At this point in our study of the Book of Job, we have come to Elihu’s discourse. After rebuking the friends, because they couldn’t silence Job (Job 32:2-3, 12), and by accusing Job of wickedness (Job 34:5-9), he welcomes himself to the table. He sits among the wise, and offers his conclusion about the matter at hand (cp. Job 34:4). According to Elihu, only a fool would stand up and deny that God rewards men according to their works (cp. Job 33:10-11, 13) in an effort to hide his sin and appear righteous before the community (cp. Job 33:9). Therefore, he calls upon Job to repent, and tell God that he has justly rewarded Job according to his works. Also, Job must now confess that he has learned his lesson and intends to change his behavior (Job 34:31). Moreover, assuming Job was ignorant of his sin, he needs to ask the Lord to teach him what he had done, and Job would promise to do it no more (Job 34:32).
Thus, the then current worldview held by Elihu and the friends was never brought into question. The Lord rewards everyone according to their works, whether it is the nation or a person. The matter is a closed issue, and on those grounds, Job must be guilty of sin. The matter is decided, therefore, even before anyone seeks evidence of Job’s guilt. His family, his wealth and his health have all been destroyed. Therefore, since all agree that God is righteous, and knows even the secrets of man, Job must be guilty of wickedness, although no one has been able to identify Job’s sin. The problem is that, while Elihu says he is defending God (Job 34:10, 12, 23, 37), he is in reality defending the then current worldview of God, which both he and the friends held to be the guide for truth. Nevertheless, in the first century AD, Jesus found such traditions/worldviews to actually oppose God (Mark 7:9, 13; cp. Jeremiah 8:8-9). Men know only in part (1Corinthians 13:9, 12), and it simply isn’t wise to argue truth from the premise of one’s worldview, which is nothing more than one’s interpretation of the truth one believes the Lord has said.
Elihu then asks Job: “Should it be according to your mind?” (Job 34:33). In other words, should God reward you according to your demands, vis-à-vis Job’s claim of innocence, rather than according to Job’s actual deeds the Lord has seen? Job’s present calamities point to his being wicked. So, “What is your worldview, Job? It must certainly differ from mine. Therefore, tell us what you know?” (Job 34:33). Obviously, Elihu is mocking Job, deriding him, and making him appear small. It is a tactic often used by folks who feel confident that they are in the correct. Yet, although they exhume great assurance, they are unable to prove it so, either through human logic or through the word of God.
Therefore, Elihu issues his verdict, saying that every wise man would agree with him, and collectively testify that, at the end of the day, Job was an ignorant man who lacked wisdom (Job 34:34-35).
Elihu concludes this portion of his discourse by saying Job hadn’t been tried enough, and everything, which God had done to him, was less than what he actually deserved (cp. Job 11:6). Elihu wants Job to be tried even further, so that all other wicked men will witness God’s judgment against him and fear to do as Job had done. According to Elihu, Job has sought to put unrighteous arguments into the mouths of the wicked (Job 34:36). Therefore, he should suffer all the more, which is quite a change from his previous desire to vindicate Job (Job 33:32). Now, Elihu claims Job has added rebellion to his sins (Job 34:37), because he “claps his hands among us,” which is either a symbol of victory (Ezekiel 25:6; Nahum 3:19), or it is a sign of derision, like a monarch who claps his hands to dismiss someone he is tired of listening to (cp. Numbers 24:10; cp. Lamentations 2:15).
Thus, as though it were on cue, because Job didn’t capitulate and repent, according to Elihu’s demands, Job must now suffer the consequences… no mercy, no regard for what Job has already suffered. Elihu, like so many legalists do today, plays the “You’re going to hell” card! Shame on him, and shame on us who preach the Gospel of Christ, as though Christ has no mercy for the sinner.
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