So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
The book of Job divides between prose narrative in chapters 1-2 and 42:7-17, exchanges between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31, and poetry, and this verse stands in the poetry; Job was a real person and the narrative of the book is fact. It belongs to the larger block of Job 20-37 and more particularly to the speeches of Elihu in Job 32-37. Elihu was a younger man who spoke after the dispute between Job and his friends closed in chapter 31, seeking to correct Job with what he regarded as superior wisdom along much the same line as the others, and he received no answer. In the course of reading Job 28-42, Job 34 falls together with Job 35 as morning reading for July 7.
In its wider setting Job continues to defend himself as free from open sin and longs for God to manifest Himself, while Elihu contends that Job is not great in himself but God is everything. From chapter 38 the Lord answers by displaying His mighty works and infinite power and wisdom in creation, showing by contrast how small Job is and how little he understands God's moral dealings with men and great purposes where eternal life is at stake. Job thereby learns that God is infinitely wise and good while he himself is unworthy and of small account, repents in dust and ashes, prays for his friends, and has his captivity turned so that his latter end is more prosperous than his beginning. The verse itself teaches that the oppressed cry to God because of the wrongs done to them, and that He hears the cry of the afflicted.
The book of Job divides between prose narrative in chapters 1-2 and 42:7-17, exchanges between Job and his three friends in chapters 3-31, and poetry, and this verse stands in the poetry; Job was a real person and the narrative of the book is fact. It belongs to the larger block of Job 20-37 and more particularly to the speeches of Elihu in Job 32-37. Elihu was a younger man who spoke after the dispute between Job and his friends closed in chapter 31, seeking to correct Job with what he regarded as superior wisdom along much the same line as the others, and he received no answer. In the course of reading Job 28-42, Job 34 falls together with Job 35 as morning reading for July 7.
In its wider setting Job continues to defend himself as free from open sin and longs for God to manifest Himself, while Elihu contends that Job is not great in himself but God is everything. From chapter 38 the Lord answers by displaying His mighty works and infinite power and wisdom in creation, showing by contrast how small Job is and how little he understands God's moral dealings with men and great purposes where eternal life is at stake. Job thereby learns that God is infinitely wise and good while he himself is unworthy and of small account, repents in dust and ashes, prays for his friends, and has his captivity turned so that his latter end is more prosperous than his beginning. The verse itself teaches that the oppressed cry to God because of the wrongs done to them, and that He hears the cry of the afflicted.