Job 32--Elihu Rebukes Job's Three Friends

Elihu Rebukes Job's Three Friends
32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:

“I am young in years,
    and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
    to declare my opinion to you.
7 I said, ‘Let days speak,
    and many years teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in man,
    the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
9 It is not the old who are wise,
    nor the aged who understand what is right.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
    let me also declare my opinion.’

11 “Behold, I waited for your words,
    I listened for your wise sayings,
    while you searched out what to say.
12 I gave you my attention,
    and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job
    or who answered his words.
13 Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;
    God may vanquish him, not a man.’
14 He has not directed his words against me,
    and I will not answer him with your speeches.

​15 “They are dismayed; they answer no more;
    they have not a word to say.
16 And shall I wait, because they do not speak,
    because they stand there, and answer no more?
17 I also will answer with my share;
    I also will declare my opinion.
18 For I am full of words;
    the spirit within me constrains me.
19 Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;
    like new wineskins ready to burst.
20 I must speak, that I may find relief;
    I must open my lips and answer.
21 I will not show partiality to any man
    or use flattery toward any person.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
    else my Maker would soon take me away.

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Whew!  We finally made it to the end of Job's closing arguments and the beginning of where Elihu speaks.  It is interesting that Elihu means "He is My God," and we'll see that it appears that Elihu like Job also has a relationship with the God of heaven and we don't see God rebuke him in the the same way that we'll see God rebuke Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar (and even Job a bit).  This does not mean however that everything that Elihu says is without error--remember that God seems less concerned about them getting every detail right than speaking correctly about His nature and character and seemingly the most important thing to God is that these men understand God's gospel purpose that has existed from the very beginning as this has been where Job and his friends so far have differed--Job speaks of atonement, forgiveness of sins, redemption and mediation between God and man.  Job's friends only speak of good works, self-righteousness, God's wrath in the temporal and eternal realms, and the wisdom of this world (which actually we see in part is the wisdom of the devil as they at times consorted with demons for their wisdom).  Let's see what Elihu has to say.

Elihu is angry about what he hears because Job has spent quite a bit of the book justifying himself and in his closing argument he talked much of his own good works and gave little if any glory to God.  He was also angry at Job's friends because they had made accusations without evidence.  Although he burned with anger, he waited until all that were older had their chance to speak, but no one assumed he had anything to say because he was so young--we don't know how young, but young enough to people seemed to even forget to mention that fact that he was there right now, and it's possible that he might have even been the one writing everything down to this point as it is rare for the scribe to include himself in the narrative.

The first argument that Elihu makes correctly is that wisdom comes from the spirit of God and not from being advanced in years and is something that even the young can obtain and something that some who are old will never possess.

Second, Elihu realizes that Job's complaint was never directed towards his friends and first, but towards God and he wanted God to answer.  It wasn't until Job's three friends opened their mouths with their accusations and "wisdom" that Job also had some words for them.  Elihu said that Job had said nothing to Elihu and Elihu would certainly not go to the level of making the same baseless accusations that Job's friends had made against him.  Elihu's issue seems to go deeper though--he is concerned about what Job and his three friends have said about God.

While Elihu has much that he wants to say because of anger, he says that the spirit within him (I think he means the Spirit of God) constrains him and tells him what to speak--to speak the words that come from God and not from the flesh.  He feels like he is about to burst because of all that he wants to say, and he is compelled to speak because God has given him a message, though no one thought to look to the youngest in the room for the words that God had put in his heart and his mouth.

Last, but not least, Elihu says he's going to give it to them straight and show partiality to no one because he fears God his Maker more than he fears any man and does not know the art of flattery--nor does he seem to want to know.  He simply speaks the truth.  One must be careful even in this though especially if the person is driven by indignation to remember to speak the truth in love.  This is sometimes hard for the prophet (Elihu seems to have all the characteristic marks of a prophet here).  Let's keep all this in mind as we listen to what Elihu has to say in the coming chapters and then compare it to what God has to say--since His voice is really the only voice and judgment that matters here.