Learn from Elihu that God sends Suffering to Save his People from Pride and to Purify them
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In regard to suffering for the righteous, Elihu is going to say that suffering is a gift of God's love, not of his wrath! The suffering of a Christian is not a punishment arising from God's wrath. Christian suffering is for purification, not for punishment. Christian suffering is not for destruction but for protection from destruction. It is for prevention from sinning.
And so Elihu is going to say to Job's three friends that, "you are wrong! Suffering is not a proof of a specific personal sin or specific personal wickedness. And Elihu is also going to say to Job, "Job, you are wrong! Your suffering is not an expression of God's arbitrariness or injustice. God is not your enemy. He is your Father in heaven and your friend."
But before we look closely at what Elihu says here, I want to give you seven reasons why you should pay attention to Elihu. Many people think that Elihu is just a continuation of Job's three friends and that he condemns Job along with the three friends. Here is what I read one commentator saying about Elihu: "Elihu is an accuser. A brash young man, a know it all, sneering at Job, proving to be more harsh and cruel to Job than his three friends, the height of arrogance."
But let me give you seven reasons regarding why you need to pay attention to what Elihu says and to reject that particular view of what the previous commentator I have quoted was saying.
(1) Elihu is going to provide new counsel that goes beyond the old arguments between Job and his three friends.
(2) Elihu gets six chapters of uninterrupted coverage! Now it would be strange for God the Holy Spirit to give Elihu six chapters to rehearse the same inadequate arguments which later are condemned by God. That would be a little odd. The large amount of space given to Elihu indicates, "Listen, Listen, pay attention! He is speaking the truth!"
(3) Job does not try to refute Elihu. Job successfully silenced Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. He refuted or attempted to refute everything that they said, but Job says nothing against Elihu. Job says nothing against Elihu's arguments. The best explanation for Job's silence in this regard is that he agrees with Elihu.
(4) God will later condemn Job's three friends in Job chapter 42, but you can't find Elihu in that condemnation. Why is there no rebuke for Elihu from God himself? Because God approves of Elihu's words. God approves of Elihu's theology.
(5) Elihu provides new insights on why the righteous suffer. He goes beyond anything that we have seen so far in the book.
(6) There is no break between Elihu's speech and God's words to Job. When God begins to speak directly to Job, in Job chapter 38, there is no break. And this indicates that Elihu is God's herald. Elihu is God's forerunner. Elihu is God's preliminary spokesman. Elihu's name means, "My God is He" and Elihu's words are the first half of the answer and God's words are the second half of the answer to Job's problem and Job's questions that he has been asking. Elihu and God are a team combining together to answer Job. And then
(7) Elihu claims to speak the truth. Look at what Elihu says in Job 36:2-4, "Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf [Elihu is claiming here to be God's spokesman]. I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.'" In these verses, Elihu is claiming to bring a word from God himself that is true and he is claiming to speak by God's enabling.
See what Elihu says again in Job 33:3-4, "My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
What Elihu is saying here is that "I am speaking by the Spirit of God"
And so these are the seven reasons why I think you have got to pay attention to Elihu and realize that he is not a continuation of the discourse of the three friends of Job.
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In regard to suffering for the righteous, Elihu is going to say that suffering is a gift of God's love, not of his wrath! The suffering of a Christian is not a punishment arising from God's wrath. Christian suffering is for purification, not for punishment. Christian suffering is not for destruction but for protection from destruction. It is for prevention from sinning.
And so Elihu is going to say to Job's three friends that, "you are wrong! Suffering is not a proof of a specific personal sin or specific personal wickedness. And Elihu is also going to say to Job, "Job, you are wrong! Your suffering is not an expression of God's arbitrariness or injustice. God is not your enemy. He is your Father in heaven and your friend."
But before we look closely at what Elihu says here, I want to give you seven reasons why you should pay attention to Elihu. Many people think that Elihu is just a continuation of Job's three friends and that he condemns Job along with the three friends. Here is what I read one commentator saying about Elihu: "Elihu is an accuser. A brash young man, a know it all, sneering at Job, proving to be more harsh and cruel to Job than his three friends, the height of arrogance."
But let me give you seven reasons regarding why you need to pay attention to what Elihu says and to reject that particular view of what the previous commentator I have quoted was saying.
(1) Elihu is going to provide new counsel that goes beyond the old arguments between Job and his three friends.
(2) Elihu gets six chapters of uninterrupted coverage! Now it would be strange for God the Holy Spirit to give Elihu six chapters to rehearse the same inadequate arguments which later are condemned by God. That would be a little odd. The large amount of space given to Elihu indicates, "Listen, Listen, pay attention! He is speaking the truth!"
(3) Job does not try to refute Elihu. Job successfully silenced Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. He refuted or attempted to refute everything that they said, but Job says nothing against Elihu. Job says nothing against Elihu's arguments. The best explanation for Job's silence in this regard is that he agrees with Elihu.
(4) God will later condemn Job's three friends in Job chapter 42, but you can't find Elihu in that condemnation. Why is there no rebuke for Elihu from God himself? Because God approves of Elihu's words. God approves of Elihu's theology.
(5) Elihu provides new insights on why the righteous suffer. He goes beyond anything that we have seen so far in the book.
(6) There is no break between Elihu's speech and God's words to Job. When God begins to speak directly to Job, in Job chapter 38, there is no break. And this indicates that Elihu is God's herald. Elihu is God's forerunner. Elihu is God's preliminary spokesman. Elihu's name means, "My God is He" and Elihu's words are the first half of the answer and God's words are the second half of the answer to Job's problem and Job's questions that he has been asking. Elihu and God are a team combining together to answer Job. And then
(7) Elihu claims to speak the truth. Look at what Elihu says in Job 36:2-4, "Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf [Elihu is claiming here to be God's spokesman]. I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.'" In these verses, Elihu is claiming to bring a word from God himself that is true and he is claiming to speak by God's enabling.
See what Elihu says again in Job 33:3-4, "My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
What Elihu is saying here is that "I am speaking by the Spirit of God"
And so these are the seven reasons why I think you have got to pay attention to Elihu and realize that he is not a continuation of the discourse of the three friends of Job.
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