Job 32
Job's words have ended. Suddenly there is another voice
to listen to, the young man Elihu, and we are told that he burned
with anger against Job. We have been defending Job up to this point
in the book because we know that God speaks so highly of him both at
the beginning and the end of this great work. We have also critiqued
Job's friends, because God Himself says that they did not speak
rightly of Him. Yet God has nothing to say about this man Elihu. We
hear his words for several chapters, and then suddenly God speaks to
Job directly. Is Elihu speaking for God in his critique of both Job
and his three friends, or is he a brash young man who should have
kept his thoughts to himself? We are not given a direct answer. Yet
we do see that Elihu picks up on themes that Job himself has
developed, and that the Lord will continue these same themes when He
speaks at the end of the book.
The question remains: Is Elihu righteous in his anger
toward Job? We are told that this prophetic figure was angry with
righteous Job because Job justified himself rather than God. There is
something important here that is worthy of our consideration. Job
knows that God is more righteous than he is, and yet at times in his
speeches the great man has wanted to enter into judgment against the
Almighty and to presume to correct the Fountain of all righteousness.
This fault is not the secret sin that Job's friends presumed to
invent. It became known in the course of a public discourse. It was a
real fact, not a supposition. Job presumed to enter into judgment
against one more righteous than he: God. This was ironically
displayed in less righteous men presuming to be judges of Job. Job
felt the insult of that. It was a lesson that he needed to learn
himself.
Elihu also rebukes Job's three friends. They had found
no honest answer to the dilemma of Job's great suffering, but instead
of being silent in their ignorance, or simply admitting that they did
not understand, they declared Job to be in the wrong, though they had
no evidence. They needed to be corrected, but Elihu did not want to
do the job. He waited for someone else to speak, but no one older or
more respected came forward. Burning with anger, he finally felt
compelled to talk.
At various points earlier in the book the friends of Job
presented their conclusions as if they were the teaching of God.
Remember that Eliphaz spoke of a spiritual experience he had one
night and assumed that he must be giving a secret word from heaven
that should be received as true. All three men were greatly insulted
by Job's complete rejection of their advice, as if they had spoken
the Word of God. Now a younger man speaks, and he claims that he
really does speak for God, not merely as one who finds out what God
has said and teaches about it, but as a prophetic mouthpiece of the
Almighty.
Can Elihu avoid hypocrisy in his critique of Job? Job
has judged the most righteous being, God, in order to declare himself
righteous. Job's friends have entered into judgment against Job, a
godlier man by far than any of them. How can this young man Elihu
speak against both Job and Job's friends without committing the same
offenses? The only way around this trap is for Elihu to speak, not
out of his own righteousness, but out of the Spirit of divine
prophesy.
Elihu is aware that Almighty God is using him.
Throughout the history of God's leading of men, He has chosen certain
people to be His prophetic spokesmen. When they speak, God speaks.
There have been many others who have presumed to represent God, and
yet they have been judged to be false prophets. The only way to
discern whether someone is a true prophet is to test what that person
is saying according to the known speech of God.
Elihu will speak for the next few chapters. He is full
of words that he feels constrained now to deliver. He cannot contain
this message within himself. He must speak. He will not do so like a
man who is trying to impress others, lest God take him away for
presumptuously impersonating a prophet of the Lord. We will listen to
his words and measure them, not by our own judgment, but by the
established Word of the Lord. We will let Scripture interpret and
validate Scripture.
In the fullness of time, a final Prophet of God came. At
about thirty years of age, He suddenly stood up to speak about the
kingdom of God. He called Israel to repentance, and He brought a Word
of life to those who had ears to hear. Many wanted Him to stop
speaking, but He was the Word of God made flesh. He would accomplish
His purpose. Eventually He would say these words: “It is finished,”
and He would take His place again in the highest heavens. Though
many would presume to judge Him, there is no one who is righteous
enough to do so. Despite all of the confusion and sin among His
followers, all who are in this one final Word of God have been
granted heavenly life. He has the words of life. He is the Word of
life.
Prayer
from A
Book of Prayers
Father God, we must
not justify ourselves and accuse You. Help us to humbly receive the
true correction of one who rightly speaks in Your Name. Though Your
servant be young, and though his credentials may not seem impressive
to us, help us to discern rightly the truth of the Word preached and
the power of the Spirit at work in the life and ministry of Your
ambassador.
1 Comments:
Was Elihu angry at Job really, or at the sin, or at the Liar and deceiver, Satan -or did he discern a difference at all? Just a thought- Job is worthy of judgment, it being his responsibility to order his thoughts according to the truth. What misery, not to think rightly of God in our distress. Thank the God of all mercy, for His profound and sufficient Act of pity for us and anger at sin which led him to the cross.
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