Blog

Following his rebuke of Jobs’ other friends, the young and fiery Elihu finally shares his “right” opinion, stating what he believes the others could not. With a new character being introduced, it seems at first that we can have hope. Finally a friend who can speak the truth! It may have been exhausting for you to read chapter after chapter of his friends trying to be significant and not helpful. And rather than Elihu being someone with genuine wisdom, we read about a friend speaking out of arrogance.

Let’s examine Elihu further. We learn a lot about who Elihu believes himself to be: an honorable man who’s wisdom surpasses his years, so Job should heed to him. Then he twists Job’s words, claiming he believes to be “clean and free of sin” (v. 9). And yet Job made sacrifices before God (an act only done by someone trying to atone for their sins), which we learned from Job 1:5. Then Elihu brings up the point that God does speak to us through visions. He goes as far as to say that God actually did send someone to Job–it was just not received. If Job did receive it then God would bless him. And there it is folks: the black and white teaching all of the friends. 

What can we learn from Elihu’s message here? As with many of the words given by Job’s other  friends, it’s not that they’re giving him entirely false advice, it’s just incomplete and not applicable to Job right now. But in many ways, it is for us. Verses 22-28 paint this picture of a mediator saving someone from going in the pit because there is an alternative payment and now they can be redeemed and walk in the light. This is the Gospel! While Elihu probably didn’t fully understand this prophecy he was telling, we can remember the truth of these words today. In the midst of a chapter that is discouraging for us to read of yet another friend failing Job, we have the blessing of being reminded of the newness of the Gospel, so let it not be overlooked! Sit in the truth of what we now get to put our hope in today.

Today, the back-and-forth dialogue between Job and his three friends ends, and finally we meet someone new! Elihu enters the scene, burning with anger towards Job and his three friends. He criticizes Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar for their responses to Job. He claims he has refrained from speaking because he was younger and assumed they would have more wisdom to offer. In verses 7-9, Elihu reminds us that true wisdom comes from God alone. Yes, God can use life experiences to grant wisdom, but age in and of itself does not always equate to wisdom. Elihu then goes on to insist (several times in fact) that he must make himself heard or he will burst.

Can you relate to Elihu? Have you ever felt like you were going to explode and needed to speak your mind? What do we do in that situation? God’s Word has a lot to say regarding our tongues. Proverbs 18:21 tells us the tongue holds the power of life and death. Proverbs 10:8 and Ecclesiastes 5:3 both tell us that a fool can be identified by their many “babbling words.” Jesus warned us of the influence in our words when he said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Clearly, our words are powerful, and we must “proceed with caution” before carelessly speaking our minds. This seems like a daunting and impossible task; we cannot tame our tongues in and of our own strength. There is hope, though, and His name is Jesus. Matthew 12:34 tells us that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. As we abide closely with Jesus, He completely transforms our hearts (John 15) so that what is flowing out of our lives and our mouths is reflective of Him.

We will all have “Elihu moments” where we want to speak our mind. Thankfully, we are not in this battle alone and we have the Holy Spirit as a guide and helper to give us discernment on when to speak and what to say. We can rely on Him daily to change our hearts and to help us tame our tongues. 

In Job 31, Job tells his peers that his trials are not due to disobedience. He makes it clear that he fears the Lord. Job is also bold, explaining to his friends that if he has wronged God, he welcomes God’s judgment and justice.

However, a recurring theme throughout this chapter is Job’s adamance that he has not wronged the Lord, and he believes the Lord will find him blameless (v. 6). Job’s own peers have accused him of disobedience, claiming he deserves punishment. However, Job knows in his heart he has been obedient and faithful to the Lord. Even though Job’s life looks miserable and others view his suffering as punishment, Job cares most about God and His righteous judgment. He trusts God’s view of his life. Even though we don’t always understand what the Lord is doing in our lives, we should follow Job’s example and, even in the midst of suffering, seek the Lord and only Him—not the approval or commentary of others. 

Job chooses to view his circumstances in an optimistic light, letting the Lord be in charge of his life and strengthen him, no matter what turmoil comes his way. Even as he declares his innocence, he does so with humility. He doesn’t take advantage of women or degrade and abuse his servants because he knows every human was created by God, and God doesn’t show partiality—God made Job just like He made everyone else (v. 15). In faith, Job surrenders to suffering even though he believes himself innocent. Similarly to Job, we can prepare to have our faith tested and our life stripped away for the Lord even if we don’t understand why. Instead of seeing pain as punishment, let’s allow trials to condition our hearts for faithful obedience to God as we seek His plan for our lives, not the plan we prefer or believe we deserve.  

As we go into today, let’s pray for humility to endure suffering with faith, asking God to guide and strengthen our faith and devotion to Him. Let’s consider fasting from something we love or think we need, or spend more intentional time with the Lord in His word, seeking His instruction for us. Like Job, let’s worship God today, allowing our trials to make us more reliant on Him and more like Him. 

Some times in Scripture point to the reality of “do good, get good; do bad, get bad.” At times, God blesses the faithful and punishes the wicked. But how do we make sense of the times where that clearly isn’t the case? As we have read for the last thirty chapters, Job was written to fill that void and to discuss the reality that some people do good and still get bad.

We saw in Job 29 that Job regularly helped the poor and oppressed. He was a very wealthy and powerful man who used his resources for genuine good. By the time Job 30:24, we see Job in the very same position he used to pull people out of. He has nothing, he’s sick, and can’t seem to catch a break. To make matters worse, we read this in v. 11, “Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.” Instead of helping their brother in need, Job’s friends come at him without restraint. They’re coming at him to the point the author uses the language of a military siege to describe it!

What can we possibly glean from such a bleak passage? First, the very fact that this chapter is in Scripture is important. As we know, nothing made it into the Bible without God’s approval. All of Scripture is “God-breathed,” and “useful,” so there is a purpose to the Spirit’s preservation of this text. As mentioned earlier, the Book of Job, filled with chapters like this, wrestles with the reality that one does not always receive good things simply because they’re a good person. The very fact that God placed this book in Scripture screams that it is okay to be suffering. It’s not a sign that God hates you or is disappointed in you. He doesn’t. He loves you so very much that He sent His own Son Jesus Christ to die that you might have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him!

Speaking of Jesus, that’s another key purpose of Job. Here we see a precursor to the Gospel story. Jesus knows a thing or two about doing good and getting bad. He literally did the ultimate good and received the ultimate bad. He is sympathetic to our sufferings because He suffered too. We catch a glimpse of this in Job, but we see it fully realized in Christ. For those of us in Christ, there is always a resurrection after a death.

We see Job’s theology is intimately tied to his experience with the people around him. Much of this chapter is filled with laments about the days gone by when Job used to be celebrated by everyone in his midst. He remembers “the old men rose to their feet” (v. 8), “those who saw me commended me” (v. 11), “the one who was dying blessed him” (v. 13), and “people listened to me expectantly” (v. 21). 

We can see clearly that Job was highly regarded. However, after his world was shaken we see people no longer treated him the same way. Rather than being applauded, he was cast aside. Rather than being blessed, he felt cursed. Rather than being listened to, he was ignored. An important lesson is Job mistakenly believed God’s character was similar to the people around him.

Verses 1-5 are crucial to understand how he views God in this time: “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me”. In other words, he believes God is treating him the same way as the people around him! Since Job feels lonely and unseen, God must have abandoned him. These statements are simply not true about God. Here is what we do know about His character: 

• Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 
• Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  

In the lowest moments of life, God has not abandoned you. He’s just as intimately watching you in your greatest successes as in your greatest difficulties. His character is not like those around us. We don’t have a God that forgets about us when things get difficult. He doesn’t leave us or forsake us. Instead, it is in these times we get to truly experience his close friendship. Because he will be a friend to us in times no one else will.   

For many of us, what we treasure is revealed in what we are willing to spend money investing in. Most often, the things that are worth the most, are the treasures we are willing to work the hardest for, regardless of how much money or time is spent in the process. This could be our cars, our clothes, our houses, our food choices, etc. Just take a look at your bank account, and you will see clearly what you treasure and pursue. The equation is simple: We spend money in exchange for possessions, based on their value. However, there are other treasures in life, of the greatest of value, that no amount of money can buy. Job tells us that this great treasure is wisdom, and its rarity is precisely what makes it so valuable. Only a few will come to search it out and find it, because most people don’t even know where to look.

In Job 28 we see that men are willing to go to incredible lengths and even endure danger for the sake of accumulating riches of gold and silver. Job makes the argument that all of these earthly and material treasures don’t come close in value to the unsurpassable worth of wisdom from God. Verse 18 says that, “the price of wisdom is above pearls.” Not only is it of high value, but it’s much rarer and harder to find than any material possession we could search for on Earth. Only God knows fully where wisdom is found, because wisdom is from God. 

The chapter ends by telling us that wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and it leads us to turn away from evil. Proverbs 9:10 says something similar, that the “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” If we want to obtain the greatest riches, we must fear the Lord, walk in the right relationship with Him, and this wisdom in our lives will be proven by the way we seek to live a life that turns away from sin and evil.

Today, God is inviting us to quit chasing after more money and more possessions, but rather to chase after things of eternal value, and in doing so we will come to find more of who He is.

In Job 27, we read the continuation of Job’s final words to his friends. He has shifted from talking about God’s incomprehensible awesomeness (using that word in its truest form) in Job.26, to discussing himself in the very next chapter. While this entire passage is quite interesting, the first six verses really capture Job’s mindset in this moment.

​First, Job believes that God has “denied [him] justice” and “made [his] life bitter.” While this isn’t in God’s nature, who, as we read in Psalm 37:28, loves justice and will not forsake His people. Not only here, but God’s promise to never leave nor forsake His people is found throughout Scripture. With that much repetition, it doesn’t seem to be something He takes lightly, does it? While we know that God doesn’t forsake His people, He will not deny them justice eternally, Job is relatable to many here. Since most of us can likely relate on some level to having bad things happen in our lives, immediately we can connect with Job here. So where does he go from here?

​In verses 3-6, Job tells us how he is going to respond to this present, bleak situation, “…my lips will not say anything wicked…I will not deny my integrity…I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it.”

​In response to his circumstances, Job chooses to maintain his innocence and integrity. This move is one we can all look to. Job here shows us the reality that sometimes things are hard, and sometimes we want to just throw in the towel, but this is no reason to fall into sin, proving those who accuse us right. Job here is actively living out what Paul writes to the Ephesians, “In your anger do not sin,” or what the Psalmist says in Psalm 4:4, “Tremble and do not sin.” It’s okay that Job is angry, processing his current situation. In fact, when we are angry in the face of unjust circumstances, we reflect God’s heart, but when we then use this as an excuse to sin, we reject that same heart.

​So, in light of this, what do we do? We follow Job’s example as far as we can. Even when we get angry, we do not sin. We run to God, and we sit in His presence, even when He’s the One we’re angry with. We voice our anger to Him and we follow His way. Without a doubt He will be pleased with that showing of faith.

In Job 25 we saw Bildad explaining why a person like Job could not be considered righteous by God. Basically, Bildad said that Job had to have done something to deserve the acts of justice served on him. But Job knows he has done nothing sinful in God’s eyes, so Job is not happy and he is going to let Bildad know it. You can just feel the sarcasm oozing in verse 3 when Job says, “And what great insight you have displayed, Bildad!”

We know that Job is justified in feeling how he does–God already told us in earlier chapters that Job is wise and righteous. So now this is his chance to show his friends, with all of their opinions, the wisdom to which God was referring. Job speaks about the dead, the underworld, things below and things above; the rain, the clouds, the moon; the ocean, mountains, and earthquakes. Job reminds his friends that God controls them all and calms them all at His simple command.

Job descriptively marvels at the greatness and vastness of God’s creation as proof of who he knows God to be. He reminds his friends that God is so complex and dynamic that He and His ways cannot be understood. Until this point, Job has struggled, but he is beginning to find his way back to his faith. We can see Job’s heart opening to trust.  He understands that his words only touch the mere edges of God’s ways. (v. 13) Job’s faith and conviction clearly run deep enough to argue for God and God’s wisdom, but his circumstances still prevent him from resting in that trust.  As one commentary describes it, Job could hear the thunder of God’s power, but it didn’t tell him all he wanted to know.  It was merely a small whisper of God and Job needed more. (v. 14).

The book of Job is an invitation to trust God and His ways; no matter the circumstance; even when it doesn’t make sense and we don’t have reasons for the things happening around us or to us. The beauty is that God saved these words for us. Did you ever think about why the book of Job was divinely preserved for us to read? God wanted us to see that questioning Him, and brutal honesty with Him in times of suffering, is ok. In fact, in Job 40 we will see God’s approval of Job’s response and processing when He says Job “spoke rightly” of Him. God protected these written descriptions of Job’s ugly, sinful, honest journey of suffering so that we could understand that our similar questions and struggles don’t make us bad or wrong.  They make us human and honest.  And it’s in that honesty that God can spread a balm of peace over our wounds, allowing us to heal and rest in His trustworthiness.