Shall even he that hates right govern? and will you condemn him that is most just?
All Commentaries on Job 34:17 Go To Job 34
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Did you see? He did not dare come to the conclusion that he is [just]; with great discretion he avoided asserting it plainly. Not only by participating in the universe, or in the creation or in his power, we must realize his justice, but also by participating in his own nature and acts. He hates the wicked and loves human beings. He is not like us, who keep away from sin not because of our aversion to vice but because of the fear of punishment. Where does [this fear] come from? From the fact that he “hates injustice and makes the wicked perish.” “He, who is eternal,” he adds. Elihu is right in introducing the concept of eternity because God is not required every day and for every action to give explanations about what happened; it is usual that God manages a matter whose fulfillment must extend over a long period. Therefore, do not anticipate the conclusion of a fact, and do not try to understand the judgment of God before everything has been completed, because you will get no profit from your hurriedness. That is why he says, eternal and just. All past testifies to him. Is it possible that he has changed now?
