When God Shows Up: Speaking Truth to Sufferers

Job 32:1–5 ESV

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. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

Prayer

Westboro Baptist Church

Several years ago, a group called the Westboro Baptist church, began protesting.

They protested things like...

the tornado that went through Joplin, Missouri,

or the Boston marathon bombing

or the sandy hook elementary school shooting.

Often times when I’m talking to people, and they find out I’m a Baptist, they will ask, “Are you like the Westboro Baptist?”

When people hear of this group, typically they get extremely upset for good reason.

But I wonder when you think about this group why did you get upset?

Maybe you get upset because they protest things that they should be grieving?

Maybe you get upset because of the political group you think they are a part of?

Or maybe you get upset because of the name of Christ being drug through the mud in their actions?

I think it would be safe to say what makes us most angry about the Westboro Baptist church, is they misrepresent God.

They miss represent him in their actions.

They miss represent him in their words.

This should righteously make us angry.

Today we will be looking at Job 32 and it represents a pivot point for the book of Job.

Thus far Job has been on the offensive with his friends, who’ve attacked him.

Chapters 32 begins the speeches of a fourth friend who comes to Jobs aid and yet seeks to correct him.

Job has been declared righteous by God in chapter 1 on three different occasions.

This is helpful to keep in mind as we are introduced to Job’s younger friend.

Elihu (He Is My God)

“Friend or Foe?”

Job 32:2 (ESV)

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram...

We are introduced to this man named Elihu.

Elihu’s name means “he is my God” (Lawson)

There is much ink spilled over Elihu.

The reason there is so much ink spilled can be seen if you look down in verse two.

Job 32:2 (ESV)

He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.

You read this and you immediately think,

“Oh my goodness, here we go again.”

Or you think,

“Didn’t we just hear three guys rake Job over the coals for 30 something chapters?”

Many people who speak of Elihu think the way he speaks is harsh and demanding.

They think he is critical just like the other friends and he needs denounced.

I want to show you why I think Elihu is not simply like the friends who criticize Job.

Problematic or Prophetic?

Is Elihu giving us wisdom from God or more folly?

Is Elihu speaking as one with authoritative wisdom from God?

Should we listen with an ear expected to learn?

Or should we expect folly?

But it’s important to remember that even though Job was declared righteous, he did not respond purely every time.

[Example of a Water Bottle with Dirt]

I’ve used this example before, but picture with me this bottle of water with the dirt at the bottom.

Now, as I said before, the water in the bottle represents what is within our hearts.

What comes out of us is what has always been within us.

In Job situation his bottle has been shaken.

The water was pure because he was declared right by God.

Even though his heart was pure, there was the sinful residue of Adam.

1560 Geneva Bible puts it like this:

Job—The Wisdom of the Cross What Are We to Make of Elihu?

“In this story we have to mark that Job maintains a good cause, but handles it evil; again, his adversaries have an evil matter, but they defend it craftily.”

Job has not sinned to receive his suffering.

But during his suffering he has NOT always spoken correctly.

In his suffering, he is still a sinner.

I will argue that Elihu is NOT problematic for Job.

Rather, he is prophetic.

Even Elihu himself says…

Job 32:8 ESV

But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

I want you to see that Elihu is prophetic in the sense that he speaks on God’s behalf.

Wise or Foolish?

Job 32:1 ESV

So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

Job’s three friends stopped arguing with him because they realized he was not gonna change.

He was not going to admit he was unrighteous in anyway and deserved suffering.

These friends after much berating of Job have decided to let him alone.

This was a much wiser move than the other conversations they have been having.

We find out quickly that Elihu is much younger than Job’s other friends.

It should be interesting to us that Elihu is younger than the friends because we’ve seen in other places in scripture, wisdom is typically associated with the elderly...

Job 12:12 ESV

Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

Proverbs 16:31 ESV

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Being older is typically associated with being wiser.

The inverse is also typically true, foolishness is found with those who are young.

Proverbs 22:15 ESV

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Job is Against the Grain

Like I have mentioned before, if Proverbs is the grain of life, then Job is the splinter that goes against the grain.

Splinters mean that this isn’t typically how life goes.

This situation goes against the norm.

If we just relied on other parts of scripture, we may conclude that whatever Elihu is about to say will be foolish.

But notice the way the author presents it....

Job 32:4 ESV

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

Could you imagine being young Elihu sitting and listening to these speeches for hours?

He has waited until all of his elders have stopped speaking.

Elihu showed deep respect for his elders.

This shows that Elihu is NOT simply some foolish youngling.

He is someone who is wise beyond his years.

He is a wise and discerning man who has heard enough.

“You’re young only once, but you can be immature indefinitely.”

(Oscar Wilde)

Elihu is prophetic, but he is also wise.

Right or Wrong?

The best evidence that Elihu is correct comes from God at the end of the book.

At the end of the book, God rebukes the three friends.

He rebukes Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar...

But HE does NOT rebuke Elihu.

If Elihu is wrong, like the rest of the friends, that it would only make sense that God would rebuke him as well.

God’s silence shows that Elihu is correct, and we should listen to what he has to say.

Since sufferers need to hear God’s perspective, we must graciously, prophetically, and impartially speak.

What do you get passionate about?

What has to happen in order for you to get upset?

For some of us it can be as simple as our football team loosing.

For others, they may need to hear people speak ill of them.

For some still, they are motivated by injustices of some kind.

Job 32:2 (ESV)

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger.

Righteous Anger

“Defending God’s Cause”

The phrase “he burned with anger” is used 4 times in the short little section.

Elihu is enraged at Job and at the “friends”..

The text gives two reasons for this anger.

Angry at Job

“Justified in His Own Eyes”

My assertion on the front end is simple…

Job is right to claim he was righteous and did nothing to deserve punishment.

Elihu is right to be angry for God’s glory.

Both of these claims can be true at the same time.

Both can be true at the same time.

Job can continue to claim that he didn’t sin to bring about suffering and Elihu can be angry with the way Job has responded to his suffering.

Job—The Wisdom of the Cross The Central Issue of Elihu’s Speeches Is the Justice of God

Elihu is right to be indignant, and yet Job is right to claim his righteousness!

Job 32:2 (ESV)

He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.

Elihu is initially mad at Job because “he justified himself rather than God.”

Elihu is hotly angry on behalf of God.

God’s name and reputation, which is GOOD and JUST are being questioned here.

This means exactly how it sounds.

Elihu is upset because Job didn’t defend God’s justice.

He is upset because rather than defending God’s justice he defended himself.

He is upset because God’s name is being criticized.

He has every right to be upset about this.

When we see his anger toward calling God unjust, we shouldn’t despise that.

The mature Christian will see the importance of being zealous for Gods name.

There is also a second reason for his anger....

Angry at the Friends

“Silent and Stupid”

Job 32:3 ESV

He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

He’s angry at the friends, because they had no answer for Job.

And the answer that they did give weren’t really answers at all.

He saying that they declared Job to be in the wrong but weren’t able to show him how.

The friends condemned him but DID NOT correct him!

The bigger issue here is not just that they weren’t able to answer Job...

but they were focusing on the wrong area of Job’s life.

The three friends were focusing on sin that caused suffering, rather than focusing on the sin in response to suffering.

He is so upset, because these three friends are neglecting their suffering friend by not correcting his sinful responses to suffering.

Job 32:5 ESV

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

There is a kind of anger which is sinful.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

But we also need to acknowledge that it is possible to be angry and NOT sin.

Ephesians 4:26 ESV

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Mentions that it is possible to be angry and NOT sin.

Being Angry at the Right Things

To see if anger is righteous, we must ask ourselves, what is the object of our anger?

What is motivating our anger and frustration?

This can only be done when we are angry for righteousness.

When we’re angry for just reasons.

There are things that should make us angry.

The problem is, we are too often so quickly angered when our own honor is wounded.

We become so concerned about our own name being hurt.

But brothers and sisters, we need to be even more angered with God’s honor is drug through the mud.

What comes to the forefront with Elihu’s anger at Job and the friends is a concern for God’s justice.

Elihu is upset that Job would insinuate that God is somehow UNJUST.

Job—The Wisdom of the Cross (Chapter 27: Elihu and the Justice of God (Job 32:1–5))

If I feel that God has not treated me right, in my health, my upbringing, my abilities, my relationships, my work, or in a failed relationship, a bereavement, a sickness, or a psychiatric disorder, then my faith will be harmed, my obedience will become reluctant, my hope will be destroyed, and my joy will be poisoned.

The very first temptation in the garden in Eden was to believe that God is not fair.

He is angry, that God’s name would be even associated with injustice.

Your theology must leave room for a zealous sort of anger that is motivated by God’s glory.

Your minds should go to the Lord Jesus, upon seeing people in the temple, excluded, unfairly unjustly, it says he was angry.

John 2:15–17 ESV

And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Or upon seeing his friend Lazarus in the tomb, he was angry.

Application - Suffering and Sin

When you see a person suffering and struggling with God’s justice, you cannot only seek to bring them comfort.

You must bring them the truth.

You must be zealous in your pursuit of bringing them the truth.

It may be through tears, but we must bring it.

Since sufferers need to hear God’s perspective, we must graciously, prophetically, and impartially speak.

In order to speak, we must value what God values

Job desperately needed God to speak and by God’s grace Elihu was there…

Wisdom’s Source

“Breath of the Almighty”

We need to remember what Job’s friends tried to convince Job of.

They tried to through human religion, answer Job’s suffering.

Their answers were harsh, hard, and calloused.

They spoke from a traditional worldview, that viewed wisdom as an earthly pursuit.

Wisdom from Below

“Wisdom of the World”

Job 32:6–7 (ESV)

“I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.

I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

He was slow to speak because of the friends age and his youth.

“Let the aged speak and teach us wisdom!”

“Let those who are older than me teach me wisdom!”

Elihu, much like Job has learned a lot during this time, and that included...

Job 32:8–9 ESV

But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.

He says that it is the breath of the Almighty that makes a man have understanding.

It’s not simply that a person is old that they will gather wisdom.

It’s the fact that God gives people wisdom.

Doctrine of General Revelation

When we speak of the depravity of man, we must never make it out that unbelievers are stupid because they’re not.

I’ve found in some circles that highlight so much that men are dead in their sins, they begin to think unbelievers to be dumb.

They’re NOT.

It’s important to note that unbelievers CAN have wisdom.

Because they are made in the image of God, like all people, they can have wisdom.

But the source of their wisdom is from God.

There is a limitedness to the wisdom of this world.

Elihu knows that he is a youth.

He knows that people are going to naturally listen to him because he’s younger.

So Elihu pleads with Job…

Job 32:10 ESV

Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.’

Wisdom from Above

“Wisdom from God”

He says to the friends that he won’t even refer to the friends prior speeches.

Mainly because their speeches lack wisdom from above.

Job 32:17 ESV

I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion.

He speaks wisdom from above.

Job B. Elihu’s Insight (32:6–14)

Prudent insight that leads to successful living comes from God, not from length of years.

It does not come from the world.

All wisdom comes from God.

Job I. Introduction: A Voice from the Crowd

The three companions claimed that Job was suffering because he had sinned. But Elihu reasoned that Job was sinning because he was suffering.

Even in his suffering, Job needed to hear the truth.

Job needed to hear that his response to suffering was still important.

He needed to hear that

Since sufferers need to hear God’s perspective, we must graciously, prophetically, and impartially speak.

In order to speak, we need God’s wisdom

James 3:15–18 ESV

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Elihu goes on to say...

Job 32:18–20 ESV

For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

Elihu has sat in silence for so long.

He is ready to burst with words.

Often new wineskins when they were filled for the first time would swell up because of pressure within them.

The new wineskins would require event, so that the pressure within them did not burst the wineskins.

An old wine skin would burst, but a new one would become very bloated.

Job 32:21–22 ESV

I will not show partiality to any man or use flattery toward any person. For I do not know how to flatter, else my Maker would soon take me away.

Impartial Friend

“Accurate Measure”

Job may have been as we have seen a “type” of the Lord Jesus.

But he also falls far short of the Lord Jesus.

He says that he will show no favoritism in the situation.

Inaccurate Measure

“The Sin of Partiality”

Job 32:21–22 NLT

I won’t play favorites or try to flatter anyone. For if I tried flattery, my Creator would soon destroy me.

Elihu promises Job that he won’t show favoritism.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.238 προσωπολημπτέω; προσωπολημψία, ας; λαμβάνω πρόσωπον

to make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.238 προσωπολημπτέω; προσωπολημψία, ας; λαμβάνω πρόσωπον

‘to look only upon a person’s face,’

We show favoritism when we prefer something that we like because of our desires over something that we deem less valuable.

We see the same thing happening in the book of James, when James warns not to show favoritism toward the wealthier brother.

This is because the wealthier man was coming into the gathering and they were being preferred.

They would take the poor people and giving them worse seats so that those who were wealthy would have better seats.

James 2:1–4 ESV

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Now we may not be as overt as they were in James’ day, but we still struggle with the sin of partiality.

I would argue in this culture we show partiality toward those who suffer.

We should never unjustly or unfairly condemn someone who suffers.

Ever.

But at the same time we must never only look upon a persons face and so choose what we will tell them the truth about because they suffer.

Christians will often be asked by someone who has just lost a loved one, that they know was not a believer, “is my family member in heaven?”

Now there needs to be pastoral sensitivity here, and I don’t reject that.

But beyond pastoral sensitivity, there comes a point that we need to tell them the truth we need to tell them what is right.

To continue to offer false assurance or unfairly condemn is partiality.

Or someone who has been chronically ill...

People who are chronically ill often begin to struggle by asking the questions like...

“Is God good?”

“Is God fair?”

Again I’m not rejecting pastoral sensitivity here, but we also need to be truthful to the people who ask.

Just Scales

“Speaking on God’s Behalf”

Since sufferers need to hear God’s perspective, we must graciously, prophetically, and impartially speak.

In order to speak, we need impartiality