Please see the first post on Job (click HERE) for how I am approaching Job and for an important caveat.
Elihu Speaks
Until now, there’s been no mention of Elihu. He is younger than Job and the three friends. Elihu has waited his turn (32:4, 6-7). Elihu feels anger (said multiple times in chapter 32). He is angered by Job’s three friends, who though they condemn Job, have still fallen flat in their answers. He is angered at Job because Elihu believes Job is justifying himself.
20 I must speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart,
and what my lips know they speak sincerely. (32:20; 33:3)
Elihu feels compelled to speak. I get the sense that his words come from a place of sincerity and zeal. Spoiler alert, at the end of Job, Elihu is not mentioned in God’s rebuke. So, I’m inclined to believe there’s something different here. It could also be that Job’s friends should’ve known better (see Luke 12:48b). Whatever the reason, knowing the ending caused me to pause.
God Is Merciful
Elihu has been listening to Job (33:9-11). Elihu addresses Job’s claim that God doesn’t answer people (33:13):
14 For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
while they slumber on their beds,
19 Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
and with continual strife in his bones (33:14-15, 19)
Elihu counters Job’s claim by saying, “Yes, God answers people: one, through visions/dreams; and two, through suffering.” Though I’m still inclined to label this as simplistic, at least Elihu believes God cares for people enough to speak to them. Maybe this is Elihu’s difference: Job’s friends frame God as harsh, ready to pounce whereas Elihu frames God as merciful. I observe this framing in what Elihu says next:
23 If there be for him an angel,
a mediator, one of the thousand,
to declare to man what is right for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;
I have found a ransom. . .
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him. . .
and he restores to man his righteousness.
29 “Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man,
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
that he may be lighted with the light of life.
There’s a couple of allusions to Jesus here – a mediator, someone who convicts and advocates. Also, a ransom is mentioned. As a result of this mediator and ransom, a person can pray directly to God, God will hear him/her and restore the relationship. God will even do this more than once, his mercy is great!
God Is Just and Doesn’t Profit From People
Elihu addresses Job’s claim that:
9 . . .‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.
3 . . . ‘What advantage have I?
How am I better off than if I had sinned?’ (34:9, 35:3)
Elihu answers Job in two ways. One, Elihu similarly restates what the three friends have said, that God will not pervert justice (but their application was not complete). Two, whether people sin or are righteous, God is not diminished or better off. This is not to say God doesn’t feel anything, many verses describe God’s emotions towards peoples’ actions. This reminded me:
- Though God doesn’t need humans, God chooses humans to be part of His redemptive work in the world. God chooses relationship.
- We have freedom to be honest in story. We do God no favors by covering the truth because we think we are protecting God.
Stop and Consider the Wondrous Works of God
I noticed Elihu draws Job to live in the mystery of God. Elihu presents similar simplistic thinking of the other three friends, but I notice a divergence toward the end of his discourse.
24 “Remember to extol his work,
of which men have sung. . .
26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable. (36:24, 26)
Elihu acknowledges that we really don’t know much! I picture him humbly admitting, “These are my convictions, but when I observe God’s works, I realize God is much bigger than I can wrap my mind around.” Even if some answers were given, there will always be a level of mystery. Elihu continues with a description of God’s works in nature:
27 For he draws up the drops of water;
they distill his mist in rain. . .
32 He covers his hands with the lightning
and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its crashing declares his presence. . .
5 God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. . .
10 By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.
11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
the clouds scatter his lightning.
12 They turn around and around by his guidance,
to accomplish all that he commands them
on the face of the habitable world.
13 Whether for correction or for his land
or for love, he causes it to happen.
14 “Hear this, O Job;
stop and consider the wondrous works of God. (From 36 & 37)
Elihu invites Job to stop (breathe) and observe God’s wonder. Elihu makes the case that God’s acts in nature are a part of how He communicates to humans (see also Psalm 19). I did a quick word search in Job. Elihu, not the other three friends, is the one to mention God’s love. God’s voice is heard in nature. His acts communicate God’s care for the earth, God’s correction toward people, or God’s love for people.
In trauma, with all the swirling and intrusive thoughts/questions (how will I ever make it, how long will this take, how will I ever forgive, will anyone listen, should I stay/go, when will things be normal again, will justice come, etc.?), maybe what is needed from time to time is: “Stop.” Go for a walk in nature – through a park, on a hike, on the beach, etc. When someone experiences a trigger from trauma, her brain is highjacked back into the past, but grounding techniques (such as being in nature, observing God’s creative beauty) can calm the brain and bring it back into the present. Grounding techniques will not fix trauma, but they are tools to walk the journey of healing.
Up next, God Himself shows up…
By the River Together 