Job 36-37 - Where Elihu gets to the Point...and Pickles

Why Pickles, you say? I say why not? 

Have you ever listened to someone talk but the whole time you kept thinking, "Just get to the point!" They just kept talking and talking, not actually saying anything, or giving you way too many details about non important things. When they finally get to the point you're thinking, "Okay, I see what you mean, but why didn't you say that 10 minutes ago?" That's what happens with Elihu in Job 36-37. He finally gets to some solid points, but the whole time we're thinking, "But why didn't you just say that earlier?" We are finally at the end of Elihu's speeches, (yay!). As always, please read along in your Bible, Job 36-37.

Background: Job looked at his life, his righteous character and the way he feared God and said, "I have feared God and turned from evil. Therefore I should not be suffering. God has erred in my life by bringing suffering, difficulty, death and loss into my life." Job's three friends said he was a sinner who got what he deserved and he should repent. Now Elihu comes to the summation of his arguments.

Job 36:1-23 - The funniest line in all of Job, and then some thoughtful insight. The funny part is when Elihu says, "Bear with me a little, and I will show you...one who is perfect in knowledge is with you," (1,4). HAHAHAHAHAHA! "Bear with me 'a little'"? This is a guy who has been unable to stop talking for the last three chapters! "One who is perfect in knowledge"? Oh boy, that's a good one! Whew, I needed a good laugh. Thank you, Elihu. Also, thank you, tiny pickle. Okay, let's continue now to the actual substance.

Elihu's view of suffering/loss: God is mighty and merciful. He acts in wisdom and justice in his dealings with men and takes care of the righteous and humble. "Behold, God is mighty, and he does not despise any...He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right," (5-6). He may bring sorrow and struggle to a person's life, but his goal is to redeem, teach, correct, and protect people from foolishness and sin. "Then he declares to them...their transgressions...He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity," (8-10). A good and wise man will submit to God's instruction and learn from his suffering. A foolish and/or wicked man will refuse to learn from the trials he is experiencing and instead stiffen their necks in pride and anger, (11-23). Elihu's point is through suffering God is trying to teach or instruct men in ways they do not understand. Job should submit to the will and instruction of God and learn. If he chooses to reject the works of God in his life, he will both miss a divine opportunity and experience further judgment from God. (Now why Elihu didn't just say that earlier, I don't know).

At first glance this advice can seem mean and heartless. Would you tell someone who just lost a child to cancer that God was trying to teach them something? You wouldn't if you had any sense. But we have to remember that these men are trying to come to a philosophical understanding of suffering and loss. Job said there was no rhyme or reason; God just does as he pleases without purpose or justification. Job's friends said suffering was all due to sin and punishment. Elihu is saying that God sends suffering to teach and grow people, not necessarily to punish. Is Elihu's view ultimately correct? Not quite, but at least it's more thoughtful than whatever Job's friends have said. We also have to remember that these men had little more than oral tradition to teach them about God. There was no Bible. There was no Moses. They were trying to make sense out of the Almighty but they didn't have a whole lot to go on. It's like a man trapped in a tiny pickle, who doesn't know he's trapped in pickle. (Did that illustration make sense? No. But I bet it made you smile).

Not a pickle, but it seems more appropriate.

Job 37:1-13 - God is awesome in his control of nature. He gloriously works amid the wonders of nature to accomplish his purposes. One has to wonder if there isn't a literal storm brewing while Elihu is talking here because thunder and lightning are referred to so frequently in chapters 36-37, (10 times overall). Perhaps Elihu was picking up on the surrounding circumstances to make his point. He shows God as in control of the awesome and mysterious forces of weather. "God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them," (5, 11-12). God does all these things according to his sovereign purposes which we cannot always understand. "Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen," (13).

Not a pickle.

Job 37:14-24 - You cannot understand the sovereign works of God. Therefore be humble before his power and wisdom. "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know how God...causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? Do you know the balancings of the clouds?" (14-16). Look Job, God works wonders in nature. Do you understand Him? Do you know how God makes lightning work? Do you know how God causes the clouds to fill up with water and nourish the earth? "You whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind? Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?" (17-18). In other words, Job, you're a small man who is dependent upon God for a cool breeze on a hot day. You cannot control the winds and weather, only God can. God is bigger than you and me. He is glorious, sovereign, and mysterious. What then should Job do? "The Almighty--we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit," (23-24). Elihu tells Job that God is great, powerful, and just. We cannot understand his ways or come into his presence to demand he given an account for his actions, (which is what Job wanted). Men must trust God is just and righteous in his dealings with us and humbly submit to his ways. Elihu's call is for Job to be humble, fear God, and trust his character.

So Elihu has talked WAY too much, but in the end he actually has some thoughtful things to say. He defended the character of God as just, mighty, and wise. He advised Job that God uses suffering and loss in life to teach us, humble us, and protect us. He showed God to be awesome, mysterious, and incredible, working in the ways of weather and storm to accomplish his purposes. Although we may not agree with everything Elihu said or how he said it, we have to commend him for being different than Job's other friends who told him he should just repent and everything would be gravy.

Now the table is set. All of the smaller speakers have had their say. Mere men have tried to give an answer to the God's purposes in suffering. In the next chapter God shows up and speaks for himself. LLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEETTTTTTT'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!