Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
The declaration belongs to Elihu, the younger man who steps in after the dispute between Job and his friends closes to correct Job with what he thinks is superior wisdom, following about the same line as the friends, and to whom no answer is made. It stands within his speeches and his argument and reproof to Job spanning chapters 32 through 37, within the larger portion extending from chapter 20 through chapter 37. It affirms that God never acts wickedly and never distorts, corrupts, or perverts justice. He is perfectly just, with upright and impartial judgments that are never twisted or corrupted in His dealings.
He is infinitely wise and good and sees the end from the beginning, so human beings may not understand His purposes or moral dealings, especially when eternal life is at stake. His care for the earth is not a duty imposed on Him for reward, but love, compassion, and mercy move Him to sustain the world and give life even to sinners. Human life depends on His unselfishness, for if He turned His heart wholly to Himself and withdrew His spirit and breath, all living flesh would perish and people would return to dust. Because His judgments are upright and impartial, they are not changed by money or by a person's ability to pay for religious services, so a system in which the dead receive release or continued punishment according to payments for masses contradicts this truth.
The same justice is seen in His hardening of Pharaoh's heart and then punishing him, in which He did no wrong and perverted no judgment. He hardens only those who first disobey known law and reject known light, who knew God but did not glorify Him or retain Him in knowledge, and who resist the truth with corrupt, reprobate minds, and Pharaoh belonged to that class, so his hardening and punishment were just. Punishment is designed to remove hardness of heart, hardness comes by disobedience, and hardness and resulting wrath are exactly in proportion to light rejected, which vindicates His character as just. Though Job knew his own integrity and could not understand what God was doing with him, he did not accuse God wrongly, because God was working out what would glorify Himself forever, bringing comfort and hope to thousands of suffering ones and blessing to Job. Job's story displays God's goodness through His power and wisdom, including His vindication of Job after Job's friends falsely accused him.
The declaration belongs to Elihu, the younger man who steps in after the dispute between Job and his friends closes to correct Job with what he thinks is superior wisdom, following about the same line as the friends, and to whom no answer is made. It stands within his speeches and his argument and reproof to Job spanning chapters 32 through 37, within the larger portion extending from chapter 20 through chapter 37. It affirms that God never acts wickedly and never distorts, corrupts, or perverts justice. He is perfectly just, with upright and impartial judgments that are never twisted or corrupted in His dealings.
He is infinitely wise and good and sees the end from the beginning, so human beings may not understand His purposes or moral dealings, especially when eternal life is at stake. His care for the earth is not a duty imposed on Him for reward, but love, compassion, and mercy move Him to sustain the world and give life even to sinners. Human life depends on His unselfishness, for if He turned His heart wholly to Himself and withdrew His spirit and breath, all living flesh would perish and people would return to dust. Because His judgments are upright and impartial, they are not changed by money or by a person's ability to pay for religious services, so a system in which the dead receive release or continued punishment according to payments for masses contradicts this truth.
The same justice is seen in His hardening of Pharaoh's heart and then punishing him, in which He did no wrong and perverted no judgment. He hardens only those who first disobey known law and reject known light, who knew God but did not glorify Him or retain Him in knowledge, and who resist the truth with corrupt, reprobate minds, and Pharaoh belonged to that class, so his hardening and punishment were just. Punishment is designed to remove hardness of heart, hardness comes by disobedience, and hardness and resulting wrath are exactly in proportion to light rejected, which vindicates His character as just. Though Job knew his own integrity and could not understand what God was doing with him, he did not accuse God wrongly, because God was working out what would glorify Himself forever, bringing comfort and hope to thousands of suffering ones and blessing to Job. Job's story displays God's goodness through His power and wisdom, including His vindication of Job after Job's friends falsely accused him.