Elihu continued:
“Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.
I get my knowledge from afar;
I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
Be assured that my words are not false;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
“God is mighty, but despises no one;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.
He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings
and exalts them forever.
But if people are bound in chains,
held fast by cords of affliction,
he tells them what they have done—
that they have sinned arrogantly.
He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of their evil.
If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment.
But if they do not listen,
they will perish by the sword
and die without knowledge.
“The godless in heart harbor resentment;
even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
They die in their youth,
among male prostitutes of the shrines.
But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
he speaks to them in their affliction.
“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress
to a spacious place free from restriction,
to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have taken hold of you.
Be careful that no one entices you by riches;
do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts
sustain you so you would not be in distress?
Do not long for the night,
to drag people away from their homes.
Beware of turning to evil,
which you seem to prefer to affliction.
“God is exalted in his power.
Who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed his ways for him,
or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’? (New International Version)
I’m just going to go ahead and say it: Elihu was a jerk. His worldview wasn’t big enough to accommodate for Job’s awful suffering as anything but a chastisement from God.
Elihu embodied the proud person, full of himself, believing that he knows how the world works. But, in reality, he knows jack squat. The best thing Elihu did in the book of Job was to keep his mouth shut. The silence was actually helpful.
After Job lost everything and everyone dear to him (except his wife) he was understandably in tremendous grief. His lament needed to be heard – not responded to with the rebuttal of an ignoramus. Unfortunately, Elihu didn’t keep his mouth closed. He seems like a mere windbag, speaking a lot of words and saying nothing.
To be fair, Elihu gets a lot of information right; it’s just that his reasoning is narrow and misguided. He rightly affirms that God has incomparable power, and is the One who is able to punish the wicked and grant justice to the oppressed.
Yet, Elihu assumes – in his apparent black-and-white world – that anyone afflicted with such terrible events as Job is under the correction of God. The Lord is disciplining the person and teaching them a lesson about the error of their ways, he reasons.
That sort of logic betrays a very contractual sort of relationship with God – as if the Lord is only the high and transcendent plantation boss who singularly serves to maintain discipline and fealty amongst the ranks of inferiors. Elihu ignored the immanence of God in coming close to the brokenhearted and providing release for those in captivity.
In such a bifurcated world of a high God and low humanity, there are really only two choices whenever someone is in a situation like Job: either turn from your erroneous ways and serve God; or don’t, and die under the punishment of God.
But the book of Job challenges us on that kind of thinking and belief. The hard circumstances of people cannot neatly be categorized into the need for repentance – nor can a life of ease and wealth be considered a mark of divine favor.
Elihu was leaning toward viewing Job as a rebellious man who needed to admit his sin and submit to God. Yet, Job (and God!) knew better than this. And that is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of horrible human suffering – that the sufferer must contend with persons who look at them askance as if they have done some egregious sin which offended God.
We know, as readers of the biblical book, that there was no wickedness or sin involved in Job’s suffering. Instead, there were unseen forces behind the scenes causing that suffering. In fact, just the opposite was at work: Job was suffering because of his incredible righteousness, and not by any wrongdoing on his part.
Most situations are complex and defy simple explanations or solutions. It is foolish to make assumptions based upon circumstantial evidence. Wanting quick and easy answers to the problems we face as humans is the path of simpletons.
In contrast to nice and neat mental categories, there are loving believers who are devoted to faith and patience, knowing that there can be more going on than what it seems on the surface. Listening and understanding is the path to wisdom, whereas entrenched opinions – offered as certainty of belief – is a way of dying in ignorance.
“Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
If we keep a focus on being helpful to the other, then we are less likely to offer unhelpful, even harmful, words. Knowing that life is much bigger than we can realize, is one good step toward that end.
O Lord our heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served, but to serve: We ask you to bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; endue them with wisdom, patience, and courage, that they may strengthen the weak and raise up those who fall, and, being inspired by your love, may worthily minister to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy, for the sake of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
