As it turns out there are actually four guys sitting with Job. Elihu was the young chap. He was supposed to be seen and not heard precisely because of his age. He is there to observe, learn, and support by silent presence. However, as happens occasionally with the younger and zealous, he arrogantly believes he has a wee bit more wisdom than the rest. He is not only going to straighten out Job but his other three friends as well. So when he can’t possibly hold it any longer, his erupts into a six chapter speech!
Now one must hand it to Elihu, he certainly does have some fundamentals in place. He spends a good deal of his speech proclaiming the justice, greatness, and majesty of God. What a wonderful accomplishment and contribution Elihu would have made had he left his speech there! It does the soul good to meditate on God in the midst of suffering and pain. But of course, Elihu had more to say! The second largest component of his “wisdom” was simply another attack on Job. Elihu concludes that the Lord speaks in two ways, through dreams and pain (33:14). When he speaks through suffering, the purpose is to keep you on the straight and narrow. “Job, get right with God!” Again already, we all need to “get right with God” in some ways, but chastisement is not the issue here!
So what about Job’s friends? What was Elihu’s beef with them? He chastised them for not being able to convince Job of how sinful he was! (Notice that when God speaks, he doesn’t acknowledge Elihu at all!!!)
The point of Elihu’s speech is this: He made no contribution whatsoever! He only succeeded in wrongly heaping scorn upon a suffering man. Lesson: If you have to say something, point to God and leave it there!
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