Job believes two things:
- He is 'pure', he has 'done no wrong', he is 'clean and free from sin' (33:9); and
- Despite that God unjustly considers him 'his enemy' (33:10; cf 34:5)
Elihu contends that Job is not right. This is his human reasoning, and God is greater than human imagining.
God does speak and reveal himself and he does this 'now one way, now another' (33:14):
- To those who are slumbering soundly in bed God speaks 'in their ears and terrif[ies] them with warnings' (33:16)
- To those with 'constant distress in their bones' (33:19) he sends a angel who 'is gracious to them and says to God':
"Spare them from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom for them—
let their flesh be renewed like a child's;
let them be restored as in the days of their youth'—
then they can pray to God and find favour with him,
they will see God's face and shout for joy;
he will restore them to full well-being." (33:24-26)
What will those who hear these two words say:
- 'We have sinned, we have perverted what is right'
- 'we did not get what we deserved. God has delivered us from going down to the pit, and we shall live to enjoy the light of life'
It seems cruel or irrational that God would say these two contradictory words to people. Why does God say both these things to human beings? The answer is that both are to bring them us to life (33:18,28-30), and the chances are that God will have to speak these words repeatedly to us over our lives in order to save us (33:29).
Elihu was angry with Job because he was 'justifying himself rather than God' (32:2) and YHWH isn't too happy about that either (40:8). But actually Elihu admits that he wants to justify Job (33:32) and YHWH does so in the end too (42:7). Job is justified through YHWH's own justification. Only when YHWH is allowed to be just in a way above human comprehension, can we too be justified. If we seek YHWH to be just according to our own standards we will be righteous and God will seem unjust and our enemy.
how/how much/why do you think we are meant to listen to/heed Elihu? (coming as he does after the miserable comforters and before God speaks)
ReplyDeleteShort answer is that I've quite a positive view of Elihu.
ReplyDeleteI would go so far as to say that I think everything he says is right. Of course it is eclipsed by God's own speech, but it helps us to understand God's speech.
God's speech demonstrates how far above human understanding God is. However, it can be read as: 'shut up and accept it because I'm God!' Elihu gives us a context for God's mysterious power which says that it is just and exercised for our good. I think the writer has Elihu say the more prosaic things so God's speech can stand on its own as a revelation of who he is, without the interpretation of what that means for us which Elihu provides.
A few further thoughts on why I think we should listen to Elihu?
1. He is not condemned by God as Job's friends are.
2. Job does not answer him back.
3. The end of his speech (chap 37) flows seamlessly into the main content of God's speech.
4. He claims to speak with the Spirit of God (33:4, 36:2)
5. I think there is plenty of encouragement for Job in what he says, while he also clearly warns Job of the dangerous road he is on.
6. He rejects the action-consequence (legalistic) view of the world shared by Job's friends, and to a certain degree by Job himself
What do you think?