Job 32,33 - Elihu (1)

We now get Elihu adding his tuppence worth. There is little indication of who Elihu was, and neither is there any mention of him in the subsequent meeting of Job with God.

Elihu makes four speeches, each one preceded by a short introduction.

The three friends have given up "because Job was righteous in his own eyes". Now Job was to a large extent right. At the beginning we know that God spoke well of Job. We also know from the end that Job had much to learn. We need to appreciate this distinction. Anyway, Job's friends were getting nowhere an so gave up.

Elihu is angry with Job because Job was seeking to justify himself, rather than proving that God is right. Now when we are under pressure our initial reaction is often to seek to justify ourselves because we feel attacked and accused. Job's friends only added to this inclination. Elihu thinks that Job should have been seeking to prove God right. We are given no indication in the book of whether or not Elihu was right in what he said.

Elihu had been patient, having respect for his elders, but when they were getting nowhere he felt bound to intervene.

It is the "breath of the Almighty" that gives us understanding. We are only wise to the extent to which we honour God. 

None of the friends had managed to prove Job wrong. Elihu claims to be taking a different approach. Elihu has the zeal of youth. I imagine most of us who are no longer young look back with a little embarrassment at some of the things we said when we were young. As we get older we tend to have a more balanced view and a more forgiving attitude. However, this most definitely does not mean that there are not times when the raw enthusiasm of youth can cut through the fog.

Elihu claims to be speaking with spiritual wisdom, and urges Job to listen to him.

The essence of Elihu's first message seems to be that God uses all sorts of ways to speak to a man, and instead of insisting on proving his righteousness, Job should be focusing on what God is trying to tell teach him. This is indeed the lesson that Job did eventually learn.