The Words of Young Elihu, Part 2

Job 35-37

            Elihu points out the inconsistency that Job wants to declare his own righteousness and at the same time to cast doubt on God’s justice. God is so far above humans, Elihu argues, that our behavior doesn’t affect Him or change Him. Job’s problem, as Elihu sees it, is an arrogance that expects the Almighty to answer a human’s petty demands.

In a different metaphor, one might say that humans are like toddlers, stomping their feet, threatening to run away or hold their breath until they die, and God is an adult, ignoring their baseless threats. Well, not ignoring exactly. The Lord listens; He knows what His people need. But He doesn’t take our ranting very seriously.

In chapter 36, Elihu argues for God’s justice. The Lord does listen to the cries of His children. If Elihu sees a sin in Job, it’s that instead of simply laying his cries before the Lord, Job has demanded an explanation. To grab my previous metaphor, the problem is not that Job is upset; it’s that he’s throwing a tantrum.

For most of chapter 37, Elihu warms to his theme that God is great; he exalts in the power of the Lord shown in the storm. In verse 14, he brings it back to Job: “The Lord is so much bigger than you,” he says. How would Job ever even formulate his question to the one who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16)?