Was Elihu a 'messenger sent by God' as Setyoufree claims?
Let's take a look at him. He is portrayed as 'an angry young man' (Roger Forster) and here we can see the qualities of an angry young man. As a side note, Roger Forster says that an angry young man is easy for God to deal with whereas an angry old man is not.
An angry young man, is impulsive:
33.19 My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent;
like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
20 I must speak, so that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
A man of God is not ruled by impulsive emotions, he is led by the Spirit of God and is slow to anger and slow to speak.
Angry young men are also arrogant:
33.31 Pay heed, Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Is this the way that a prophet of God and a man who is sent to deal with a highly traumatised desperately sick man? Is this the approach one should use in trying to reach someone in the throes of extreme suffering? How would you respond to a young know-it-all like that? Would you open up your heart to be ministered to by him? No, me neither. He has already switched me off by not showing some respect for my years.
Elihu, granted, is an improvement on the three 'theologians' (Forster). Indeed Elihu is angry with them for the pat answers they gave Job. They have not answered his case at all. But is Elihu correct in condeming Job for declaring his innocence and questioning why God has deserted him? Here is what the esteemed Dr Adam Clarke has to say:
34.Verse 5 Job hath said, I am righteous - Job had certainly said the words attributed to him by Elihu, particularly in Job 27:2, etc., but it was in vindication of his aspersed character that he had asserted his own righteousness, and in a different sense to that in which Elihu appears to take it up. He asserted that he was righteous quoad the charges his friends had brought against him. And he never intimated that he had at all times a pure heart, and had never transgressed the laws of his Maker. It is true also that he said, God hath taken away my judgment; but he most obviously does not mean to charge God with injustice, but to show that he had dealt with him in a way wholly mysterious, and not according to the ordinary dispensations of his providence; and that he did not interpose in his behalf, while his friends were overwhelming him with obloquy and reproach.
Job's issue with God was His apparent desertion, the same issue that Jesus had when dying on the cross. Job's sin if it is a sin was also committed by Christ in saying 'My God, My God Why?'
35.Verse 2 My righteousness is more than God‘s? - This would indeed be a blasphemous saying; but Job never said so, neither directly nor constructively: it would be much better to translate the words צדקי מאל (tsidki meel), I am righteous Before God. And Job‘s meaning most certainly was, “Whatever I am in your sight, I know that in the sight of God I am a righteous man;” and he had a right to assume this character, because God himself had given it to him.
So here we have the angry young man misquoting Job that is to say, he gets it wrong in order to back up his beliefs. Now where do we see that constantly in the present times? And again:
Verse 3 What advantage will it be unto thee? - As if he had said to God, “My righteousness cannot profit thee, nor do I find that it is of any benefit to myself.” Or perhaps Elihu makes here a general assertion, which he afterwards endeavors to exemplify: Thou hast been reasoning how it may profit thee, and thou hast said, “What profit shall I have in righteousness more than in sin?”
And so now we get the answer that the 'theologians failed to give from the know-it-all Elihu:
37.Verse 23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out - This is a very abrupt exclamation, and highly descriptive of the state of mind in which Elihu was at this time; full of solemnity, wonder, and astonishment, at his own contemplation of this “great First Cause, least understood.” The Almighty! we cannot find him out.
Excellent in power and in judgment - We must not pretend to comprehend his being, the mode of his existence, the wisdom of his counsels, nor the mysteries of his conduct.
He will not afflict - לא יענה (la yeanneh), he will not Answer. He will give account of none of his matters to us. We cannot comprehend his motives, nor the ends he has in view.
The answer that has got the church into trouble and especially these post world war days when man is seeking to understand why the innocent suffer. The answer from the church is 'it's a mystery'.
That is not good enough as Forster says in his excellent talks on Job. He goes on to explain the cosmic war where Satan brings the charge against God claiming that the law of love that rules the universe does not work and it should be run by the rule of might. Righteous men like Job come into the crossfire and are the vindicators of God, being those who worship Him out of altruism, whether they receive anything from Him or not. Satan cannot understand this and attacks those in attempts to prove his case with those who love God unconditionally.
This truth has been a great blessing to me personally during my own trial.
Any other understanding of the book of Job is superficial and barely skims the surface at all.
