Job 32
Today we meet Elihu, a younger man who has been sitting by quietly, listening to the debate between Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Out of respect, Elihu has been deferring to the older men, but now that the friends have no further answer, Elihu can no longer keep silent. He is angry at all four of the older men — at Job for justifying himself at God’s expense, and at the three friends for failing to answer him.
First, I’d like to commend Elihu for his deference to his elders — something sorely lacking in our current culture! He has waited patiently, expecting wisdom from the older men. (Job 32:6-7,11) But now that the friends have exhausted their arguments without refuting Job, he speaks up, so I also want to commend him for his courage and boldness in doing so.
Although Elihu has honored the older men, he recognizes that old age and experience does not necessarily produce wisdom. (That requires actually learning from one’s experience — and mistakes — something some people never seem to do.) Today’s speech thus serves as a rebuke to the friends and an appeal for them to listen to this young upstart, who just cannot constrain himself any longer. (Job 32:18-20)
Spoiler alert: Elihu talks continually for 6 chapters (Job 32-37), so we’ll be hearing from him for the next five days, and although God rebukes Job’s friends, Elihu is not included in that rebuke (Job 42:7-8), which sounds a bit like an implicit endorsement. Stay tuned…
Adding to what John says, I think you will find Elihu interesting. You will find him excessively arrogant at times, but you will also find that you will embrace some of what he says.
To this latter point, see verse 8 below, in bold – preceded by verse 7 and followed by verse 9: I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice. We would all agree that it is the Holy Spirit working inside us that truly gives us knowledge and understanding. And not just in “spiritual” matters…; many thoughts, revelations, insights have entered our heads – for which we may have taken full credit – but for which, looking back, we have to acknowledge God’s Holy Spirit at work.
Verse 18a contains Elihu’s enduring legacy: For I am full of words… Yes, as John says, we’ve got another five days to see that Elihu is, indeed, “full of words”!