39 Elihu and Job's Silence

Elihu built upon the accusations Job three friends.

Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited till others had spoken, because they were elder than he. Job 32:6 .  .  .  ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.

·       In at over 40 verses of Chs 32-37 Elihu brought attention to himself and seemed to be saying hearken unto my words above all.  

·       32:10; 33:1,31,33; 34:10,16,34; 37:14

·       In Job 36:3-4 Elihu sais,”I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.(4) For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.”

·        Elihu seemed to tie his knowledge with the righteousness of his Maker;

·       The same God of Israel Isa 17:7, 54:5

Job 37:16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?

·       In this verse Elihu spoke of God’s perfect knowledge. In 36:4 Elihu claimed to have perfect knowledge.

·       Can you image a very young man telling the very old men that he is the one to whom God chose to be given His perfect knowledge, equal to His own? 

Job 36: 6-14 Elihu contrasted the righteous and the wicked.

V36:10-12 Elihu the righteous heed and obey the discipline of the LORD and He will give them days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. Eliphaz stated the same concept in V5:17.

36:16 Elihu made it personal: Job was in a stait. He was bound up in misery. In V7:3-6 Job called the strait he was in months of vanity without hope. Elihu told Job the LORD would have done that for him IF he would have confessed to the sin of which his friends accused him of and would have set Job in a broad place as

·       Ps 18:19, 118:5

·       But Job  V36:17 the place of the wicked

·       The Elihu’s error: The LORD did not chasten Job.

36:17-18 Elihu declared (with his “perfect wisdom”) that Job had fulfilled the judgment of the wicked and nothing could deliver Job from God’s wrath

Notice the way Elihu’s speech ended 37:22-24. If men understand

Who God is they will fear Him. But he respecteth not any that are wise of heart or puffed up with their own self.

·       In Job 15:4 Eliphaz stated Job had cast off his fear of God. I believe this was true.

It seems that Elihu believed that God had no respect for Job because he did not heed His messengers (the three men) and he was headed to the pit without no hope of deliverence. (33:14-30)

Can you imagine what Job was thinking as this brash, angry young man lashed out at him and the other three.

I wonder if Job was thinking who does this young man think he is, when he’s done I am really going to let him have it.

The Holy Spirit may have cut Job off in 31:40 and He may have  LORD cut off Elihu’s speech and stopped Job from answering Elihu when He spoke to Job out of the whirlwind.

In Job 38:2 The LORD asked, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?”

·       The LORD spoke directly to Job. He seems to answer the LORD in V42:3 Job said, “I did.”

·       The LORD continued to speak to Job in V38:3

·       I also believe the other four heard these words. I wonder what was going through their minds when they heard the LORD speak. Was the LORD speaking to them also?

In 39:7 and 40:7 the LORD told Job to gird up now thy loins like a man”. Job did what Israel did during the 70 years of captivity by Babylon (Isa 15:3). God was telling Job to face Me as the man you should be, not the whimpering self centered person you have become.

·       Ch 1:20, 22; 3:10, 29:17 The Job God knew

·       Jer 1:17 Jeremiah was told this when God sent him to prophesy because Jeremiah was going to be working for the LORD and would be hated by those to whom God sent him.

·       Ex 12:11 Israel was to be ready to exit Egypt.

·       Job was going to get just what he asked for in V31:35. God, who Job become to consider his adversary, was going to answer him with many questions Job had no answer for.

·       When you are called by God to follow Him, obey Him, and serve Him you must be prepared; prepared for opposition. Opposition led by the one who hated Job and his testimony to the LORD God Almighty. Job’s opposition was not a man but the Wicked.

·       But Job had begun to feel God was his adversary and God was going to force Job to see HIM, Job had to be ready for battle against him self.