The Sermon of Elihu – part 1
Job 32-37 (32:1-10)
February 21, 2016
Tonight we enter a difficult section of the book of Job.
We begin looking at the sermon of Elihu.
Let me tell you what makes this section difficult,
And then we’ll begin looking at it.
There are a couple of things:
1) WE DON’T KNOW WHERE HE CAME FROM
If you will remember Job’s friends were introduced early on.
Job 2:11-13 “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.”
We saw Job’s three friends arrive, and yet all of a sudden Elihu starts speaking and we didn’t even know he was present.
2) NO JUDGMENT IS GIVEN REGARDING HIS ADVICE
We know what God has to say to Job’s friends at the end of this letter.
Job 42:7-9 “It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. “Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job.”
God clearly states that Job’s three friends were wrong.
But Elihu is not mentioned in this list.
God neither endorses nor condemns what Elihu has to say.
We are sort of forced to read what he says
And discern whether or not we agree with him.
Regardless of what you think of Elihu
There will be passages that give you trouble.
If you think he is right, there will be passages that you won’t agree with.
If you think he’s wrong, you will have the same trouble.
And if you think it is somehow a mixture of both, then you’ll have trouble finding any authoritative consensus on what you should take and what you should keep.
In short we have to determine if he speaks truth or error
So that we know what to do with him. And this is not easy.
Part of this I chalk up to the difficult nature of Job.
We all know by now that much of the book is written in a sort of poetic form which leaves a lot of our understanding up to sort of reading between the lines.
Because of that there are in almost every chapter
A few verses that give us a bit of trouble
(they do me anyway) (and honestly they do most of the commentaries I read too)
And the statements of Elihu are no different.
That being said, it is best to read Elihu as though he is right on target.
• Because his words are recorded in Scripture
• Because God does not specifically identify them as incorrect,
We believe he speaks truth.
So let me tell you what to do with Elihu.
ELIHU IS OPERATING IN THE ROLE OF A HERALD.
He is like a John the Baptist who was preaching that people had better “make straight the way of the Lord”
Elihu is coming to announce God’s presence.
In fact it is almost a theatrical scene that begins in chapter 36.
• In Job 36:27, Elihu starts talking about rain
• In Job 36:29 he speaks of the spreading of the clouds and the thunder
• In Job 36:30 he speaks of the lightning
• In Job 36:33 he speaks of the movement of the cattle who sense a storm
• In Job 37:2 he says, “listen closely to the thunder of His voice”
• He begins speaking of the thunder and the lightning
• In Job 37:8 he mentions the animals running for cover
• In Job 37:9 he almost points at a storm coming from the south
• He talks of a vicious storm cloud moving about, hurling out lightning, rain, thunder, even ice and snow.
• In Job 37:14 he says, “Listen to this, O Job, stand and consider the wonders of God.”
It almost paints the picture of a prophet calling up a mighty storm,
It is really an awesome display.
And then:
Job 38:1-2 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”
We find then that Elihu is literally setting the stage for the arrival of God.
He comes and pleads with Job
To drop the attitude before God shows up.
It is a very similar roll to that of John the Baptist who said things like:
Luke 3:7-9 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Now let me give you some facts about Elihu’s preaching
Before we start working through it,
Perhaps this will help you as you read through on your own.
1) HIS INSPIRATION IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS.
Job’s other friends routinely referred to history, old age, and experience as their credential for offering advice. Elihu does not.
Elihu says that his credential is the Spirit of God within him.
Job 32:8-10 “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice. “So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’”
Job 33:1-5 “However now, Job, please hear my speech, And listen to all my words. “Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks. “My words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely. “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. “Refute me if you can; Array yourselves before me, take your stand.”
2) HIS PURPOSE IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS.
It became clear very early on what the desire of Job’s friends was.
They wanted to find out Job’s sin so they could protect themselves.
Every time Job denied having sinned they actually treated him
Like a sick man who wanted to infect everyone around him.
They were angry at Job and attacked and condemned.
This is NOT Elihu’s purpose. In fact Elihu is angry at them for this.
Elihu’s purpose is to defend God.
Job 36:1-3 “Then Elihu continued and said, “Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf. “I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.”
Elihu is not angry at Job for
Refusing to acknowledge some sin in front of his friends.
Elihu is angry at Job because he has taken his righteousness, compared it to God’s, and has accused God of being the one who is unjust.
Job 32:2-3 “But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”
3) HIS DESIRE IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS
Job’s friends sought only to condemn Job.
They wanted to expose his sin and nail him to the wall with it.
This is not the desire of Elihu.
In fact, we never once heard Job’s friends even call him by name,
Elihu does on several occasions.
It paints the image of one who is intimate and truly concerned.
ELIHU’S DESIRE FOR JOB IS TWO-FOLD.
1) He desires to justify him before his friends:
Job 33:7 “Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.”
Job 33:32 “Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.”
2) Elihu’s other desire is to persuade Job to stop this horrific pity-party he is throwing.
Job 33:8-12 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words: ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me. ‘Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy. ‘He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’ “Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than man.”
It is obvious Elihu is upset with Job,
But it is not as though he wishes to see Job condemned.
4) HIS EXPLANATION IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS
Job’s 3 friends all held firmly that suffering
Was a form of punishment for the wicked.
(we’ve been all through it)
Elihu’s explanation is that suffering is NOT for the purpose of punishment, but rather for the purpose of purification.
He holds that God uses affliction to lead men away from sin
And thus to save their soul from death.
Job 33:29-30 “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”
So Elihu DOES hold that suffering is in part God’s answer to sin.
Only Elihu says suffering is meant to prevent it and purify,
Not just as a means of punishment against it.
5) HIS JUDGMENT IS DIFFERENT FROM JOB’S OTHER FRIENDS
Job’s 3 friends certainly held firm to their belief that Job was a sinner.
At times they even took shots in the dark
To try and name what they thought those sins were.
Elihu however passes judgment on Job’s sin
And he names it as the sin of pride.
Now, that is a bit difficult for us since
God was very clear at the beginning of this book in saying that Job was a righteous and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil.
And so we do want to be careful in how we examine the life of Job.
However it is also true that
God is about to lower the boom on Job for precisely this issue.
God will not blast Job for immorality or greed or idolatry or some other deed,
But God will blast Job for his pride.
And so, it would seem that Elihu is right on target here in this sermon.
Now, as I said, there will be verses that are still difficult to handle,
But when looking at the sermon over all
There is a strong indication that Elihu arises here as God’s spokesman.
SO…
HOW DO WE READ ELIHU?
Elihu finally provides us with the example that we’ve been so desperately looking for.
Thus far we have had to read all of the discussion of Job’s friends
With sort of a backward mentality.
“See what they do and do the opposite”
BUT FROM ELIHU WE ARE GOING TO GET A POSITIVE EXAMPLE.
And that is good since if you put all the sermons of Job’s friends together, none of them has more to say than Elihu. His message outdistances them all.
• In him we find a heart for God
• In him we find a heart of compassion and yet conviction
• In him we find a definite desire for Job to reconcile
There is gentle correction and there is honest confrontation
It may very well be that Elihu represents
Exactly what type of counselor we are to be
When we deal with those in affliction.
So let’s begin working on this sermon of Elihu.
What we are going to do is identify the key attitudes or convictions
That Elihu carries that make him a successful counselor for God.
#1 HIS CREDENTIALS
Job 32
This first chapter doesn’t really get in to Elihu’s counsel yet,
It is a chapter devoted to explaining why he has stepped up on stage.
We see why he was hesitant to do so and why he finally felt compelled.
And this is very good information for us
Because many times we have found ourselves
Caught in that very same circumstance.
Do I speak or do I stay silent?
• We see something…
• We hear something…
• It may even be counsel from someone else
And we wonder should I step up and speak up?
This was Elihu’s exact dilemma,
Tonight we look at this first chapter and see what drove him to speak
And why he was more than qualified to do so.
We are going to look at HIS CREDENTIALS.
We can divide this down into 5 attitudes he had which made him qualified.
1) HOLY ZEAL (1-5)
As we said we have already seen that Job has silenced his friends.
• Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad could not match wits with Job.
• They could not answer his wisdom.
• They could not refute his logic.
They in effect were forced to throw up their hands in defeat.
Job had won the argument regarding the reality of suffering,
But in doing so Job had made some pretty severe accusations about God.
Job all but accused God of being unfair, unjust, and uncaring.
And Elihu has been listening to all of this.
And these first 5 verses merely carry us inside the heart of Elihu.
He says nothing here,
The writer is just allowing you to see what is taking place internally.
And I think the writer makes it abundantly clear what Elihu is feeling:
BURNING ANGER
4 times in these 5 verses the writer mentions it.
(2-4) “But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.”
It is safe to say that Elihu is hot.
Two main reasons are given.
1) Job “justified himself before God”
2) Job’s friends “found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”
In short, Elihu absolutely hates the injustice that he sees.
• You have three men who are ready to pass out condemnation on a person when they have absolutely no clue what he has done wrong.
• And you have a suffering man who is beginning to maintain that he and not God is the righteous one.
Both of these positions do a tremendous disservice to God.
One misrepresents God, the other maligns Him.
And therein lies the anger of Elihu.
HE CANNOT STAND IT ANY LONGER
TO WATCH GOD BE SO MISREPRESENTED AND MALIGNED.
And because of this Elihu’s “anger burned”
Now this is not to say that only angry people should be counselors.
Certainly not.
Anger can get you in trouble many times and in many ways.
James said:
James 1:19-20 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
But anger is not always bad.
Paul said:
Ephesians 4:26 “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”
It is not the anger that is in itself bad.
There are many verses in the Bible that speak of God in fact being angry.
The issue of course is the MOTIVE behind it and the REACTION to it.
• If you are angry for the wrong reason (like Jonah who was upset over the plant and because Ninevah wasn’t being destroyed)
• Or if you have proper anger, but respond poorly (like James and John wanting to call down fire on the Samaritans)
Obviously then the anger is wrong.
But honestly, any time we see God being misrepresented or maligned it ought to produce a holy anger inside of us.
There ought to be a fire that burns with zeal for God.
John 2:13-17 “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
This was the holy zeal of Jesus,
And it is clear that the same fire is burning in Elihu.
HIS PRIMARY CONCERN IS THE EXALTATION OF GOD.
• It is not that he may be respected
• It is not that he may win the argument
• It is not that he may gain popularity
This motivation must be on point before we rise to speak for God.
The first credential – holy zeal
2) SPIRITUAL WISDOM (6-10)
We already saw it in verse 4 that Elihu didn’t want to speak because he was the youngest, here he actually voices that issue.
(6-7) “So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. “I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.”
Elihu had a bit of a complex about speaking,
And it wasn’t totally misguided.
• There is nothing in the world wrong with giving precedent to the older and more experienced.
• There is nothing wrong with giving way to someone who should know more about the issue than you.
• There is nothing wrong with yielding to someone who has done this sort of thing more than you have.
THAT IS WHAT ELIHU WAS DOING.
The problem was that these so-called “experts” were way off the mark
And no truth was being proclaimed.
This (coupled with Elihu’s zeal) was threatening to
Force Elihu into the argument, and initially he didn’t want to.
“I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom.”
If you’ve ever been in one of those situations where you didn’t feel qualified to speak on a subject even though you knew what you were hearing was wrong, then you understand exactly where Elihu is.
So what do you do?
You must at this point understand what makes a person truly qualified.
• It is not age
• It is not experience
• It is not charisma
It is the indwelling of the Spirit of God and thus true spiritual wisdom.
(8-10) “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice. “So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’”
We are looking for wisdom
(which Job already reminded us comes only from fear of the Lord)
Not experience.
THAT IS THE CHIEF QUALIFICATION.
Jesus taught us about the Holy Spirit in John 16.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “convict” the world.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “guide” into all the truth.
• It is the Holy Spirit who comes to “glorify” Jesus.
So obviously anyone who seeks to convict sinners
Or explain truth or glorify Jesus without the indwelling Holy Spirit
Is an absolute lost cause.
This means that only those who are filled with God’s Spirit
Are truly qualified counselors.
1 John 2:26-27 “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
If you are filled with Him, then you are in fact qualified.
It doesn’t matter what your other limitations are.
Elihu was young, but that did not disqualify him.
The psalmist said:
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:12-16 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Timothy had the truth
Timothy had the spiritual gift
Timothy had the charge
It did not mean that his age would not be an issue,
Paul just told him it wasn’t a relevant one.
You understand then what makes a person qualified.
If he has a holy zeal and spiritual wisdom these go a long way.
3) GENUINE HUMILITY (11-14)
This is such an important balance here.
It is really easy to be so full of fire and venom…
It is really easy to have spiritual conviction dripping out of you…
THAT YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LIKE THAT
Honestly, this is a lesson that
God has had to teach me on several occasions.
There was a time in my life (particularly after all the battles at my previous church) where I began to feel like Elijah.
Remember his complaint to the Lord?
1 Kings 19:14 “Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
There was a time when I really felt like no one else was going to stand, no one else was going to fight, I was the only one who would.
And that sort of thinking can quickly lead to spiritual arrogance.
It can quickly lead you to think that every situation requires your input.
God used some very difficult issues in my life
To teach me that I wasn’t the only person who loved God;
And that I wasn’t the only person who would stand on the truth.
I actually was reminded of this at youth camp this past summer.
The band was terrible, (doctrinally) and were really spewing some things that I couldn’t handle. I had that burning anger thing going on, and I wasn’t alone.
So I started praying about how to handle it. Should I interrupt the service? Should I march our youth out?
And I felt a real encouragement from the Lord to just pray.
And when the preacher got up, he did a great job, he even very humbly refuted much of what the band leader had said, and God worked.
In short, God didn’t need me busting up the camp,
He had it all under control.
The zeal in Peter to protect Jesus was correct,
Taking the sword and swinging for the guy’s head was out of line.
You get the idea.
And Elihu seems to have a real grasp of this.
(11-12) “Behold, I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, While you pondered what to say. “I even paid close attention to you; Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words.”
Elihu wasn’t quick to want to jump in there
And add his “two cents” to the argument.
He was just as content to sit in the prayer room
As he was to stand behind the pulpit.
That is a very good attitude to have.
You may remember that this was actually the problem with
The church at Corinth.
They had a lack of love and as a bi-product; an enormous amount of ego and arrogance.
They all wanted the microphone.
1 Corinthians 14:26-33 “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
Paul was asking who would be willing to sit down and take a back seat?
Now granted there are plenty of people in the church who have no fire and no conviction and no courage who are more than willing to sit idly by,
THAT IS NOT WHAT WE ARE PROMOTING.
(we’ve already seen how they probably aren’t going to be good counselors)
What we are learning however is that for those who do have that fire and that conviction, to make sure and balance it with humility.
So Elihu waited.
(12-14) “I even paid close attention to you; Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words. “Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; God will rout him, not man.’ “For he has not arranged his words against me, Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.”
These so-called wise men had no wisdom for Job.
They could not refute him.
So Elihu told them, “Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;”
And this reality literally thrust Elihu behind the pulpit.
It was fire mixed with humility
It was conviction mixed with meekness
And this is required for those who would be effective counselors.
That’s all the time we have tonight, We’ll go further next week,
But hopefully you are seeing what God is requiring.
Holy Zeal
Spiritual Wisdom
Genuine Humility