In Job 30, Job continues his final appeal to God and any who will listen. He points out that the poor and outcast, who would have looked up to him in the past laugh at him. He is lower than the low. He speaks of God battering him, casting him about on the wind, and of the physical pain he endures night and day. Sometimes, when a person has become addicted to alcohol or other drugs, we say he must “hit bottom,” before he will seek help. Job has hit bottom. His life can’t go any lower. Remember, this was not of his doing. He didn’t abuse alcohol or any other drug. He didn’t sin. He was the victim of Satan’s abuse, and God gave permission for it to happen. After all, Satan’s power is always limited.
Job makes his final appeal in chapter 31. In area after area of his life, Job appeals to God and tells him, “If I have…” and then states a sin he could have committed, but didn’t. He tells God if I have committed this sin, or this sin, or this sin. If I have not helped the poor, the widow, the fatherless… if I have done anything wrong show me, judge me. Job calls God out. He tells God his suffering is unjust and wants an answer for why he is experiencing it. As we read the chapter, as I read the chapter, I think, “Wow! I could not put that list together and stand faultless before God. Who could?” Yet, Job states his case clearly and boldly. He is innocent. The last words of the chapter are: The words of Job are ended. After argument and counter argument, after anguished cry to God and friends, after thousands and thousands of words, Job’s words are ended. He has nothing left to say. At this point, we might expect a response from God, and that is coming, but before that we have one more accusing voice: Elihu. We haven’t heard his name or known he was present, but he has watched and listened as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have mounted their attacks against Job, and failed. Now, he takes his turn.
Elihu starts his response in Job 32 and it continues through Job 37. Today, we will consider only chapters 32 and 33. In chapter 32, Elihu tells us why he didn’t respond to Job sooner. He states he is a young man, and he wanted to give his elders their opportunity. The problem is Job justified himself rather than admit his guilt, and Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were unable to answer Job’s arguments. Elihu tells us his words burn within him, he is like a wineskin ready to burst. We are being set up for the righteous indignation of youth that is about to spew out over the next five chapters. Elihu knows all the answers, such is the way of youth. His certainty of the truth, combined with the zeal of his age produces a long, passionate speech, in flowery language that sounds true. It sounds true, because much of it is true. The general truths Elihu will spout in succession fail in one major point: what is generally true was not true of Job. Let’s start with the first example of this, which we find in Job 32. Elihu tells Job God responds to us in two primary ways: through dreams and through illness. The implication is: if Job wanted to understand what was going on, he could turn to his dreams, or he could take a look in the mirror. The extent and duration of his illness was enough to show Job that God’s judgment was on his life. This seems reasonable, and it would seem even more reasonable if we lived in Job’s time, when material and physical blessing was considered as an affirmation of obedience, while material and physical scarcity and disease were considered part of God’s curse on disobedience. We have mentioned throughout Job how we often consider such “evidence” today in the same way. But Job is the exception to the rule. He was a righteous man who was cursed by God. We’re already in on that secret, because we know God has given permission to Satan to attack Job. Elihu doesn’t know this. He will find it out soon enough, but for now Elihu’s self-righteous attack on Job sounds reasonable. The problem is it was wrong. We must learn from Elihu that things are not always as they seem, so when we are ready to go on the attack, we must be sure our information is true and our motivation is love. When we are ready to speak the truth in love to someone who has sinned, our motivation will be pure and the results can be restorative.
As we return to Matthew 21, we read of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Matthew offers us a couple of details we don’t find in the other gospel accounts. One of those details is unusual: he tells us Jesus rode into town on two donkeys. The detail is derived from the Old Testament prophecy Matthew quotes and his interpretation of it. The second detail is more important. He tells us Jesus went to the Temple and drove out the money changers, then healed the sick and lame who came, and then the children shouted praise and blessings about Jesus. The Pharisees challenged Jesus about this, but Jesus responded that this fulfilled Scripture, and was not willing to let it stop. This moment, the Triumphal Entry and the people’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of David, was the one moment when folks recognized Jesus for who He was, if only for a moment.
The next morning, as Jesus and the disciples were walking back into Jerusalem, Jesus cursed a fig tree, because it didn’t have fruit on it. It withered. When the disciples saw this they were amazed, but Jesus used the example to tell them if they had faith and did not doubt, they would receive what they asked for in Jesus’ name. As Jesus entered the Temple, the religious leaders asked Him where He received His authority. Jesus answered with a question, “Where did John the Baptist receive his authority?” The religious leaders realized they were trapped. If they said from God, Jesus wold ask them why they hadn’t listened to him. If they said from men, the crowd would rise up against them. They answered, “We don’t know.” Jesus told them He would tell them where His authority originated either.
Jesus went on to tell a couple parables. The first was about a man who had two sons, and he asked each to go work in the field. One said, “Yes,” but didn’t go. The other said, “No,” but later went and worked in the field. Jesus asked the religious leaders who did his father’s will? They said it was the one who said no, but went. Jesus used that to tell them the tax collectors and other sinners would enter heaven before them. Next, Jesus told a parable of a vineyard owner who rented his vineyard out to others. When it came time for the harvest, he sent representatives to collect his share. The workers, attacked those the owner sent. Finally, he sent his only son, thinking they would respect him. Instead, they killed him, thinking they would keep the vineyard for themselves. Jesus told of the wrath the owner would send on them. The Pharisees realized the parable was about them, and wanted to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid, because the crowds loved Jesus. Jesus was setting Himself against those He knew would arrest Him, but He was unafraid, because He had come to redeem us, and the events taking place were all moving Him toward that end. The accounts we read here, show us the true nature of self-righteous leaders, and the true wisdom of Jesus. We do well to learn from them, because the tendency for all of us over time, is either to lean more deeply into our relationship with Jesus, or to move toward “religion.” We want to be sure we’re always deepening our relationship with Jesus.
I have enjoyed reading Job and your study of it. Thank you for your dedication to our teaching and spiritual development.