Interpreting Job, Pt. 5: the Testimony of Elihu
Job Rebuked by His Friends, by William Blake (1757–1827). from the Butts set. Public Domain.
Wanna hear something interesting about the Book of Job?
The youngest person in the story gets the longest continuous speech.
The young man, Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram (32:2), has the longest continuous block of speech in the entire story. He speaks without interruption for longer than Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar; longer than Job, the great sufferer; and even longer than God Himself. Among men, he appears to get the last word.
Now—let the reader take a moment to pause with that thought.
(Pause. Take it in.)
What do you think about that? How did you feel when reading that?
I can tell you how I felt about it. And I can tell you how I remember feeling about it. It often depends on the age at which I read the story. I presently read and understand the Job narrative differently now, in my 40s, than I did when I was younger.
I imagine it as though I were watching a movie. I “see” the four older men involved in a heated discussion, with the young Elihu off to the side just watching. I’m “watching” the scene escalate in my mind. Job is finally able to respond in such a way that his friends are quiet (32:1). There’s a lull in the action, and a quiet silence starts to fill the space. In a way, it is as though readers are hearkened back to the original seven days of silence (2:13).
Then, I notice the young man again. He appears eager to speak, chomping at the bit. I can see it on his face—he’s angry (32:2), though I can’t help but wonder why?. And as he steps forward, he opens his mouth, and starts to talk. . .
And I inwardly groan.
I groan because I’ve been there—on both sides of the conversation.
I feel myself wanting to reach through the pages and hold him back. I want to say, “Don’t do it, Elihu. No. No, no, no. No! Be quiet! Don’t do it! Don’t talk!”
But it’s too late. The young man must get his word in. And once he starts, there is no stopping him. He opens his mouth. We quickly learn why he’s angry, and it’s because Job defended himself (32:2) and because Job’s friends failed to silence him with a good argument (32:3-5). And the young man is only just getting started.
5. REMEMBER THE TESTIMONY OF ELIHU.
Elihu begins his discourse with the outward appearance of wisdom:
“I didn’t speak at first because I know I’m young, and it’s important to let me elders go first. For wisdom and justice are with the aged. But apparently, that’s not always the case. It’s my turn now. I can’t contain myself; I have to speak. But I won’t be partial, and I won’t flatter. Because I know I will be accountable to God for my words. Please hear me out, Job.” (our paraphrase of chapter 32)
. . . and then he proceeds to say a lot, but nothing new. He says little of great difference from those who have already gone before. Sure, he adds some bits of distinction and emphasis here and there. But in the end, his speech doesn’t really say anything new, nor does it accomplish anything different than Job’s three friends. (1)
Sadly, this means that Elihu also repeated some of the same mistakes and injuries against Job. A small list of examples include that Elihu: attacks Job’s character (34:5-9); engages in “straw man” arguments, putting words in Job’s mouth that he didn’t say, and then attacks him for it (35:1-8); accuses him of empty speech (35:15-16); and so on.
Really, the list is pretty long; and this post is already long.
Despised by the Young. Here, we believe it important to recall that Job’s experience of humiliation wasn’t a private matter, but very much a public one. And in the course of his grief, he found that just about everyone turned against him—even young people:
“My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
Even young children despise me;
I rise up and they speak against me.
All my associates abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me.” (19:17-19)“I chose a way for them [the people in general] and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among the troops,
As one who comforted the mourners.
But now those younger than I mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.” (29:25–30:1)
Job’s grief was bad enough. But the fact that the young started to despise and to mock him—it was just plain insulting. And after a big fight with his friends, he then had to deal with Elihu, too? Inconceivable! We believe that the biblical writers included details like this to show how far Job sank in just about every conceivable way.
Culture and Youth. The world’s many cultures respect (or don’t respect) age in different ways. Speaking very broadly, the more individualistic West appears to honor age far less than the more collectivistically-minded East. Despite this, every culture understands the ongoing struggle between youth vs. the aged. Our family has lived among and interacted with cultures around the world, and we can testify that they all grieve the waste of youth on the young, and wisdom on the old—why can’t they ever go together?!
Acknowledging the backdrop of this ancient struggle can help us understand what is taking place at this point in the story of Job. Much like the three friends of Job, the young Elihu had a great start. In his case, it was specifically that he “waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he” (32:4; cf. 6-7). Interestingly, also like Job’s friends, it was a choice of silence in the face of another’s suffering. And yet, it is out opinion that Elihu eventually failed, and that the introduction of his character and his speech into the story is ultimately a point of great insult and pain to a suffering man.
As the product an ancient near-Eastern culture, Job’s interactions with the young Elihu would have only multiplied the severity of the public shame he experienced. Even today, many cultures could affirm this. For a young man to insert himself in this manner in the midst of his elders, to speak to them in such a severe and corrective way, especially to a renowned man like Job, who was also suffering terribly—well, it’s not good.
Job was laid low. And then Job was buried with shame.
Great Failure. Now that I am in my 40’s, I can confidently say that some of the greatest failures of my life, faith, ministry, leadership, and character have been due to the tongue. It was either when I should have spoken up, but didn’t, or when I spoke up, but probably shouldn’t have. When it comes to interacting with those who are suffering, with those managing very difficult circumstances, I am pained to remember the times that I chose to speak when I should have been silent, or at least extremely choice with my words.
Though I am still young, among the greatest injuries I’ve caused others in the youth of my 20’s and 30’s, are those borne from careless, prideful, ignorant, or ill-placed words. And every single time it happened—I mean it: every single time—this occurred when I was presented with information that didn’t fit my existing categories. I lacked understanding. And this lack led to great discomfort which, in turn, led to my eagerness to escape it as quickly and easily as possible.
Like a forest with a number of well-worn paths that lead in the same direction, I had in those moments the opportunity to sit with internal discomfort and let time and silence help me to be wise. Doing so would have been like cutting a new path through the trees and shrubs. But instead of doing that, I took the quickest route out of that forest. I took the well-worn path of shifting my discomfort onto the sufferer.
I say this to my own grief: “God, help me. God, forgive me. I cling to grace alone.”
Great Injury. I have also been on the other side of the coin, and let me tell you: it can hurt enormously. I have had a young or, otherwise, relatively inexperienced person rebuke me out-of-hand, like an armchair quarterback that has never played the game. And as I consider such cases, I cannot help but think of the famous Teddy Roosevelt quote:
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” (Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910)(2)
In the midst of attempting great things for the kingdom of God; of paying enormous costs; of wrestling with demons and wolves-in-sheep’s clothing; of experiencing both great success and failure—whatever that means—in the midst of all of it, to then be met with the criticisms, judgements, or accusations of those who have yet to spend a day “in the arena,” of those who couldn’t possibly understand the experience. . .
Well, it’s no wonder that Job shot back at his three friends:
“I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you.” (12:3; cf. 13:2)
Whatever you want to call it—adding insult to injury, salt to the wound, fuel to the fire—whatever it was, and despite his claims otherwise, Elihu kicked Job while he was down. He did it with the same spirit that the three older men did, only using different words. That he was such a young man made it worse. It would have been for Job shame-upon-shame to be silenced and admonished by someone who couldn’t possibly understand what he went through: the loss of home, children, health, livestock, and everything.
I grieve that I’ve done it to others—again, God help me!—and wince with pain when I recall that it has happened to me. And where has it all led me?
The Search for Wisdom. Knowing that God’s judgments are “unsearchable” and His ways “unfathomable,” such errors and sins provoke within me a desire to nonetheless plumb “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33). I feel goaded towards craving every grace of God—His kindness, His compassion, His mercy, His understanding, His love, and His wisdom:
“For if you cry out for insight,
And raise your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And discover the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3-5, NASB95)
Maybe this is the point. Maybe this is part of why the Bible contains the story of Job. Our forbearers have wrestled with it for millennia, agonizing over questions like, “Whose perspective can I trust?” The story provokes so much discomfort, frustration, and unease that, if we allow it, there’s a chance we might become wise from it.
Wisdom for Old and Young. Though we haven’t actually counted, we suppose that for every 1 Timothy 4:12 in the Bible, there are a 1 Timothy 3:6 and a Proverbs 22:15. The entire intro to the biblical Proverbs (chapters 1-9) is a charge from a father to a son, from the aged to the young, to pursue wisdom. The assumption is that the old presumably have something to give to the young, not the other way around.
There was nothing wrong with Elihu’s youth, just as there is nothing inherently wrong with anyone else’s. And yet, there is a reason why Proverbs 17:27-28 is a thing:
“He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”
There is no target age range for wisdom, no age minimum nor limit. It belongs to any and every willing heart. “Willing to do what?” one might ask.
Occupying the Seat of Wisdom. Everyone in the story apparently felt as though it was his job to instruct Job, to teach him something he must have forgotten or never knew. The Proverbs tell us that this is wisdom’s job, wisdom’s role in our life:
“Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
‘How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
‘Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.’” (Proverbs 1:20-23)
We all do well when we are intentionally slow in presuming to take up the role and the mantle of wisdom in the life of another. We do well when we make the choice to be slow to speak and instruct, especially in the midst of another’s great crises and suffering.
Elihu had a long time to consider these ideas as he (rightly) waited for Job and his three friends to finish their conversations. He had time to consider if wisdom meant silence, even if he was bursting at the seams to let his opinion be known (32:17-20).
Our interpretation and one of our conclusions is that Elihu had a golden opportunity to prove himself truly wise, even more so than Job’s aged friends. But such a moment went up in smoke once his restraint gave way like a dam bursting.
Elihu “Won” the Argument. Some might view Elihu as having gotten the “final word” in the argument; and some might see this as victory. He was after all, unlike like others, able to shut the mouth of Job. In the end, the young man got exactly what he wanted.
But dear reader, consider this question: Has there ever been a time in your life when you got the final word, and then later regretted it?
And what about God’s reply to Elihu? It was the same as Job’s: nothing. It was silence, an altogether non-response. What does it mean? We know with certainty that God defended Job in the end. God got the final word in the situation, and he defended Job so resolutely that He told the three friends that he was ready to kill them unless Job mediated for them with sacrifice and prayer.
A Deafening (and Instructive) Silence. That God said nothing in response to Elihu is unnerving. Putting myself in his shoes, the silence would feel louder than anything the Lord could have said out loud. I believe that engaging that moment of silence at any age could or would have the same effect and lead to the same outcome.
I hope it would help me engage in thoughtful introspection and reflection: Was that wise of me? If I could do it all over again, would I do the same thing? Or would I do it differently?
Though it is admittedly a bit of conjecture, we believe it nonetheless fruitful to consider a ‘what-if?’ in this scenario. What if Elihu was given a longer life, to be in a position to see with his own eyes the eventual restoration of Job? We can’t help but wonder what an older Elihu would have thought about in seeing that restoration.
In the end, we will never know. We will never get the answer to the mysteries questions that lay beyond the final verses of Job. And in the mystery is a lot of space to wrestle with the questions of wisdom: When to speak, and when not to? What to say, and what not to say?
With all that we cannot know, perhaps we can pretty confidently hazard a guess about some things, including what Elihu might or might not have said to himself after it was all said and done. Perhaps he would have had the humility to look back on his life and think to himself, “If given the chance, I would do that differently.”
I know it’s something I myself have said, sadly, more times than I care to admit.
After Job was publicly raised up, restored, and honored in the sight of the people who once rebuked him, it’s easy to guess one thing the young Elihu (we hope) didn’t say:
“I’m glad I was the one to finally shut Job’s mouth.”
Notes:
(1) Readers should be aware that, while most agree that Job’s three friends were indeed lousy counselors, there appears to us a great deal of variety when it comes to how readers should view Elihu. At the outset, we believe this is actually one of the purposes of the book bearing fruit in its readers—wrestling with the questions of wisdom, etc. Beyond this, we find the various opinions fascinating and instructive in many ways. Here are two example articles: John Piper at Desiring God (“pro” Elihu) and Robert Kellemen at RPM Ministries (“anti” Elihu). Interestingly—though admittedly and understandably not having read every resource out there on the book of Job—we believe our experience with Eastern cultures and customs aids our own understanding of the narrative of Job, including in how we believe Elihu would be viewed.
(2) Staff, T. (2021, November 1). It is not the critic who counts | Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. https://www.trcp.org/2011/01/18/it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts/