In Job 34-35, Elihu continues his monologue against Job. In these chapters he accuses Job more harshly, and tells us Job is a liar, that he is wrong, that he cannot contend against God, because no one can. Once again, in most cases, Elihu would be right, but not this time. As we will see in our next post as we hear God’s response, Job was in the right, and all four of his “friends” were wrong. We must give Elihu credit for stepping forward and speaking up, when many in his position would remain silent. What we must not do, though, is assume that just because someone is bold enough to speak that he or she is right. We live in a time when those who yell the loudest think they are right. The truth is when we are right, we don’t have to yell. Elihu would have done well to “think twice and speak once,” rather than speaking twice, before he gave deep thought to his words.
Elihu continues in chapters 36-37 with a long list of God’s attributes, and an occasional poke at Job to ask, “Do you know this about God? Does God put the dishonest in power?” Again, much of what Elihu tells us is true. The problem for Elihu is he operates with the assumption that God never advances the cause of the unrighteous, which history shows us God does. The Book of Daniel definitely shows us God even uses pagan kings to advance His ultimate purpose. Elihu continues to operate under the assumption a righteous man will not be punished. Therefore, Job cannot be a righteous man. While the assumption is generally true, it is not always the case. We can’t turn general principles into absolutes, because their exception proves the principles, while making us wrong in the process.
As we return to Matthew 22, Jesus teaches a parable about a rich man who invites many to the wedding of his son, but none of the invited guests will come. Then the man invites anyone who will come. When the guests come, one doesn’t have wedding clothes and is cast out. What’s the point of the parable? The Jews were the “invited” guests, but they turned Jesus down. Then everyone in the world is invited to come to Jesus. Those who respond are welcomed, but even those who respond must come through the “door” of Jesus, and any who will not will be cast out.
Next, we find the religious leaders offering Jesus a series of “tests.” I put tests in quotes, because nothing a human being devises to trick or test Jesus will work. As we read each one, we see how quickly Jesus thinks, how clearly He understands the Scriptures, and how far ahead of us He is. The “tests” they offered Jesus included asking Him whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. The “test” in this question was if He said, “Yes,” they would say Jesus was against Israel, but if He said, “No,” they would turn Him over to the Romans. Without hesitation, Jesus turned the question on them by asking them to show Him a Roman coin. He asked whose picture and inscription were on it? They said it was caesar’s. He told them to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. What genius! He didn’t answer their question with one of the only two options they saw, but with a third, which left their allegiance to God as the true question. The next challenge came from the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection from the dead. They asked a question about a woman who was married to seven different brothers in succession as each brother died. They asked Jesus whose wife she would be in the resurrection since each had her as wife? Jesus’ answer to this one was they didn’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God. He told them we are neither married or given in marriage in heaven, but are like angels. Then He pointed out that God told Moses He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–is not was–Therefore, the resurrection is a reality. Finally, when they asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses, He responded immediately, “Love the Lord, Your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. (My paraphrase.)” The religious leaders realized this was the right answer. To top things off, Jesus asked the Pharisees how the Messiah could be the Son of David, when David called Him “Lord”? Jesus’ interaction with the leaders delighted the crowds, but infuriated the religious leaders, which drew them more and more toward their plan to arrest Jesus and have Him crucified.