Job 32-33 - Who is that guy?

Who is that girl? Who is Elihu? 

Have you ever seen The Blues Brothers? I have to admit there is some language in there, but overall the movie is great, it includes cameos by untold stars, and has some amazing music. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. In the movie, the Blues Brothers, (played by Dan Akroyd and John Belushi), are on a "mission from God". But there's this girl, (played by Carrie Fisher), who keeps trying to kill the Blues Brothers in rather comical ways throughout the whole movie. Finally, Dan Akroyd asks, "Who is that girl?" You have to watch the movie to get the answer, but the "Who is that?" question fits in well with where we are in Job. Please read along in Job 32-33.

Aretha Franklin, also bitter (in the movie)

Job 32:1-5 - Elihu, whoever he is, is bitter, and here's why. 
Job has finished his statements. He refuted his friends who told him he was suffering because of his sin, (1) Job then declared in the last several chapters, that he was righteous and therefore God had erred in his treatment of him. Now this guy Elihu steps up. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Was he there the whole time? Why wasn't he mentioned earlier? Does he hate the Blues Brothers too? These things bother me. The Bible says he's the son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram (2). Does that clear it up for you? Nope, me neither. Anyway, he's all upset because Job's friends couldn't refute Job's arguments (3). He's also upset with Job for saying God had messed up (2). So now Elihu, whoever he is, is going to have his say.

Job 32:6-14 - Why Elihu has kept silent and why he will now speak. 
Elihu says he hasn't said anything until now because, being a younger man, he wanted to be respectful of his elders, (which is always a good idea). "I thought, 'Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom," (7). But here's the problem: none of Job's friends were not able to refute what Job said. "But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments," (12). Job still appeared righteous in his own eyes before God. Job believed God had messed up. Now Elihu is going to answer, but he promises not to rehash the same old arguments used by Job's friends. "I will not answer him with your arguments," (14b).

Job 32:15-22 - Elihu REALLY needs to talk, A LOT.
Here's the problem with Elihu: he talks too much. He fits the Shakespearean pattern of taking seven paragraphs to say one thing. This is apparently something ancient Middle Eastern people valued, which is why they would not like Elwood Blues saying, "We're on a mission from God." It's just too succint. Elihu says over and over again how desperate he is to talk. "Must I wait, now they are silent...I too will have my say...I am full of words...I am like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply," (16-21, selected). Geez! Get on with it man!

Job 33:1-7 - Hey Job! Hear what I have to say! Again very wordy, but that's about the gist of it. Elihu asks Job to listen to his arguments and refute him if possible.

Cab Calloway - Just because he's cool. 

Job 33:8-11 - Elihu correctly recaps Job's argument.
Elihu rightly summarizes what Job had said previously: that he was righteous and without sin and that there was no reason for God to have brought this suffering into his life. However, despite Job's righteousness, God had unjustly punished Job. "Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy," (10). Therefore, in Job's eyes, God had acted unjustly in God's life. God had messed up in his dealings with Job. This was a key point we looked at in the last blog. God, in Job's mind, should not be treating him this way. Job should not be suffering because he was a righteous man. Elihu is correct in his recap of Job's arguments...just as Cab Calloway was correct about Minnie the Moocher.

We all hate Illinois Nazis.

Job 33:12-33 - God can bring suffering to protect a person. 
Job wanted God to show up and justify himself for the suffering Job had experienced. Elihu's point is that God may be speaking, but not in ways Job would understand. "Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words? For God does speak--now one way, now another--though man may not perceive it," (13-14). For example, God may speak in dreams or through pain and sickness to men (19-22). (Remember, this is before Moses, before the Bible, and before the Ten Commandments. Revelation was pretty limited from God at this time). Why would God speak to men like this? "To turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword," (17-18). "God does all these things to a man...to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him," (29-30). For instance, God may bring an Illinois Nazi into your life...in order to...um...keep you...uh...from crossing a bridge, or something.

Elihu's point is that God may bring suffering, sickness, or terror into a person's life in order to keep them from ultimately destroying themselves through sin, pride, or evil. God may bring hard things into a person's life to preserve and protect a person. Job, according to Elihu, should be aware that God is trying to teach him something, even if God is not speaking to Job the way Job would prefer.

Ray + Blues Brothers = A whole lotta awesome.

Is Elihu right? Is suffering merely God's way of teaching us something? Is it God's way of protecting us from pride or evil? Was God doing all of this in Job's life to bring him to repentance and growth as a person? Remember, this is Elihu's point of you, not necessarily the truth any more than the statements made by Job's friends should be taken as truth. Personally I have a hard time coming to the conclusion that every instance of suffering or pain we experience is an indication of God trying to tell us something. Sometimes it's just the result of living in a fallen and broken world. It's true that God does use difficulty in our lives to grow us as people in the image of God, (James 1:2-5; Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes God purposefully brings difficulty into our lives for his purposes, (see also the story of Joseph, Genesis 38-50). Then again, I would not say that God murdered Job's family just so Job would be a more patient person. Nor would I encourage us to look at every difficulty as God's trying to tell us we're way too selfish, etc.

We're getting into the weeds here of God's sovereignty, which is obviously a difficult subject. I also recognize that I'm swerving from the text a bit, which I prefer not to do. It's hard to draw an exact conclusion from Elihu's statements because they are "his" statements, not God's, so it's a little hard here to draw an application from the passage. Ultimately I think I'd hang my hat on Genesis 50:20. Joseph is talking to his brothers who sinfully sold him into slavery when he was a boy. Joseph endured all kinds of suffering, but in the end God used it for His good purposes. Joseph told his brothers, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive". Evil men may do evil things and we may suffer in this fallen world, but God is at work for his own wise, loving, and good purposes. That means he can and will use difficulty to grow us in his image, but I wouldn't say that means every traffic jam is God's way of addressing our problems with anxiety.

So Elihu talks too much, but has some interesting things to say. I don't figure Job cares too much for it, but he holds his tongue. Just a few more chapters and then God will show up. Hopefully it'll be as cool as James Brown preaching.

Do you see the light?!