Job 35-37

Oh, Elihu! I think you meant well, and there was much truth in what you said to Job, but you have such a limited understanding of God! Of course He is the majestic Creator, and only He is worthy of our worship. But the crux of your error is blatant in these words:

People are arrogantly indifferent to God—
until, of course, they're in trouble,
and then God is indifferent to them.
(Job 35:12-13)

Wrong! God is never indifferent to anyone, because His image (the imago Dei) resides in each one of us and He created us for relationship with Him. When Elihu urges Job to cease his questioning of God and His motives for allowing such intense suffering, he in essence urges Job to turn away from God, and to diminish relationship with Him. Remaining engaged with God in the midst of heart-wrenching times is honest pursuit of Him and, I believe, pleases Him infinitely more than shutting down and denying our emotions.

^1-3 Elihu lit into Job again: "Does this kind of thing make any sense?
First you say, 'I'm perfectly innocent before God.'
And then you say, 'It doesn't make a bit of difference
whether I've sinned or not.'

^4-8 "Well, I'm going to show you
that you don't know what you're talking about,
neither you nor your friends.
Look up at the sky. Take a long hard look.
See those clouds towering above you?
If you sin, what difference could that make to God?
No matter how much you sin, will it matter to him?
Even if you're good, what would God get out of that?
Do you think he's dependent on your accomplishments?
The only ones who care whether you're good or bad
are your family and friends and neighbors.
God's not dependent on your behavior.

^9-15 "When times get bad, people cry out for help.
They cry for relief from being kicked around,
But never give God a thought when things go well,
when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts,
When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom,
using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.
People are arrogantly indifferent to God—
until, of course, they're in trouble,
and then God is indifferent to them.
There's nothing behind such prayers except panic;
the Almighty pays them no mind.
So why would he notice you
just because you say you're tired of waiting to be heard,
Or waiting for him to get good and angry
and do something about the world's problems?

¹⁶ "Job, you talk sheer nonsense—
nonstop nonsense!" ^1-4 Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going: "Stay with me a little longer. I'll convince you.
There's still more to be said on God's side.
I learned all this firsthand from the Source;
everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself.
Trust me, I'm giving you undiluted truth;
believe me, I know these things inside and out. (Job 35-37, The Message)