Ah, there’s one more “friend” – maybe better: “acquaintance” – to speak to Job: “So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God” (32:1-2). How great are the misrepresentations,, here! The three men stopped talking with Job because “he was righteous in his own eyes?” Really? Actually, Job never claimed to be sinless or perfectly righteous. He was simply, in a genuine manner, wrestling with a theology of suffering. He did not understand why he was suffering so. His argument was not that he was sinless but that he had not done anything so bad as to experience what he was experiencing. Of course, Job is a bit misguided here, also: As sinners, none of us merit anything but complete condemnation and judgment. But Job was wrestling with a real question.
And, then, Elihu gets mad because Job “justified himself rather than God.” Well, Job certainly posed questions to God but he never made himself out to be perfect and God less than perfect. He just wanted to understand his predicament. And, in seeking answers, Job little by little rests more and more in God and his faithfulness. By the way, Elihu just comes across as a blow-hard and a know-it-all, doesn’t he? Job’s comfort will not come from Elihu but from God. And, for Job, rest is not far off.
By cool Siloam’s shady rill
how sweet the lily grows!
How sweet the breath beneath the hill
of Sharon's dewy rose!
Dependent on thy bounteous breath
we seek thy grace alone,
through every stage of life, and death,
to keep us still thine own. –Reginald Heber (1812)
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