BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

Job’s first three friends were long-winded, but Elihu has been carrying on his poetic rant for three chapters already. He shows no signs of stopping.

He does not accuse Job or say he deserves suffering. Instead, Elihu emphasizes the idea that God ultimately exposes and judges wickedness and brings justice to the afflicted. He’s affirming that God is indeed good, and he wants Job to allow that truth to reframe the way he understands suffering.

You, Job, are pleading to God for relief from your suffering. But maybe the suffering itself is helping you avoid wrongdoing. Is avoiding suffering more important to you than avoiding evil?

Still, Elihu cares less about the source of Job’s suffering and more about the pride of Job’s self-righteous response.Why does Job think it’s okay to start pound, pound, pounding on Heaven’s door to demand a defense from God?

As Elihu sees it, Job‘s suggestion that God is either neglectful or unjust is misguided and presumptuous. Asking God to clarify confusion, challenging God’s instructions, even asking God to explain himself—these are positive things throughout Scripture. But presuming that one’s perspective is more accurate than God’s? That won’t work. Job, do not forget that God (not you) created everything and has infinite knowledge about the way it all works.

What could we teach the God who piles up pillars of cloud in the sky, who nourishes life with gentle rain, and who hurls lightning across tumultuous seas? Critically thinking about creation and its creator is different than criticizing the creator, and Elihu sees no legitimate basis for criticizing God. Whose glory flares brighter than the sun and whose thunderous voice shakes the mountains to their roots?

How will God respond to Job’s anguished complaints? We haven’t heard God’s thunderous voice yet, but we will soon.

Reflection Questions

• Compare Job 35:4-8 to Psalm 8. Both Elihu and the psalmist look at the majestic expanse of the skies and realize God’s limitless nature in comparison with humanity’s many, many limitations. What conclusions does Elihu draw about God from this experience? What about the psalmist?
• Meditate on Job 36:1-4. What does Elihu say about his own wisdom? How does this compare to the narrator’s comments about the source of true wisdom in Job 28?