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This is arguably Elihu’s harshest language against Job. It is a message of condemnation with truth mixed in. I am somewhat puzzled by commentaries who defend Job in being completely righteous and not deserving of any judgement. It is true that Job was righteous from worldly sense, but as we know (from Romans, Psalms, etc.), no man is righteous before God. If we are going to be consistent with Scripture, then we know that even Job’s suffering is God’s grace because outside of our faith in Christ we all deserve death and separation from God.
Nevertheless, Elihu approaches this topic pretty boldly and directly. He reminds me of Job’s friends with slightly more truth. His main complaint against Job in this chapter is the lack of reverence when calling out to God. Job approaches God as if He has forgotten about him. He calls out to God and demands an answer. With grace, we can understand why Job is behaving this way, but Elihu properly points out that God has not forgotten to punish or save. Everything occurs on His timing – which we can all agree is hard to accept sometimes.
In humility, we can all take Elihu’s final words of the chapter to heart.
Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.
Job 35:16 HCSB
The same can be said of Job’s friends, Elihu, you, and I. We all are guilty. We complain to God instead of thanking Him and come with selfish motives instead of seeking His will. Whatever reason God has for allowing what He does, we are not entitled to it. That’s a tough message to accept in our independent, rights-based society.
It’s difficult sometimes, but there is so much to be thankful for. Let’s try and focus on thanking God for today and moving forward no matter what our circumstances may be. We can trust that He has everything under control.