Elihu in the Book of Job

      I have been reading the book of Job recently. Now if you are anything like me, when you read the book of Job you’re all good till you get to the middle…it might go something like this: first there is the meeting between God and Satan, then Job gets his things and children taken away and you begin to think that if Satan was any help at all he would have taken Job’s wife. Satan then meets with God again and Job gets all sick…His friends come and sit with him in silence for about a week. Not too bad. Everything is straight forward till Job goes and starts to talk and then his friend thinks that looks like fun and he starts talking, then Job talks…the other friend starts in on the fun and then Job again, friend, Job, friend, Job….it kinda goes like that till BAM! God finally comes and straightens everyone out and gives Job twice as much as he had and you are left knowing that Job then lived a very full life of a hundred and something years…does that pretty much sum it up for you? It used to for me =D until this last time that I read it.

      Knowing that I always get mixed up in the middle, I made a chart. I put down who was talking when and who they were taking to =D Now this may sound a little complicated but bear with me here!

Job 1-2 –Satan and God meet twice. Job gets children, possessions and health taken away.

Job 3 –Job starts to ask why this is happening

Job 4&5 –Eliphaz tries to answer Job

Job 6&7 –Job answers Eliphaz

Job 8 –Bildad tries to answer Job

Job 9&10 –Job answers Bildad

Job 11 –Zophar tries to answer Job

Job 12-14 –Job answers Zophar

Job 15 –Eliphaz answers Job for the 2^nd time

Job 16&17 –Job answers Eliphaz

Job 18 –Bildad answers Job for the 2^nd time

Job 19 –Job answers Bildad

Job 20 –Zophar answers Job for the 2^nd time (Note: This is the last time Zophar speaks…the rest have another turn.)

Job 21 –Job answers Zophar

Job 22 –Eliphaz answers Job for a 3^rd time

Job 23&24 –Job answers Eliphaz

Job 25 –Bildad answers Job for a 3^rd time (Note: This is the shortest “answer” anyone has given so far…I think they are finally wearing down.)

Job 26-31 –Job answers Bildad

Finally in Job 32:1  We are told that, in my own words, Job’s 3 friends stopped answering him because they saw it was of no use.

      This makes me think of the times when one of my friends asked me the question, “Pete and Repeat were in a boat, Pete fell out, who was left?” and I say, “Repeat.” And she says, “Pete and Repeat were in a boat, Pete fell out, who was left?” and I say, “Repeat.” And she says…well, I think you get the idea. We go on like this till finally one of us says, “I give up!” and then we are both relieved.

Anyways! Back to Job.

      Now this is the point where you might expect God to come in. But wait…it says in verse 2&3 of Job 32:

“Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Berachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they has found no answer, and yet has condemned Job.”

Wow! Wait a Minute! There is another friend?! And he is not only angry at Job…he is angry at the other guys too! This is awesome! But wait, why hasn’t this guy spoken up before?

J

ob 32:4 “Now Elihu has waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.”

      Oh!! I see! It seems as though back in the day the younger men would wait for the older men to speak first in matters such as this, out of respect and probably because they knew that with years comes a deal of wisdom and it might be better to listen to a wise opinion before you stick your foot in your mouth. 

      

      Now I would encourage you to look into the chapter that Elihu is speaking and study them for yourself. They are very interesting (that would be Job 32-37).

      There are a lot of things I could say about Elihu and theories I could put out there but I today I only want to focus on one little lesson that Elihu can teach us. I would like to look at the way he approaches Job.

Now Elihu is younger than Job...it seems from the verse quoted above that he was the youngest out of the three friends there as well.

I would also like to note that he did not get upset until the men were done talking:

Job 32:4&5

“Now Elihu has waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder then he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.”

It seems to point out that he waited till they had finished speaking till he passed judgment on what they were saying.

He then goes on to explain to Job and his three friends that he felt that as the younger he was afraid to show his opinion

Job 32:6 

"And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion."

He thought that the older men should speak and teach wisdom.

Job 32:7

"I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom."

 But then he goes on to say this.

Job 32:8-10

 “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.”

And he does. The next 5 chapters are him defending God and telling Job that he shouldn’t question God.

At the end of the book when God tells Jobs friends to get Job to pray for them, he only mentions the 1^st three that spoke…Elihu is never mentioned in a good or bad way. Interesting.

As a young person, I find it encouraging that young man seemed to have found the right thing to tell Job in his time of trouble.

It seems to confirm what is said in 1 Timothy 4:12:

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, on charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

So what's my point?   =D

      As a young people we need to listen to our elders, we need to understand that with years does come an amount of wisdom and understanding. I think it would be safe to assume that Elihu had received instruction from Job and the other three men before this time, but in this situation he saw that they contradicted what he knew to be true about God. Just because someone is older than us doesn't mean that they are always wiser in every situation. We should listen to our elders but if we think they are in contradiction to what we know the Bible says about that situation we shouldn't be afraid to disagree. We also have a responsibility to set an example in the way that we live. And if there is a time where we need to confront those who are our elders we need to do it with respect. Elihu let Job and his friends know that he had listened to them and had been ready to agree with them till he saw that they were wrong in their thinking. He approached them with respect, but firmly letting them know that he was on the side of God.

      It is a fine line to walk when one’s opinion is contrary to their elders. But after looking at Elihu I believe it can be done in a respectful manner and in a way that won’t hurt the relationship.

As a last note, I looked up the meaning of the name Elihu.

The Biblical meaning is: He is my God himself

The Hebrew meaning is: My God is He.

Very interesting since Elihu told Job he was talking in God’s stead.

Job 33:6a

“Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead:”

Names in the Old Testament often have great meaning. I find that the meaning of Elihu gives confirmation that Elihu was right in what he said and was indeed speaking for God. 

Thanks for reading!!