Year 2, Day 127: Job 33

Elihu and Job

Elihu’s first approach is to confront Job.  From my personal perspective, this makes a ton of sense.  Job has answered righteously in many respects and his faults in this conversation are few.  It is with Job that Elihu is going to have the most in common.  It is with Job that the task is easiest.  It makes sense to start with Job.

Finding Common Ground

The first thing that we see is Elihu trying to build a bridge with Job.  Elihu tells Job “Behold, I am toward God as you are.”  In other words, Elihu is letting Job know that he agrees with Job’s understanding of our redeemer coming from God.  He then says “I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.”  In other words, Elihu is telling Job that he is just a flawed human man like the rest of us.  He then says, “Behold, no fear of me need terrify you.”  Elihu is telling Job that Job owes him no explanation and neither does Job need to feel the need to justify himself to Elihu.  Then Elihu adds, “my pressure will not be heavy upon you.”  Elihu is telling Job that he is going to try and speak correction, but speak it in love.

This is really a phenomenal approach from Elihu.  It is a wonderful tactic to take, especially in relation to the tactics of the three earlier friends.  Elihu wants to speak words of truth, but he wants to speak them in a way that diffuses the situation.  Elihu isn’t interested in conflict or winning.  Elihu is interested in truth-telling.  This is a huge point and shows some spiritual maturity on Elihu’s behalf.

Elihu Demonstrates His Skill at Listening

Elihu then quotes Job’s words.  We should note that Elihu is not doing so to throw Job’s words back in his face but rather to let Job know that Elihu was actually listening to him.  Again, this is a very good practice.  In counseling situations it is especially helpful to often tell the other person, “Let me tell you what I heard you say, just to make sure I heard what you wanted to say.”  This helps ensure that the participants of the conversation feel heard as well as making sure everyone is on the same page.

Opening Up To Other Possibilities

Then Elihu launches into his main point against Job.  Elihu is telling Job that sometimes pain and suffering come for a reason other than righteousness.  Sometimes strife comes to teach us a lesson – regardless of whether we are righteous or unrighteous.  Sometimes we encounter things in our life so that we can struggle against them, turn to God, and draw closer to Him.  Once we have drawn closer to Him we can then bring glory to His name even in the midst of the strife.

Elihu’s point is really to open up the minds of Job and his friends.  Up until now, the whole book of Job has been a discussion centered on righteousness and righteousness alone.  Arguments have been made as to Job’s righteousness or unrighteousness.  What Elihu is telling Job is that righteousness may not even be important to the conversation.  God may be up to something that doesn’t have to do with whether or not Job is righteous.  There is truth to Elihu’s claim!

Who among us can know what God’s plans are?  Who among us can fathom the mind of God?  Who among us can say with any confidence that they know with 100% certainty what God is up to in our life?

Sure, God may occasionally use strife to punish unrighteous behavior in this world.  Yes, God may occasionally use strife to teach us how to grow closer to Him.  But are there other things that God is up to?  Absolutely!  God might use strife to make us stronger.  God might use strife in us to teach a lesson to others.  God might be setting up something down the road that we cannot ever imagine or foresee.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  The reality is that there are a myriad of reasons that God can have for doing what He does.  We need to be open about the idea that things happen for other reasons that “punishment.”

I think Elihu gives us pretty good advice here in this chapter – especially for the Christian.  The reality is that none of us are righteous on our own merit.  But God declares us righteous through the merit of Jesus Christ.  If we genuinely believe that, why are we so concerned about “punishment” from God?  Why are we always so focused on a “theology of glory?” 

Aside: A theology of glory is one in which we believe that if I do good things then God will bless my life more because I have done good things.  It is really prominent in the modern American church.  A theology of glory often leads to a prosperity gospel.

Should we not get past this idea of “punishment” and quit assuming that everyone who is having a rough go of it has done something bad?  Shouldn’t we who are declared righteous through no merit of our own consider that God might have more up His sleeve than punishing or rewarding us – as though we are merely His pets or infantile children?

God is up to more than we can imagine.  And I honestly don’t think that His goal is to hand out treats when we do the right thing and swat us with a newspaper when we are bad.  I think God’s agenda is substantially bigger than that.  I think Elihu is on the right track with his attempt to open up the minds of Job and his friends.

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