34:10–12) Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit had instructed Elihu's
Job 31—32 must respect age and experience (Job 32:4, 6–7). It would have been a terrible breach of etiquette had Elihu interrupted his elders.
trial had gone on long enough, and it was time for the Judge to act.
Job's three friends were silent, appalled that Job had dared to speak so boldly to God and about God. They were sure that God's judgment of Job was the next thing on the agenda.
His second reason was because he wanted to hear the complete debate and have all the arguments before him (v. 11; Prov. 18:13). The fact that Elihu quoted from their speeches indicates that he had listened closely and remembered what each man said (Job 32:12). Like many "young theologians," Elihu had a bit of youthful conceit in his speeches ("Hear what I know!"—vv. 6, 10, 17; 33:1–3); but for the most part, he was a sincere young man who really thought he could help Job find answers to his questions.
God was silent. No fire came from heaven, and no voice spoke in divine wrath. The silence was God's eloquent witness to the three friends that they were wrong in what they had said both about Job and about God. It was also God's witness to Job that the God of the universe is not at the beck and call of His creatures. God doesn't appear just because somebody thinks it's time for a showdown.
Having introduced himself into the discussion, Elihu then gave four reasons to explain why it was important for him to speak and for them to listen. After all, he was a "nobody"; and he had to convince them that what he had to say was worth hearing.
At the famous "Speaker's Corner" in London's Hyde Park, a man denouncing Christianity issued this challenge: "If there is a God, I will give Him five minutes to strike me dead!" He took out his watch and waited. After five minutes, he smiled and said, "My friends, this proves that there is no God!"
He was indignant (Job 32:1–3, 5). Four times in these verses we are told that Elihu was angry. He was angry at the three friends for not refuting Job, and he was angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God. Job claimed that God was wrong, and the three friends couldn't prove that Job was wrong! Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz had given up the cause (v. 15) and were waiting for God to come and deal personally with Job (vv. 12–13). Elihu was disgusted at their failure. "It is easy to fly into a passion—anybody can do that," wrote Aristotle. "But to be angry with the right person to the right extent and at the right time and with the right object and in the right way—that is not easy, and it is not everyone who can do it."
A Christian believer in the crowd called to him, "Do you think you can exhaust the patience of Almighty God in five minutes?"
However, in the crowd around the ash heap, one person was not silent. It was Elihu, a man so unknown that his full pedigree had to be given so people could identify him (Job 32:2). Neither Job (1:1) nor his three friends (2:11) needed that kind of detailed identification for others to know them.
Elihu gave a long speech—six chapters in our Bible—in which he explained the character of God and applied this truth to Job's situation. One way to outline his speech is as follows:
He was inspired (Job 32:8–10). Age should bring wisdom, but there is no guarantee that it will (Prov. 16:31). Alas, there are old fools as well as young fools! As a younger man, Elihu couldn't claim to have wide experience in the ways of God and men; but he claimed to have something better: the insight of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit had instructed Elihu's spirit (1 Cor. 2:11) and revealed God's truths to him. Elihu didn't need the wisdom that comes with experience, for he had been taught by God (Ps. 119:97–100).
1. God is speaking through me (Job 32; note v. 8) 2. God is gracious (Job 33; note v. 24) 3. God is just (Job 34—35; note 34:10–12) 4. God is great (Job 36—37; note 36:5, 26)
This explains why Elihu repeatedly exhorted Job and his friends to listen to him (Job 32:10; 33:1, 31, 33; 34:2, 10, 16; 37:14). It also explains why he emphasized the phrases "mine opinion" (32:6, 10, 17; "what I know" in the niv) and "my words" (33:1–3). It isn't every day that you can hear a man who has been inspired by God, so you had better listen!
While Elihu said some of the same things as the other speakers, his purpose was different from theirs. He was not trying to prove that Job was a sinner, but that Job's view of God was wrong. Elihu introduced a new truth into the debate: that God sends suffering, not necessarily to punish us for our sins, but to keep us from sinning (33:18, 24) and to make us better persons (36:1–15). Paul would have agreed with the first point (2 Cor. 12:7–10) and the writer of Hebrews with the second (Heb. 12:1–11).
He was impartial (Job 32:14, 21–22). "Now he has not directed his words against me, so I will not answer him with your words" (v. 14 nkjv). Elihu made it clear that he had no reason for taking sides since neither Job nor any of the three friends had attacked him personally. Elihu also said that he would avoid rehashing the same arguments that they had used, though he didn't fully live up to that promise.
Let's consider the first two of Elihu's affirmations about God.
God is Speaking Through Me (Job 32) Elihu emphasized that he had waited patiently before speaking, and he gave two reasons. For one thing, he was younger than Job and the three friends; and youth
Elihu may have been impartial but he was by no means neutral. He was too angry for that! He promised