Job 33

Well, what can we say about Elihu? Except that he is insufferably wordy—it took him a chapter and a half to say “I’m going to speak!”—and fearfully pompous—“Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” (vs 33) He hasn’t even really gotten around to any major points yet, although my suspicion is that he won’t have much to add to the conversation. (We’ll see.)

At the very least, in reprimanding Job for his conduct, Elihu has already said two things that (in my opinion) are dead wrong about God: “Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words. For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.” (vs 13-14)

First, Elihu rakes Job over the coals for questioning God. It’s as if Elihu is saying, How dare you question God or call Him to account. He neither owes you an explanation, nor will He give you one. Now, it may be true to say that God doesn’t “owe” anybody an explanation. I guess God doesn’t really owe anybody anything. But for Elihu to say that God does not or will not give an accounting of Himself to His creatures reveals that he doesn’t know much about God!

If God had ever wanted to take an attitude of Don’t you question Me!, He would have done it in heaven when Lucifer began to spread discontent. Instead, He graciously allowed Lucifer to raise his questions and humbly began providing evidence for the answers to those questions—even though His own character was called into question by His creatures. For He does not give an accounting of any of His words . . . ha! As they say in England, that’s a load of codswallop!

The second assertion Elihu made was that even if God speaks, man can’t perceive it. That is, even when God chooses to communicate with us, we can’t understand it. What I love about this is that, in a few chapters (while Elihu is still talking), God Himself is going to interrupt and take over the conversation. He will refute the idea that human beings can’t perceive it when He talks!

All throughout our history, God has acted with the utmost humility in both communicating with us and subjecting Himself to our scrutiny. As Paul wrote in Romans 3:4, “The Scriptures say about God, ‘Your words will be proven true, and in court you will win your case.” What court is that? The universe-wide court of public opinion.

God has opened Himself up to our judgment. We have been given the opportunity to make a judgment about the kind of person He is, and the reason we have that opportunity is because He has humbled Himself in order to communicate with us. Though God may not “owe” us anything, He always provides an accounting of Himself to His creatures. Sorry, Elihu, maybe you had a little more to learn than you thought!