him. Knowing and believing does not make us righteous. Living for Jesus does.
🙏 when I read this chapter, as well, I got a different understanding and meaning from the words that he was saying than what you described in your notes for this day, Toni.
So I decided to go and take a little deeper and read some commentaries and all the commentaries are in line with what you’re saying.
Makes me go hmmm….because I see the points that you’re making, I understand what the commentaries are saying, but also I’m picking up different vibes again, there’s a lot to learn and I guess my concern is am I “twisting “the truth of the word or is God showing me a different meaning to those words.
I guess I have to maybe do some more research and dig into the whole meaning of ELIHU’s purpose.