Job 33
Having chastised the friends for their failure to answer Job, Elihu shifts gears to address Job directly. He tells Job to listen up (v. 1) and that his words are sincere. (v. 3) He puts Job on alert, saying, Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand. (v. 4) But he also tries to reassure Job, saying that he (Elihu) is also a man and will be gentle (unlike some of the cruel words from the three friends):
Behold, I am toward God as you are;
Job 33:6-7
I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;
my pressure will not be heavy upon you.
Elihu says that he has heard what Job has said (v. 8 — which is again somewhat in contrast with the three friends, who seem never to have really listened), and he rather succinctly summarizes Job’s argument:
You say, “I am pure, without transgression;
Job 33:9-11
I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
Behold, He finds occasions against me,
He counts me as His enemy,
He puts my feet in the stocks
and watches all my paths.”
He then directly states that Job is wrong: Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend against Him, saying, “He will answer none of man’s words”? (vv. 12-13) In response to Job’s contention that God is silent and doesn’t answer, Elihu makes a very interesting argument. He says that God does speak in at least two ways: through dreams (Job 33:15-18) and through suffering (Job 33:19-22), and that in both cases His intent is to warn man, to turn him away from sin and to save him from destruction. (Job 33:17-18, 29-30)
He goes on to say that in the latter case (suffering), there may also be a mediator…to declare to man what is right for him, and He is merciful to him, and says, “Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom…” (vv. 23-24), with the result that the suffering man turns back to God in gratitude for redemption. (Job 33:26-28) It is perhaps easy for us to see Christ as such a Mediator, and that Christ Himself is the Ransom. I doubt, though, that Elihu had that all fleshed out in his mind. (Even the Apostles did not understand that until after the Resurrection.) Nevertheless, he points to God’s mercy, and he sees suffering not as punishment ending in death, but as discipline and as a call to repentance and humility (which Job has lacked), not as a pathway to destruction but as a pathway from destruction.
So, counter to Job’s perception, God is not silent. Rather, He is speaking quite loudly through Job’s suffering. But Job cannot hear Him because he is not listening properly — his pride has plugged his ears. Job needs to reframe the entire question, to see his suffering through a different lens, and to accept it as an opportunity to hear from God and to be shaped by God.
Elihu here offers a radical rethinking of suffering, which bears some serious consideration. Take some time to meditate on suffering as God’s call. Meditate on the Cross. And meditate on Romans 8:16-17: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
As John says, yes, Elihu is much kinder to Job than the other three “friends”. What many of you probably missed, myself included (thank you, Study Bible), is that Elihu addresses Job by name – verses 1 and 31. None of the friends did that; from the beginning we see a warm touch from Elihu to Job.
I found myself in agreement with most of this chapter, especially vv. 23-28 where Elihu talks about a mediator (almost a redeemer), repentance, mercy, and forgiveness. We can certainly embrace that, but like John says, Elihu was way ahead of his time – Jesus became just that for all of us many years later.
So, very quickly we’ve warmed up to Elihu. Will that be the end of it, with Elihu having those final answers that Job is seeking? Stay tuned!!