Enter Elihu

Job has finished. He has rested his case, like a defendant in a lawsuit, before God. He now waits for God to answer.

But still there is no answer.

The three friends have nothing more to say. At this point, another speaker appears on the stage. Elihu, younger than the three “friends,” is bursting with something to say, but has held back out of deference to the older men. Elihu is not one of the esteemed “wise” (i.e. literate) men, but he is more nuanced than the three “friends.” Watch out for this in the next few chapters. But he turns out to be no more helpful than the others.

What Elihu’s speech serves to do in the telling of the story is to delay God’s answer. Otherwise, when Job challenged God, it would have appeared that he got an answer right away, and that God was conceding to Job’s agenda.

But Job has to wait. Sometimes God answers our prayers in the same way. “Wait.” I think waiting is one of the most difficult challenges, whether it’s waiting for medical test results, waiting to hear the results of an exam or job application, or whatever. It’s even more difficult when, like Job, you don’t know how long you will have to wait, and can’t count the “sleeps.” We can get impatient and cross, or become resigned and apathetic, or sour and cynical.

In the New Testament, James held up Job as an example of someone who knew how to wait (James 5:7-11). He was not deterred by the unhelpful platitudes of his friends or the lack of answers from God. He could protest, “God may kill me, but still I will trust him.” Sometimes that is all we can say.

Respond in Prayer

Father God, you know how hard I find it to wait. Sometimes you seem far away when I need you the most. Teach me patience, and faith, and hope. Amen.

Annabel Robinson

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®).