Usually, folks, who wish to be the movers and shakers of society, want to establish a foundation for their point-of-view. They begin by saying something everyone, even their opponents, might agree to. They wish to appear wise or to be establishing a good thing that would benefit all. Therefore, they avoid beginning with controversy, because that would separate many desired supporters. Elihu is no different. He begins by saying, “Hearken to me, O you men of understanding; far be it from God to act wickedly, or the Almighty to commit iniquity” (Job 34:10). Who among the righteous would disagree with that?
When Job found the friends repeating the obvious, he told them: “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you” (Job 13:1-2). Elihu is practicing on the friends what they have already tried to use with Job, who didn’t allow the friends to get away with such a thing. Elihu is an idealist who embraces the same false worldview of the friends. Indeed, he was probably educated by one of them. So, they embrace the same worldview. That said, Elihu foolishly overlooks the fact that Job defeated and silenced these very same arguments during the debate. Nevertheless, he repeats what the friends have already argued, except for the fact that he will draw everything out in detail. Both Elihu and the friends utter truths that every Christian would embrace today, but it’s all a mixed bag. Truth and error mixed together will never be truth in the end. Truth will sound good to all, but its mixture with error will corrupt the ways of those who are drawn in.
Next, Elihu presents the worldview that everyone present has embraced, except that Job has found reason to believe it is erroneous. The fact is, he is depressed, because he is unable to see the better understanding that would replace that worldview. Nevertheless, Elihu and the friends seek to capitalize on Job’s confusion in order to restate the worldview that each of them has labored under, namely, “…whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7; cp. Job 34:11). Then, in an effort to establish it without reserve, Elihu repeats the obvious: “God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (Job 34:12).
Apparently, Elihu seeks to establish the majority rules, as a concept for establishing truth. In other words, the majority gets to say what good or truth is and what it is not. It’s a game men like to play, but majority rule is not of the Spirit. The history of Israel shows us that it was the majority who departed from God, and the Lord used the prophets, the minority, in an effort to bring them back to him. It is a rarity, indeed, when the truth gets the most votes, but even then, the truth is true for its own sake, not because the majority believes it. From the days of Eden to this very day, man has tried to get to say what is good (true) and what is evil (foolish), but in the end it is always God who gets to say.
In a hope to establish the majority rule concept, Elihu goes on to express more of the obvious: God is sovereign. No one gave him authority over the earth and the whole universe! (Job 34:13). He’s the Creator, and all things are his to do with as he pleases. Who among the righteous would disagree with that statement? Those who are taken in by its subtility might agree that, because God is sovereign and rules righteously, such statements are proof of the worldview that “whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap,” which, as a rule, is correct. However, there are exceptions, but Elihu and the friends don’t allow for exceptions. Moreover, most of what is true about that rule is established after death, not before.
At this point in time, belief in the resurrection was not a universal truth. Elihu and the friends claimed, because God is righteous and would never judge wickedly, all men, today, reap what they sow. If that were true then the Book of Job should end here. Remember, the Lord’s wager in chapters 1 & 2 is: Job is righteous and there is none like him. If God is wrong and Job isn’t righteous, then God has lost the wager, and he doesn’t need to speak later (chapters 38-42). The Book of Job should end with Elihu’s address, if he is correct! Nevertheless, the book doesn’t end here, does it?
Finally, Elihu plays the you’re-going-to-hell card, saying: “Should God decide in his heart to take back the breath of life, he has given to man, everyone would perish in an instant (Job 34:14-15 – paraphrased). In other words, beware of what you believe about God. Beware of disrespecting him or wrestling with him over his righteous judgments. Disagreement has its consequences. Elihu is a good, decent man, as are the friends, but, just as many good, decent men are sometimes wrong, so are Elihu and the friends! Nevertheless, God is in Job’s pain, and it is there, in what the Lord refers to as the treasures of darkness, that he is found (Isaiah 45:3-6)!
Smoodock's Blog 