Don't say that; you will make God sad. Poor God feels hurt by what you say. We easily slip into saying things like that. But they are quite wrong, as we shall see!

In this third speech, Elihu attacks something Job has been saying or implying: ″What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?″ (Job 35:3). Job has begun to ask the prosperity gospel question: If I am pious and it doesn't do me any good, what's the point of being pious? Elihu answers this robustly in two ways.

First, in verses 5-8, he invites Job to look up at the sky, which is a picture of the greatness of God. God is far above this world, so very high. He is so far above us that, on the one hand, if we sin, we don't affect God, we don't ″do″ anything to God (v. 6); we can't hurt God or damage Him with our sins. On the other hand, even if we are righteous, we don't give anything to God, we don't benefit God, we can't put God in our debt (v. 7). The technical words are that God is transcendent (far above us), impassible (He cannot suffer), and immutable (He is unchangeable).

Elihu is right. God is all these things. It is therefore a great mistake to think that we can affect God by what we do, and therefore expect God to respond by blessing or cursing us. The blessing and cursing of God is a deeper matter than simple cause and effect.

Second, in verses 9-16, Elihu takes the argument a step further. In verses 9-13, he observes that all over the world, people suffering oppression cry out in some sense towards God (v. 9). However–and this is the point–they don't usually ask, ″Where is God my Maker?″ (v. 10). That is, they don't genuinely seek God in their hearts. They cry out, but they do not truly pray. And that is why God doesn't answer this kind of cry; their plea is ″empty″ (vv. 12-13). In verses 14-16, Elihu applies this to Job. The reason God has not as yet answered him is that his talk is ″empty″ too (v. 16).

It would seem that Job has begun to slip into the mistaken logic of the prosperity gospel, expecting God to hear him, answer him, and bless him, because of his piety. Elihu rightly rebukes him for this kind of slot-machine view of God.