Day 22, January 22 Bible Reading

 

Day 22,  January 22

Job 32-34   Elihu speaks to Job

There was one person, who was privy to the extended conversation between Job and his friends, whom we did not even know was in attendance.  His name was Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, probably descendant of Buz, son of Abaham’s brother Nahor.  He was very quiet and circumspect, giving respect to the aged in his presence, trusting that with age comes irrefutable wisdom, but internally he was seething, until he could handle it no more.  He wanted to leave it to the older heads to put Job in his place, but when he saw that this was futile he decided to take matters into his own hands. [Job 32:2]”..[he] became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God”  

However the following is a good lesson on how NOT to behave so pious and more concerned about proving your point that you cannot simply encourage and comfort someone.  Here is how your good intentions can mischaracterize God.

Job 32 

• 32:6-9 Elihu begins by drawing attention to the difference in ages between him and Job’s three friends, but emphasizes that God’s spirit is given to all, and that you don’t have to be old to be wise and understand what is right.

• Wisdom is God’s Breath, Housed By Man’s Spirit - He first stated by stating that the age does not have the monopoly on wisdom and understanding.  He rightly deduces that [Job 32:8] “..it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.”  [Job 33:4-7] “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
  
  

• 32:10-14 Elihu seeks to persuade Job’s friends to listen to him now, so perhaps they were not too keen to do so. But, as is typical for younger men with a passion for truth, Elihu was sure that he was right and Job’s friends were all wrong.
  
  

• 32:15-22 Elihu continues his exceedingly lengthy introduction by telling them that he is going to give his opinion now, and he has many things to say. He is sure that he will die if he cannot share all his (youthful) wisdom with these older men who obviously do not understand!

Job 33

• 33:1-7 Elihu turns his attention to Job, calling him by his first name, which was a level of familiarity Job’s friends did not use. Elihu is very full of himself, thinks he has some secret insights into Job’s situation that no one else does, and does not seem to be able to get to the point.
• 33:8-11 Elihu now finally claims to have listened carefully to Job and repeats what he thinks Job is saying. “Let me see if I am understanding you, Job. You are claiming sinless perfection” (my paraphrase). Of course, this is not what Job has said at all. What do you think is the difference between Job’s resume we saw yesterday and Elihu’s allegation of “sinless perfection”?
• 33:12-18 Elihu’s answer to Job, finally, is that God is greater than man. Yawn. What kind of an answer is that? Who doesn’t know that already? God doesn’t owe Job an explanation (good point!). Perhaps God spoke to Job in various other ways already, but Job did not hear God.
• 33:19-28 Rather than saying that God must be punishing Job for his sins, Elihu now takes a different approach and suggests that perhaps God was speaking to Job through his suffering in order to guide him along a better path, like a good shepherd would. Then he describes what a mediator, like an attorney in court, would do on his behalf:

• Declare what is right for him

• Be merciful to him

• Deliver him from going down into the pit

• Found a ransom for him

• Rejuvenate and invigorate him

• Restores to man his righteousness.

Hmm. Maybe Elihu has some wisdom to share after all! What a powerful gospel message!

• 33:29-33 Elihu seems to think that God was actually being very patient and longsuffering with Job, and would even take him around this mountain two or three times, if necessary, to resurrect him from the pit of darkness into the light. Elihu now reassures Job that he still has more wisdom to share with him.

Job 34

•  Elihu now continues twisting Job’s words, saying that his wounds were incurable and he was sinless. He even accuses Job of hanging out with men who were wicked. Perhaps he confused Job’s kindness toward the poor and downtrodden with keeping company with the wicked? Then Elihu cherry picks a phrase here and a phrase there, puts them together, and tells a big whopper, accusing Job of saying, “It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.”
  
  

• 34:10-15 Elihu now repeats Eliphaz’ idea that Job is simply reaping what he sowed, and that since God would never wrong anyone, and is always just, that it must be Job’s fault after all. God is in charge here.
  
  

• 34:16-20 Elihu unfairly condemns Job of complaining against God, when Job simply wanted to be heard by God. He continues his message that God is just and shows no partiality, even to the rich and the leaders.
  
  

• 34:21-30 Elihu again states the obvious that God sees everything, all men, but what does that mean for Job? Elihu says that this is a warning from God and that if Job does not repent now, God will judge him, as He judges other wicked men. If God was not just in doing this, then a hypocrite might as well reign as king and the common people wouldn’t know any different.
  
  

• 34:31-37 Elihu tells Job what he should have said to God: 

• I accept your punishment

• I promise not to sin any more

• Please teach me.

Elihu thinks Job has been very arrogant to think God would listen to him, but Elihu’s own arrogance becomes glaring when he says that even the wise men will agree with Elihu that Job has no knowledge or insight, he wants him to be tried in court because he is wicked and rebellious, he scorns his friends’ advice, and he even rails against God.

Elihu seems to be the most arrogant and most direct of Job’s friends, as he twists Job’s words over and over again, seemingly looking for something to pin on Job.