“When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:”
My Notes
What Does Job 34:29 Mean?
Elihu describes God's sovereign authority over both silence and speech: when he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only.
When he giveth quietness (shaqat — to be still, to be at rest, to have peace), who then can make trouble (rasha — to disturb, to condemn, to create disturbance)? — when God grants peace, no force can disturb it. The quietness is God-given — not circumstantially produced. When the sovereign God says peace, no power in the universe can introduce chaos. The question expects the answer: no one. If God gives quietness, nothing can make trouble.
And when he hideth his face (sathar panim — to conceal the countenance, to withdraw visible presence), who then can behold him? — the inverse: when God withdraws, no one can find him. The hiding of God's face is the withdrawal of his manifest presence — the experience of divine absence that feels like abandonment. When God hides, no human effort can force his face to appear. The beholding (shur — to observe, to perceive) is impossible when God chooses concealment.
Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only — the sovereignty operates at both scales. A nation — the largest political unit. A man — the smallest individual unit. God's giving of quietness and hiding of his face apply equally to empires and to individuals. The same sovereign authority that governs the rise and fall of nations governs the peace and turmoil of a single human life.
The verse establishes divine sovereignty over two opposing conditions: peace and absence. When God gives peace, no one can disturb it. When God withdraws, no one can force his return. Both conditions — the blessed quietness and the distressing hiddenness — are equally under God's control. The human experience of either is the result of God's sovereign decision, not human management.
The theological implication: your peace is not fragile (if God gives it, nothing can take it). And your experience of God's absence is not permanent (God hides his face by choice, not by compulsion — and the hiding serves purposes you cannot yet see).
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God-given 'quietness' that no one can disturb teach about the nature of real peace?
- 2.How does God hiding his face differ from God abandoning — and why does the distinction matter?
- 3.What does 'whether against a nation or a man only' reveal about the scale-free nature of God's sovereignty?
- 4.Are you currently in the quietness (God-given peace) or the hiding (God's apparent absence) — and how does this verse speak to your condition?
Devotional
When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? When God gives peace — real, deep, settled peace — no force in the universe can disturb it. Not the circumstances that should produce anxiety. Not the enemies that should create fear. Not the chaos that should overwhelm. When God says peace, the peace holds. No one can make trouble when God gives quietness. The quietness is God-given — and what God gives, no one takes.
When he hideth his face, who then can behold him? The other side. When God withdraws — when his presence feels absent, when the face that once shone now hides — no human effort can force the face to appear. The hiding is God's sovereign choice. You cannot locate him by searching harder. You cannot earn his face by performing better. When he hides, he is hidden — and the hiding has a purpose you cannot see yet.
Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only. The sovereignty is scale-free. The same God who gives quietness to an empire gives quietness to you. The same God who hides his face from a nation hides his face from an individual. The authority operates identically at every level — the largest political unit and the smallest personal experience.
The peace you experience when God gives it is as unshakeable as the God who gave it. The absence you experience when God hides is as sovereign as the God who withdrew. Both are under his authority. Both serve his purposes. And the person who trusts God must trust him in both conditions: when the face shines and when the face hides. When the quietness settles and when the trouble threatens.
If you are in the quietness — the peace that circumstances cannot explain — know that no one can take it. It is God-given. If you are in the hiding — the absence that feels like abandonment — know that God hid his face for a reason. The hiding is not rejection. It is sovereignty. And the sovereign who hides is the same sovereign who gives quietness. Both conditions are his. Both conditions are safe.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Surely it is meet to be said unto God,.... By any afflicted person under his chastising hand, and particularly by Job,…
When he giveth quietness - That is, when God designs to give rest, comfort, ease, or prosperity in any way to a man. The…
When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? - How beautiful is this sentiment, and how true! He ever acts as a…
Elihu here addresses himself more directly to Job. He had spoken to the rest (Job 34:10) as men of understanding; now,…
The connexion of the following verses is rather uncertain. The sense of Job 34:34 might suggest the connexion of Job…
Cross References
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