Matthew Henry Commentary Job 36:5-14

"Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: He is mighty in strength of understanding. He preserveth not the life of the wicked, But giveth to the afflicted [their] right. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: But with kings upon the throne He setteth them for ever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions; Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. He openeth also their ear to instruction, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they hearken and serve [him], They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he bindeth them. They die in youth, And their life [perisheth] among the unclean." — Job 36:5-14 (ASV)

Elihu here shows that God acts as righteous Governor. He is always ready to defend those who are injured. If our eye is always toward God in duty, his eye will always be upon us in mercy, and, when we are at our lowest, he will not overlook us. God intends, when he afflicts us, to reveal past sins to us and to bring them to our remembrance.

Also, to incline our hearts to be taught: affliction makes people willing to learn, through the grace of God working with and by it. And further, to deter us from sinning in the future. It is a command, to have no more to do with sin. If we faithfully serve God, we have the promise of the life that now is, and its comforts, as far as is for God's glory and our good; and who would desire them any further?

We have the possession of inward pleasures, the great peace which those have who love God's law. If the affliction fails in its work, people should expect the furnace to be heated until they are consumed. Those who die without knowledge, die without grace, and are undone forever. See the nature of hypocrisy; it lies in the heart: that is for the world and the flesh, while the outward appearance may seem to be for God and religion.

Whether sinners die in youth, or live long to heap up wrath, their case is dreadful. The souls of the wicked live after death, but they exist in everlasting misery.