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Job 32-34     Listen Podcast

 

Elihu is angry; he's not taking it anymore! (Job 32)

1 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
3 Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4 Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.
5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
6 So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said:
“I am young in years, and you are very old;
Therefore I was afraid,
And dared not declare my opinion to you.
7 I said, “Age should speak,
And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
8 But there is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
9 Great men are not always wise,
Nor do the aged always understand justice.
10 “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,
I also will declare my opinion.’
11 Indeed I waited for your words,
I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.
12 I paid close attention to you;
And surely not one of you convinced Job,
Or answered his words—
13 Lest you say,
“We have found wisdom’;
God will vanquish him, not man.
14 Now he has not directed his words against me;
So I will not answer him with your words.
15 “They are dismayed and answer no more;
Words escape them.
16 And I have waited, because they did not speak,
Because they stood still and answered no more.
17 I also will answer my part,
I too will declare my opinion.
18 For I am full of words;
The spirit within me compels me.
19 Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent;
It is ready to burst like new wineskins.
20 I will speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone;
Nor let me flatter any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
Else my Maker would soon take me away.

Job has just completed his ninth monologue which began in Job 26 (see notes) and continued down through the end of Job 31 (see notes). Job's three friends have given up according to verse 1, because Job "...was righteous in his own eyes." Is there anybody else here that can get Job to admit to wrongdoing? Well...hang on for a five-chapter ride from still-wet-behind-the-ears Elihu. As a matter of fact, he's the last one to speak before God answers in chapter 38. Elihu is a young man (verse 6), and up to this point has deferred to his elders, but now he just can't hold back any longer; he speaks and speaks and speaks...and then speaks some more. Actually, he just gets ramped up in this chapter as he justifies why he has chosen pile on. He's not happy with Job's three friends who have spoken already; he explains that he just doesn't feel that they have expressed the situation correctly...and he's no fan of Job either. Look at verse 5; he's an angry orator. As a matter of fact, since we are told he's angry as he speaks, I find Elihu's monologue more interesting when read out loud in an angry tone; try it. By the way, he reinforces his purpose for speaking in verses 19-20. Elihu admits that it is primarily for his own satisfaction - not for Job's benefit. This whole chapter is comprised of Elihu telling us that he's decided to speak out and what brought him to that decision - the incompetence of Job's friends to successfully verbalize Job's predicament.

In making a fair assessment of Elihu's five-chapter speech which seems to follow the same course as the speeches of Job's previous three accusers, it should be at least pointed out that God specifically rebukes Eliphaz, Zophar and Bildad in Job 42:7-9 (see notes), but not Elihu. Those three were even required to make sacrifices as a very formal apology before Job because they (42:8) "have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." However, even though Elihu is likewise disputing Job's assessment of the situation, neither Elihu nor his monologue is mentioned there.

Elihu likes to hear himself talk (Job 33:1-7)

1 “But please, Job, hear my speech,
And listen to all my words.
2 Now, I open my mouth;
My tongue speaks in my mouth.
3 My words come from my upright heart;
My lips utter pure knowledge.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 If you can answer me,
Set your words in order before me;
Take your stand.
6 Truly I am as your spokesman before God;
I also have been formed out of clay.
7 Surely no fear of me will terrify you,
Nor will my hand be heavy on you.

So who is this guy that steps in and takes over. Look at verse 2, "Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth." Who talks like that anyway? It's hard to speak at all without moving your tongue. Here we are, seven verses into the second chapter of his speech, and Elihu is still giving his introduction, having said nothing substantive in 29 verses. Yes...this could be a long monologue. Incidentally, keep in mind, this is written in a Hebrew poetic format.

Elihu summarizes Job's monologues...and disputes them (Job 33:8-18)

8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
9 “I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Yet He finds occasions against me,
He counts me as His enemy;
11 He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not righteous.
I will answer you,
For God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend with Him?
For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
16 Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
17 In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.

This is all Job needs - another orator to tell him he's unrighteous. As a matter of fact, Elihu sums up Job's defense in verses 9-11 and concludes in verse 12, "Look, in this you are not righteous." Elihu further expresses his assessment of Job's situation in verse 13 when he says, "Why do you contend with Him?" In Elihu's mind, Job is resisting God when he defends himself. Elihu is determined to finally get through to Job that this is the wrong approach. Actually, it's difficult to find too much fault with Elihu's assessment in verses 9-11; he has captured the essence of Job's monologues as Job has portrayed God as "out to get him" (so to speak). However, verse 9 is an exaggeration of anything that had been claimed by Job when Elihu accuses Job of having said, "I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me." Job never actually said that; Elihu had just gleaned that from Job's monologues. Subsequently, as far as his assessments of verses 12-13, Elihu declares that Job's wrongdoing is in his responses i.e. the nine speeches of Job preceding Elihu.

And then there's that dream thing that Job mentioned back in Job 7:14 (see notes) when he said, "Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions." Elihu thinks he's on to something when he says in 14-18 that those nightmares had meaning - actual communications from God.

Elihu's monologue has a little different slant to it (Job 33:19-33)

19 “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
20 So that his life abhors bread,
And his soul succulent food.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.
23 “If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
24 Then He is gracious to him, and says,
“Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom’;
25 His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness.
27 Then he looks at men and says,
“I have sinned, and perverted what was right,
And it did not profit me.’
28 He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit,
And his life shall see the light.
29 “Behold, God works all these things,
Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
30 To bring back his soul from the Pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 “Give ear, Job, listen to me;
Hold your peace, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me;
Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu does miss the mark with his assessment in verse 19 when he implies that Job is being chastened. He then suggests that he who responds submissively to God’s chastisement will regain health and joy. So...Elihu simply feels that Job's problem is the fact that he has dwelled on the problem too much. Instead, Elihu feels that Job should have immediately accepted that he was being chastised, confessed it and moved on. Let's pay particular attention to verse 23, "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness." Elihu is making reference to those dreams in verses 14-18 as he suggests that, not only did those dreams have meaning, but Job needs someone to interpret them for him, and in doing so, "...will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit" (verse 28). Is Elihu suggesting that he, himself, is that dream interpreter? Well...notice his words in 31-33, "Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom." It looks as though Elihu has assumed the position as Job's dream interpreter. One big problem though - God does declare Job righteous before these witnesses in Job 42 (see notes); that invalidates Elihu's argument here.

Elihu continues blasting Job (Job 34:1-9)

1 Elihu further answered and said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men;
Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.
3 For the ear tests words
As the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose justice for ourselves;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 “For Job has said, ‘I am righteous,
But God has taken away my justice;
6 Should I lie concerning my right?
My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
Who drinks scorn like water,
8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walks with wicked men?
9 For he has said, “It profits a man nothing
That he should delight in God.’

We see in verse 2 that Elihu is addressing more than just Job when he says, "Hear my words, you wise men; Give ear to me, you who have knowledge." He accuses Job of having said "I am righteous" in verse 5. Well...Job actually did say that in 12:4, 13:18 and 27:6. As for the remainder of verse 5, "But God has taken away my justice," it would appear that Job had said that also in 27:2. In essence, Job had said on those occasions that he was innocent and was being treated unjustly - at least that's the way Elihu heard it. However, we don't find in any of Job's speeches where he declares himself to be "without transgression" as Elihu asserts in verse 6. He distorts a bit of one of the monologues by Eliphaz when he asserts in verse 7, "What man is like Job, Who drinks scorn like water" What Eliphaz had actually said in Job 15:16, "How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water!"

Job had defended himself in chapter 21 by pointing out that sometimes the wicked do prosper. Elihu capitalizes on that statement and distorts it in verse 8 when he accuses Job of hanging with these wicked people, and in verse 9 Elihu asserts that Job had said, "For he has said, “It profits a man nothing That he should delight in God." How's that for twisting a man's words? Elihu then takes off on the consequences of being wicked down through verse 30.

And Elihu presents his shallow solution (Job 34:10-37)

10 “Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding:
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to commit iniquity.
11 For He repays man according to his work,
And makes man to find a reward according to his way.
12 Surely God will never do wickedly,
Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who gave Him charge over the earth?
Or who appointed Him over the whole world?
14 If He should set His heart on it,
If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,
15 All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words:
17 Should one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn Him who is most just?
18 Is it fitting to say to a king, “You are worthless,’
And to nobles, ‘You are wicked’?
19 Yet He is not partial to princes,
Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor;
For they are all the work of His hands.
20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night;
The people are shaken and pass away;
The mighty are taken away without a hand.
21 “For His eyes are on the ways of man,
And He sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness nor shadow of death
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For He need not further consider a man,
That he should go before God in judgment.
24 He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.
25 Therefore He knows their works;
He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
26 He strikes them as wicked men
In the open sight of others,
27 Because they turned back from Him,
And would not consider any of His ways,
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him;
For He hears the cry of the afflicted.
29 When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble?
And when He hides His face, who then can see Him,
Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?—
30 That the hypocrite should not reign,
Lest the people be ensnared.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne chastening;
I will offend no more;
32 Teach me what I do not see;
If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’?
33 Should He repay it according to your terms,
Just because you disavow it?
You must choose, and not I;
Therefore speak what you know.
34 “Men of understanding say to me,
Wise men who listen to me:
35 “Job speaks without knowledge,
His words are without wisdom.’
36 Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost,
Because his answers are like those of wicked men!
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
He claps his hands among us,
And multiplies his words against God.”

And, of course, man is evil. Elihu spends the rest of the chapter saying so. Here's his solution in verses 34:31-32, "For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastening; I will offend no more; Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’?" Here's what he's saying: There's no harm in admitting you have sinned; admit it, confess it and put it behind you. Now, how is his speech different from Job's three friends? However, to Job, admitting to wrongdoing without having committed wrongdoing is to forfeit one's integrity.

Now, lest you think that Elihu has some merit in his speech, let me bring your attention to verses 35-37. These three verses clearly destroy Elihu's credibility as his statements are dead wrong. Remember, we know why Job is experiencing this trial; Elihu has no clue.

Look at the accusations made against Job in verses 35-37:

A case can be made from Job's speeches that he certainly lacked knowledge; I'll stipulate to that. And I suppose that Job's contention that wicked people do sometimes prosper might have been construed by his audience to mean that he was somehow justifying the wicked, although that's not at all what he actually said or meant. However, the accusation by Elihu that Job "adds rebellion to his sin" is just plain ol' ignorant speak. We know from chapters 1 and 2 that there's no accuracy there whatsoever. Furthermore, to make the accusation against Job that he "multiplies his words against God" is a viscious attack on Job's integrity. Elihu is wrong, wrong, wrong! And so...Elihu goes on for two more chapters. This monologue continues on into Job 35 (see notes).

Here's a lesson on counseling: Make certain your motivations for giving counsel are correct - not for selfish purposes. Some people just like to hear themselves talk to tickle their own egos. Elihu had already admitted that his need to vent his reactions was his motivation for speaking (32:19-20, see above).