Job 35

1 Then Elihu said:

2 "Do you think this is just?
You say, 'I will be cleared by God.'

3 Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me,
and what do I gain by not sinning?'

4 "I would like to reply to you
and to your friends with you.

5 Look up at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds so high above you.

6 If you sin, how does that affect him?
If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,
and your righteousness only the sons of men.

9 "Men cry out under a load of oppression;
they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

10 But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,

11 who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?'

12 He does not answer when men cry out
because of the arrogance of the wicked.

13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
the Almighty pays no attention to it.

14 How much less, then, will he listen
when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him
and you must wait for him,

15 and further, that his anger never punishes
and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;
without knowledge he multiplies words."

Side Notes:

Sometimes we wonder if being faithful to our convictions really does any good at all. Elihu spoke to this very point. His conclusion was that God is still concerned even though he doesn't intervene immediately in every situation. In the broad scope of time God executes justice. We have his promise on that. Don't lose hope. Wait upon God. He notices your right living and your faith.