Elihu Adds His Two Cents

Remember when reading Job, that these conversations represent the prevailing opinions about God at that time. The way these men thought that God worked, has no bearing on how He actually does work. Alot of Scripture is there merely to give us historical perspective...to tell us how things were at a given point in history. So while Elihu has some good wisdom, and Job has some good wisdom, neither opinion is intended to be interpreted as "truth".

Job clings to his status as a "good man", which nobody would deny based on God's solid endorsement of his character. But being a good person does not allow one to bypass suffering in this life, nor does it entitle one to eternal acceptance by God in the next. Job believes he has right standing before God and has been unfairly punished by him. Job is misguided on both counts. And many in our day wrongly hold to the same hope...that they are "good" enough to measure up to God's standards.

Elihu subscribes to the prevalent belief that Job's own sins are responsible for his suffering. His view of a just God cannot accommodate "bad things happening to good people", so it is easier to assume that bad things happen because people deserve them. This was still a widely held belief system in Jesus' time. In John chapter 9, the disciples ask Jesus why a certain man had been born blind. They wanted to know whether it was due to his own sin or that of his parents. Jesus replied that it was neither and that "this happened so the power of God could be seen in him".

But Elihu has one thing right. Did you catch the paragraph dealing with the "angel from heaven"? A "special messenger" who "intercedes for a person to declare that he is upright"!!! Go back and read that whole thing... vs.33:23-28. It is a clear description of a savior ransoming the life of a sinner. In addition, there is an unmistakable reference to a bodily resurrection, when he speaks of God "rescuing" a person from the grave and restoring his body to be "healthy as a child's, firm and youthful again". Throughout the book of Job, we see flashes of amazingly accurate theology, for people so far removed from it's realization.

Tomorrow's reading: Job 35-37