Elihu Describes God’s Power
And Elihu continued: “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf. I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker. For truly my arguments are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you.
Indeed God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted. He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction, then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed. He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help. They die in their youth, among the male cult prostitutes.
God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression. Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness. But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray. Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress?
Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes. Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction. Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him? Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’? Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song. All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist, which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion? See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance. He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.”
Once more, Elihu mixes eloquent descriptions of God’s power with criticisms of Job, claiming that Job has been secretly wicked. And once more, we realize that Elihu has an extremely good opinion of himself. “I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker. For truly my arguments are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you.” If cell phones capable of taking selfies had existed in Elihu’s day, Elihu would have run around with a giant selfie stick, shooting photos of himself all over the place. Just picture it – Elihu lecturing Job, Elihu in his finest clothes next to Job and his running sores, Elihu astonishing Job’s friends with his brilliance. Elihu would have had social media accounts on every platform possible.
“Indeed God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted. He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.” Wait a minute! Elihu has just spent the previous chapter describing how God is so indifferent to men and now he’s reversing that stance?
“The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help. They die in their youth, among the male cult prostitutes.” If Elihu is attempting to castigate Job, he’s ignoring that fact that Job is not a young man and that he has been crying for help.
“God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression.” This sounds good; however, Elihu follows this by saying, “But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray. Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress?” Having already accused Job of secret sins, Elihu assumes Job’s current problems must be from that wickedness. But why would anybody choose to lure Job with riches or bribe him? Bribe him to accomplish what?
“Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes. Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.” Elihu is back to accusing Job again without any evidence that Job has actually done such horrible things. Only God knows the human heart; however, Elihu is certain that he is fit to judge Job.
“Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.” Having made all kinds of vicious assumptions about Job, Elihu is now attempting to redeem himself by glowing descriptions of God’s power and majesty. Hmm.
APPLICATION: Here in West Africa, we have videos that purport to be Christian. Generally, these creations are packed with sex, witchcraft, and special effects, glorifying the devil. At the end of the video, the movie makers tack on a Bible verse as if that should sanitize everything that has preceded it. Here Elihu is practicing the same kind of hypocrisy.
In this speech, Elihu contradicts many of the things he has said previously and then attempts to cover up his inconsistencies by painting vivid pictures of God’s power. Individually, many of Elihu’s statements are praise-worthy; however, taken as a whole, they are confusing. Elihu is still assuming that Job has hidden sins. Does Elihu hope that Job will suddenly collapse on the ground in a sobbing heap, babbling out confessions? There is no record of Job’s response to all Elihu’s lectures. Perhaps Job falls asleep half-way through; if so, Elihu probably wouldn’t even notice. Elihu is intoxicated by his own brilliance. Perhaps the flies swarming around Job are making so much noise that to Job, Elihu’s voice just sounds like another bothersome insect. Once more we realize that Elihu cares little for Job.
Several years ago while we were out of the country, someone decided to re-paint the hospital house we live in. Unfortunately, the painters failed to clean off the walls and ceiling first, instead smearing paint over the dirt. Within a year or so, the paint began peeling off in big chunks. Even now, we might hear a “pop!” and suddenly find a large piece of paing floating down from our ceiling. Elihu is a lot like those painters. Elihu has failed to learn himself up before starting to criticize Job. The longer we go on slogging through Elihu’s speeches, the more we hope that God will simply zap Elihu discretely with a small lightning bolt! May God protect us from the Elihu’s!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, make us sensitive to those around us and help us to represent You and not ourselves. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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