Today in God's Word—June 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
June 29, Job 34
”Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know; for the ear tests words as the palate tests food. Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good," - Elihu, Job 34:2-4
You can tell the difference between someone talking to you and talking about you, can’t you? I surely can. If we are in conflict with the person doing the talking, it may be unpleasant to have a face to face conversation. But a conversation gives us at least the possibility for reconciliation, persuasion or mutual respect. But when one party in a disagreement talks to others about the other person, the resulting gossip and rumors make the situation worse instead of better.
Elihu didn't hide the fact that he was no longer talking to Job or the other three present in Chapter 34. He addressed his speech to the “wise men.” He surely didn't mean Job, and he had already branded the other three speakers as failures. Had a crowd gathered to listen to the exchange, like children on the playground to watch a scuffle between classmates? Whoever the wise men were, Elihu was not talking to Job any longer. But he was surely talking about him.
Like his predecessors, Elihu ignored what Job said and Job's situation. He chose instead to speak at length about the generally agreed and widely accepted idea that God punishes the wicked with suffering in proportion to their sin, and does it swiftly. They all (including Job) agreed with the basic principle that suffering is the result of sin in the world. But Job knew on a personal level that his suffering was not the result of evil things he had done.
The New Testament helps us understand that not all sickness, disability or suffering is the direct result of some individual’s sin. Job was living that fact and knew it was the case with him. But his accusers ignored his case and
situation. They pounded him with the same repeated accusations and flawed arguments.
It’s still quite common for people to believe the ancient idea about the direct link between personal sin and personal suffering. But it is a false theology that sees God as all justice and no grace. In both testaments the Bible presents God as gracious, merciful and willing to forgive. But Elihu and the others believed a false theology that produced flawed arguments and led to cruel judgment and mistreatment of those with whom they disagreed.
Elihu was in full attack mode toward Job. He was no longer appealing to Job; he was accusing him. He made up quotes that were not accurate and did not reflect anything Job actually said or believed. Job had not accused God of wrong. He just couldn't understand why God let him suffer for no apparent reason. He didn't doubt that God was firmly in control of the world. He even said so himself back in Chapter 9. Job had not disregarded God as Elihu claimed. These manufactured quotes were like the rest of Elihu's verbose words — groundless in the facts of Job's case.
Elihu mercilessly attacked the “straw Job” he had built. He pronounced Job guilty, not on the basis of real evidence, but on the empty claims he made about Job. Let's be charitable and say that Elihu and the others may not have realized it, but they were surely pawns in Satan's relentless attempt to destroy Job. We should learn some wisdom from Job, who apparently by this time in the proceedings, simply ignored their baseless accusations. Let's also learn how easy it is to be used by Satan when we are talking about people, instead of to them.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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