What is the meaning of Job 35:12? There they cry out “There they cry out” (Job 35:12) pictures people under injustice or distress lifting their voices for help. • Scripture consistently shows God attentive to genuine cries (Exodus 3:7; Psalm 34:17). • Yet the verse sets a particular scene—people are suffering, but something is amiss in their hearts. • Elihu, the speaker in Job 35, highlights that location or circumstance (“there”) is not the key issue; the spiritual posture of the petitioner is. but He does not answer Though God hears all things (Psalm 94:9), He sometimes withholds a saving response. • Psalm 66:18: “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” • Proverbs 1:28-29 warns that those who hate knowledge will “call on Me, but I will not answer.” • Isaiah 59:1-2 underscores that sin separates people from God so that “He does not hear.” In Job 35, the silence is not divine indifference; it is purposeful, designed to expose the deeper issue preventing fellowship. because of the pride of evil men Pride stands as the barricade. • Proverbs 16:5: “Everyone proud in heart is detestable to the LORD.” • James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 both affirm, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” • Luke 18:11-14 contrasts the proud Pharisee with the humble tax collector, illustrating whose prayer God receives. Pride refuses to acknowledge dependence, repentance, or God’s rightful authority. Until that pride is broken, the cry remains self-focused, and divine rescue is withheld. summary Job 35:12 teaches that mere vocal pleas do not guarantee God’s intervention; humility and repentance do. When people cry out yet cling to prideful rebellion, God’s silence serves as a mercy that calls them to forsake arrogance and seek Him in genuine submission. |
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