Job 32:1-22
Elihu Speaks
1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:
“I am young in years,
and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
not daring to tell you what I know.
7 I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not only the old who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.
10 “Therefore I say: Listen to me;
I too will tell you what I know.
11 I waited while you spoke,
I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,
12 I gave you my full attention.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.
13 Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God, not a man, refute him.’
14 But Job has not marshaled his words against me,
and I will not answer him with your arguments.
15 “They are dismayed and have no more to say;
words have failed them.
16 Must I wait, now that they are silent,
now that they stand there with no reply?
17 I too will have my say;
I too will tell what I know.
18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me compels me;
19 inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst.
20 I must speak and find relief;
I must open my lips and reply.
21 I will show no partiality,
nor will I flatter anyone;
22 for if I were skilled in flattery,
my Maker would soon take me away.
Job 42:1-17
Job
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.
At the end of Job, Elihu was not criticized like Job's friends...Elihu had spoken from chapters thirty two, all the way to chapter thirty seven...
Elihu was a young man and had been listening to Job and his three friends...He says that he is young in years, and that the others are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know...I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’...But it is the Spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding...It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right...And so Elihu speaks on...He is not only young but he is wise...
Elihu's dialogue in the Book of Job is a complex and intriguing one for such a youthful one....He addresses Job's comments mostly with thoughts on what Job had said and what Job's friends had said...While Elihu is not explicitly acknowledged by God as being entirely correct, his contribution to the dialogue is significant...And we know that when Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon Job, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him...When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads...Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights...No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was...
So even though Job's three friends are mentioned coming, we do not know when Elihu arrived...Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was listening to the conversation of these men...Elihu was very angry because Job had justified himself, and his three friends had not been able to answer Job’s words...So we know that Elihu had been listening to the entire or most of the discussion and was dissatisfied with the responses of Job's friends...
Elihu offered a unique perspective on the situation, one that was distinct from both Job and his friends...His arguments focused on the limitations of human understanding and the need to trust in God's wisdom and justice...There is a bridge between Job and God...Elihu's oration may have served as a bridge between Job and God, helping Job to understand God's perspective better...Elihu's arguments are different than Job's and his friends...His oration provided a difference to the sinning nature speeches of Job's friends...
Elihu emphasizes God's fairness and impartiality, noting that He judges all people equally, regardless of their social status or wealth...God is in control and knows what suffering does to us...Elihu highlights the limitations of human knowledge and understanding, emphasizing that humans cannot fully comprehend God's ways...Elihu emphasizes God's immense power and ability to judge and punish the wicked, even in the most hidden and unexpected ways...Elihu suggests that even if a person acknowledges their guilt, true repentance involves a change of heart and a commitment to not repeat their sins...Elihu criticizes Job's pride and arrogance, suggesting that his refusal to acknowledge his own shortcomings is hindering his ability to understand God's justice...
Elihu has emphasized the awe-inspiring nature of God's creation and His control over the natural world...Elihu describes God's power in dramatic terms, emphasizing His control over the weather, the natural world, and the lives of all creatures...Elihu has underscored the limitations of human knowledge, suggesting that we cannot fully comprehend the vastness and complexity of God's creation...Elihu calls for reverence and respect for God, acknowledging His power and wisdom...Elihu's speech serves as a reminder of the Grandeur of God and the need for humility in the face of His greatness...It is a powerful meditation on the natural world and its Creator...
I do not think that Elihu had ever suffered like Job, and has not been in the shoes of Job, because of his youthfulness...While Elihu offered valuable insights and perspectives, he was ultimately a young man with less life experiences than Job...Job's trials were unique and profound, involving the loss of his children, wealth, health, and ultimately, his understanding of God's justice...God understands suffering and great trials like Job had...It's unlikely that Elihu, with his relative youth and inexperience, could have fully grasped the extent of Job's pain and the profound questions he was grappling with...Yet, in reading his oration, we see he has great wisdom for his age, and needs to be listened to and learned from...
Elihu's contributions to the dialogue were very valuable, but they were ultimately limited by his own perspective and understanding...His role was to challenge Job and his friends, to offer a different viewpoint, and to ultimately set the stage for God's revelation...And after Elihu is done, God comes out of a storm and then He talks to Job...
Overall, Elihu's speech provides a different perspective to Job's friends and offers a more balanced perspective on the nature of God and the human condition...While he may not have fully grasped the depth of Job's suffering or the ultimate purpose of his trials, his words offer valuable insights into the complexities of the human-divine relationship...
In the end, God tells us that Job has spoken the Truth about Him...We learn after the LORD had said these things He needed to say to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has...So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to My servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves...My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly...You have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.”...So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer...After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before...All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house...They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring...
We are left wondering about Elihu...God may have allowed Elihu to speak as part of His test of Job's faith...The fact that Job did not respond to Elihu's arguments suggests that Job's faith remained intact...And while God did not explicitly acknowledge Elihu's correctness, His silence could be interpreted as an approval of some or many of his points...Elihu's dialogue offered valuable insights into the nature of God and the human condition, and his role in the story is essential to understanding the full complexity of Job's trials...
And in the end Elihu is not mentioned as saying anything wrong by God...The primary focus of the end of the Book of Job is on the interaction between Job and God...God's response to Job is the climax of the narrative, and the emphasis is on their reconciliation and Job's newfound understanding...God may have used Elihu as a catalyst to provoke Job and his friends into deeper reflection and self-examination...Once this purpose was achieved, there was no need for God to explicitly acknowledge Elihu's contributions...Ultimately, the absence of a direct mention of Elihu at the end of Job does not diminish his significance in the story of Job...His role as a challenging part of the pain and suffering of Job and provider of different perspectives that are crucial in setting the stage for Job's ultimate encounter with God coming out of a storm...