Job

Good morning again, Saylorville Church! And welcome to those of you who are joining us the first time. We’re really glad you’re here. Thank you for spending your Sunday with us.

But before we open up God’s Word, I want to ask all of you a question as I often do. Have you ever had to defend an unpopular view? You know what I’m talking about, right? Pineapple is the best topping on pizza, e-books are better than normal books, and to us Iowans, Ranch dressing is completely overrated… all unpopular, all things that you probably are not going to get a lot of likes when you say.

Speaking of unpopular opinions, did you see this guy in the news? — the guy that gave a red card to a United States soccer team striker.  He had an unpopular view, and he got a lot of flack because of it. But we know this, right? — just because a view is unpopular doesn’t mean that it’s not true, right?

This morning as we continue in our Unsung sermon series where we’re looking at ordinary people that showed extraordinary faithfulness, today we’re going to look at someone who had an unpopular view. His name is Elihu… Talk about a great name for an unsung hero. A lot of you are like ‘Eli-WHO?’ Right? You don’t have a clue who this guy is. You’ve literally never heard of him. But if you know your Bible well, you might remember that Elihu is a character in the Old Testament book of Job. So if you have a copy of scripture, I would invite you to find Job, chapter 32, verse 1. And if you’re familiar with the book of Job, you know that it is the quintessential book in the Bible on the topic of suffering. In fact, you could probably summarize the thesis of the book of Job with this question: How do we understand and respond to suffering when God seems hidden? And our unsung hero this morning, Elihu, he speaks directly into that question for all of us. But first, we’re going to have to take some time to kind of set the scene, because it’s not going to make a lot of sense unless we know what’s going on.

If you’ve read Job before, you know that the first two chapters of Job start off very, very interesting. It actually starts off in the throne room of Almighty God. And God is talking to, of all people, Satan. And God points Satan to his servant Job and He says this. He says:

[Job 32:8] ‘… Have you (ever) considered my servant Job? He’s blameless. He’s upright. He fears me. He turns away from evil.’

Right from the get-go in this book, Job is portrayed as a righteous man. But then Satan says, ‘He only honors You because You bless him.’ You know, you scratch my back and all scratch yours. ‘God, if You allow me to afflict him, he’ll curse You to Your face.’ [Job 1:11] And so God, in His sovereignty, God, as the king over everything, He allows Satan to test Job, and test Him He does!

In the first two chapters, this man, Job, through bandits, through natural disasters, he loses all of his livelihood, all of his animals, all of his crops, all of his servants. He loses all of his children… and eventually he even loses his health. He’s covered in terrible boils. Job is a character in Scripture that experiences suffering on an unprecedented scale.

And some of you this morning can relate because you’re suffering. You’ve lost your job, or you’ve lost your home, or you’ve lost a friendship, you’ve lost a parent, you’ve lost a child, or your body is racked with disease. And so you know this morning all too well the state of Job’s heart. But amazingly, Job, after losing everything… everything… he shows amazing faith. This is what he says to his wife when his wife tells him to curse God. He says:

[Job 2: 10] “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”

The Bible says that Job, when he was going through these trials, he did not sin once.

[Job 2:10b] And it’s here at the end of chapter 2 that the majority of Job takes place, because at the end of chapter two, Job is joined by three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. And what follows is 30 chapters of dialogue between Job and these friends. Now at first, honestly, the friends, they do the right thing. They just sit in silence with their suffering friend. But of course, as we often do, the moment their mouths open, things start going wrong. Now, we don’t have time to go through everything they say, but I want to kind of paraphrase their argument to you. There’s going to be some verses here up on the screen because it’s important for us to see what Elihu is actually speaking into. Because all of these three friends, they basically say the same thing:

[Eliphaz – Job 4:7-8

7 “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”]

‘Job… you must have sinned.’

[Bildad – Job 8:5-6

5 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy,

6 if you are pure and upright, surely then He will rouse Himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.”]

‘Job, God would listen to you if you would just repent.’

[Zophar – Job 11:14-15

14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear.”]

‘Job, you’re hiding something.’

See, the friends theology is all the same.

‘Job, your suffering is punishment from God.’

And maybe in your suffering, someone’s said that to you, that your suffering, that your trial is a punishment from God. How many pastors have treated their congregations like these three friends treat Job? I don’t want to do that. I’m convinced that there’s more to the story for you and I.

Now to be clear, and we have to say this, to be clear, people can and do suffer because of their sin. Romans chapter 6 verse 23 says:

Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death…”

When we sew death, we reap death. But that’s not Job. Remember in the first two chapters God calls him “blameless.” He’s upright. And he holds to that. Check what Job says in chapter 27… After all… this is 27 chapters in. After all this argument, Job says:

Job 27:6, ‘I hold fast to my righteousness. I’m not going to let it go. There is no reproach in me.’

And as you follow Job’s arguments throughout the book, he’s just trying to petition God. He says:

‘God, if I’ve done something wrong, if I’m in sin, tell me.’ And then he starts to get frustrated. ‘God, why won’t You hear me? Why are You silent to me? Why have You become my enemy?’

And again, many of you might relate ’cause that’s exactly how you feel. By the end of chapter 31, Job still pleads his innocence. We really don’t like his three friends, and the dialogue is just at a standstill. But then, in chapter 32, A young man named Elihu enters the story. Go ahead and read with me. Verse 1.

Job 32:1-5

1 “So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.

3 He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

(So he’s angry at both)

4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.”

Go ahead and join me in chapter 33 verse 18 ’cause this is kind of what he says, or sorry, 33 verse 8. This is what, this is what Elihu actually says to Job. He says this. He’s speaking to Job now.

Job 33:8-12

8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words (Job).

9 (Job) You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.

(And then, Job talking to God)

10 Behold, He (God) finds occasions against me, He counts me as his enemy,

11 He puts my feet in the stocks and watches all my paths.’

(But notice what Elihu says to Job)

12 “Behold, in this you are not right...” (See… Elihu takes an unpopular view. He rebukes Job even in his suffering. And why? It says it) God is greater than man) for God is greater than man.”

Now if you’re a student of the Bible and if you walked into the service today, you might say, ‘Whoa! Whoa! You’re telling me, Elihu is an unsung hero?’ Okay, that might shock some of you who know this story well. And you wouldn’t be alone. A lot of people do not like this guy. A lot of people see him as a villain, not as an unsung hero. In fact, if you read the commentators, they’re literally split 50/50. Some think that Job is a truth teller. And other people think that he’s just like the three friends. In fact, I actually found a quote from one of the commentators that doesn’t like Elihu very much, but check out what he says. Here’s what he says. He says… he’s speaking about what Elihu’s argument, and he says:

“The truth that God is greater than man is so obvious as to be banal.” (that is to be ordinary)

Like, ‘Come on, Elihu! You can try better than that!’ In this commentator’s eyes, Elihu is just another false comforter. But think about that. Think about what that commentator said. God is greater than man. It’s obvious… Is it? Is it really obvious to us? –– because I think that most Christians today… I think even myself… I think we would all admit… we would confess, yes, God is greater than man. Amen? But does our life… does how we suffer show that we believe that? — because that really is the question. But first I want to convince you, I want to give you some textual evidence why I think Elihu is not a villain. I think he’s a hero… why I think he’s unsung.

First of all, if you read Job, notice how many chapters Elihu has. The guy has five chapters given to him. The Holy Spirit in His wisdom is really like focusing in on what Elihu has to say. And secondly, Job never rebukes Elihu… not once. Elihu literally asked him, ‘If I’m saying anything wrong, Job, tell me…’ — but he doesn’t. Job never rebukes Elihu. But for me, probably the best evidence in the text… if you know the story of Job, in [Job] chapter 38, God comes down in a whirlwind and He talks to Job. And in [Job] chapter 42, He rebukes all of Job’s friends except one… Elihu. He’s never rebuked… not once. So there is some textual evidence that he actually is an unsung hero. But do you want to know why I think Elihu is unsung? — because Elihu has the guts to defend God’s actions even when it’s difficult, even when it’s unpopular to do so.

And so for the rest of the message from Elihu’s arguments, I want to equip you with three ways that God that Elihu teaches us how to have a big view of God… even when it’s hard. And here’s the first thing that I see in Elihu’s arguments. First, Elihu lets God’s voice speak the loudest.

Just this last week, I visited a couple in our church, a couple that is renowned, a couple that most of you would know, a couple that has dedicated their life to serving Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, and a couple that was just recently diagnosed with cancer. And when I went into this couple’s home, I talked to the man who has cancer, and he said to me, and I quote:

“Colton, since I’ve had cancer, I’ve heard a lot more bad theology than usual. I’ve had people walk through that door and say to me, “Why? Why is this happening to you?” — to which this man responds, “Why not me?”

What a statement! See… these visitors that are walking through this man’s door, they’re Christians! They love Jesus! They love His Word… but the suffering of this couple has revealed a fundamental truth about suffering. And here it is.

Suffering… our own and those we love… suffering reveals what voice you and I actually trust better than anything else.

If you study Job, you notice a pattern very quickly with Job and his three friends. They all say the same phrase. They say, “I have seen….” “I have experienced….” “This is something I’ve actually seen in my life.” They base their entire theology on their experience, on their own wisdom over God’s voice. Check out what Eliphaz says in Job 15 chapter, verse 10. He actually says this. He says the reason you can trust us is because… oh, I don’t know if we have it up there. The reason you can trust us is, oh… it’s on the back, yeah, there it is. The reason you can trust us is because you have…

Job 15:10 ‘… the gray hair and the aged to among you.’

Now let me tell you, I got a lot of gray hair, but I still need to learn a lot of wisdom, okay? But notice how Elihu responds in chapter 32. He says, Elihu, he says:

Job 32:6-9

6 I’m young in years and you’re aged;  therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.

7 I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

8 But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

9 It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand...”

What is Elihu saying here? He’s saying that it’s not your age. I’s not your experience. It’s not popular opinion that gives wisdom. It’s knowing and following God’s voice. See, Job and his three friends, they had experience, but that experience had drowned out God’s truth.

One of my core memories as a child… I used to go to my grandparents’ house and we would watch that excellent show, The Price is Right. That’s a great show, right? I love that show! But you know what’s always fascinating me about The Price is Right? You know when like Bob Barker or Drew Carey, they say, ‘Okay, how much do you think it costs?’ — and then they always look to the audience, and everyone just starts screaming, right? And it’s like ‘$7,000…!’ $6,000…!’ , you know, it’s just like a cacophony of noise…. like no one can understand what anyone’s saying. But what does the person on the stage… what do they do? They look to their family or they look to their friends and they basically have to like read what their mouth is saying, right? Why do they do that? — because that’s who they trust.

See… suffering is like that. When God in His sovereignty does something in your life that you don’t understand, are there not so many voices that you could listen to? — but not all those voices are the voice of wisdom. We could trust the experts. We could trust the internet. We could trust Chat GPT. We could trust our emotions. There’s one. But a lot of you says, ‘No, trust the promises of God,’ even when your life makes no sense. Now listen, experience and other opinions, they’re not bad. They’re not bad, okay? We can look into what other people are saying, but the opinions of man must always go under the sure and steady Word of God. Romans chapter 3, verse 4 says Paul writes,

Romans 3:4b, ‘Let God be true though everyone else is a liar.’

Suffering reveals what voice you and I actually trust. So let me ask you a question. What does your suffering reveal about you? That’s a tough question, but it’s necessary for us in our trials.

Secondly, Elihu shows the danger of putting God in a box. Notice what Elihu says to his three friends in chapter 32. He says:

Job 32:12, “I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job

or who answered his words.”

You three friends, you didn’t answer him at all. Why? — because these three friends, they kind of have just a black and white theology. The good, they prosper… and the wicked, they suffer. But let me ask you, is that how the real world works? No. Job says as much at Job 21. Look what Job says. He says:

[Job 21:7, “Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?”]

‘Well, if your theology is correct, why do the wicked live? Why do they reach an old age? Why do they grow mighty in power?’ See, Job is saying what you and I have probably thought. Many people live terribly wicked lives and they never suffer. See, these three friends, their theology, was partly right. It sounds, if you read the book of Proverbs, the three friends sound just like the book of Proverbs. But here’s the problem. The three friends can’t see beyond their system. God can only work within their box, and they’re putting that box over Job and it doesn’t fit. Elihu, he offers a new perspective. Look what he says in chapter 36. He’s talking about God. He’s talking about suffering people. He says:

Job 36:15, ‘God often delivers the afflicted by their affliction. He often opens the ears of the suffering saint by adversity.‘

And if you’ve suffered, you know that’s true, right? You know. C.S. Lewis once said, that:

“God speaks in different volumes, but when we suffer, He shouts.” C.S. Lewis

And if you’ve suffered, you know that’s true. Elihu says, ‘No, no, no, friends. Suffering is not always punishment from God. Get that out of your head. Suffering can actually be instructive.’ Elihu is saying that suffering is sometimes a tool that God uses that’s better than anything else at detaching us from the world and attaching us to Him. And the New Testament says the same. I mean, the book of James says:

James 1:2, “Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

And Jesus said that every branch that bears fruit, every Christian that walks with Jesus, the Father prunes that they might bear more fruit. [John 15] Suffering can be used by God as a tool to make us more like Jesus. But there’s a problem, even with Elihu.

Many, many years ago, I was trying to share the Gospel with one of my coworkers, a dear friend. He’s a great guy, but he had a very clear barrier in his thinking that always got in the way, always kept him just stuck. And it was a real problem. He said, “Colton, when I was a kid, my dad passed away when I was seven…” And he’d always ask me, “Why would God, why would a good God take my dad away from me?” Now in that moment, I could have… all kinds of arguments, I could have brought out the scriptures, brought out all these things, but I think if I would have done that, it would have just pushed him further away. He couldn’t make sense of it. And so what I told him is what sometimes we need to tell the suffering saint… ‘I don’t know.’ It is okay to say that. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know the mind of God.’

Listen, Elihu does offer a new understanding of suffering, but it’s very clear if you read the rest of Job, even Elihu doesn’t understand God, ’cause if you could understand God, He wouldn’t be God, right? The three friends say, ‘Job, you’re suffering because of your sin.’ Elihu says, ‘Job, you’re suffering because it’s discipline, it’s gonna make you better.’ — which could be true.

But you know the only character in Job that doesn’t tell Job why he’s suffering? — God. Think about that. God never tells him. This goes back to Elihu’s main argument. God is greater than man. Listen, God will not be domesticated. We can’t put him in a theological pen. He just rips them to shreds every time.

You remember that couple in our church that was diagnosed with cancer? He was very, very humble, very, very honest with me. And he said, “Colton, when I got the diagnosis at first, it tested my theology. It tested it. And I spent almost every single night asking God, “Why?” But after many tears and deep prayer and pleading with the Lord of glory, I stopped asking “Why?” and I started asking, “What?” What does God want to do for His glory through my suffering?” And then this beloved saint, he gave me a profound quote. He said this, he said, listen:

“Untested theology asks WHY? Tested theology asks ‘WHAT?”

So let me ask you, what question are you asking? WHY? Or WHAT? But there’s one more lesson that Elihu teaches us. And if you walk away with anything today, walk away with this.

Some of you might know the name Elie Wiesel, a pretty famous author, playwright in the last couple years, passed away in 2016. But Elie Wiesel was actually a survivor of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel was literally in Auschwitz, one of the most notorious of all concentration camps. And in 1979, many years after his trial, he wrote a play that was called The Trial of God. And they literally put God on trial in the play. But when people came up to him and asked him about the play, he told them that the play was actually based on something he saw in the camp. And then he recounts a night where three rabbis in the concentration camp at Auschwitz, they got together and this happened. This is just a quote from Wiesel now.

“The trial lasted several nights. Witnesses were heard. Evidence was gathered. Conclusions were drawn, all of which issued finally a unanimous verdict. The Lord, God Almighty, Creator of the Heavens and Earth was found guilty of crimes against creation and humankind. He owed us something for what we’ve been through.” 1979 play – The Trial of God

Now you might balk at that, but very few people have suffered like people in Auschwitz. But let me ask you, have you done that? Have you put God on trial in your heart? — ’cause I think I have. Look at what Job says in chapter 29. He’s reasoning with God. He’s trying to get an answer out of God. But look what he says. He says:

Job 29:12-13

‘God, I delivered the poor who cried for help. the fatherless who had none to help him…

… I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy… I was a father to the needy.’

What’s Job doing? He’s doing what I often do and what you often do. He’s presenting his resume to God and he’s saying, ‘God, you owe me. God, you are obligated to take me out of this suffering because of what I’ve done for You.’

And here, more than anywhere else, is where I think Elihu becomes an unsung hero… Because he’s willing to say something that few are willing to say. In Job, chapter 34, verse 33, he says to Job, he literally says to Job, he says,

Job 34:33, Will God make repayment to suit you?”

And then he says this amazing line in the 13th verse [of Job 34].

Job 34:13, ‘God,’ and he asked the question, “Who gave Him (God) charge over the earth? Who laid on Him (God) the whole world?”

It’s a rhetorical question. No one. The world is His. He designed it. He made it. He sustains it. And then he says this of God.

Job 34:14, “If God should set His heart to it, He could gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together…”

The very same God that allows suffering in our life is the very same God that sustains everything in our life. What’s Elihu saying? What does he remind Job of that all of us need to hear especially in our suffering? God does not owe you anything. Elihu’s words are hard and they’re unpopular, but they’re essential. Because, listen, everything that you have ever enjoyed… your family, your friends, your home, your job, your wife, your children, the very air in your lungs, every single thing in our lives, every good gift is from the Almighty Good Maker, a Maker who you and I constantly forsake, constantly forget about in our sin.

See, Job had remained remarkably faithful his entire life, but when he starts to suffer and he starts to really contemplate it, his response starts leading him down a dangerous path. The three friends, they wrongly say to Job, ‘You’re suffering because of your sin,’ but Elihu, only he has the guts to say something that very few of us will. He says, ‘Job, you are suffering in your sin.’ None of us can put God on trial. God does not owe us anything.

And yet, though He owes us nothing... nothing… in the risen Lord Jesus, He gives us everything, EVERYTHING! Look what Job says in chapter 9. He says… he’s pleading to God again.

Job 9:33, ‘If only there was someone to mediate between us. If only I had someone to speak on my behalf…’

But little does Job know that thousands of years later, there would be a mediator. Paul writes in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5:

1 Timothy 2:5, “There is One Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom… as a ransom... for all.”

I don’t know what you’re struggling with. I don’t, and I know it’s hard. But let me tell you, this life, which is full of suffering, is not all there is. There’s an eternal life coming. Your soul is eternal, but there’s a problem. Your sin separates you from God. Your sin makes it so you can’t be in His presence. And the God who owes you nothing sent the most valuable, the most precious thing He can, even His own Son, the Lord Jesus. That Jesus took on flesh, and He lived a perfect life that none of us have lived. That Jesus was nailed to a piece of wood in our place absorbing the sin that we owe God, and He rose again in victory. And He offers us the free gift of salvation if we just put our faith in Him, if we stop trusting in our works, stop trusting in what we know and just trust Jesus.

This is the great treasure of Elihu, because He reminds you and I that even though God owes us nothing, He gave us the most precious thing that He could ever give… His Son.

Just last week, I visited with a man in our church, 86 years old. He’s a member. And just last week, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And this man’s a jokester. He’s funny. He’s always given me a hard time. And I went in there, I expected a change… no change. He was still joking. He was still laughing… though you could see his bones, though he was just wasting away, yet he had joy and anticipation. Why? — because though everything has been taken from him, in Christ he has enough. Do you? Let’s pray.

Father God in Heaven, Lord, this is a hard mess, a hard word from your servant, Elihu, but a necessary one. Father, I pray that right now wherever we’re sitting, whatever we’re thinking, whatever we brought into this room, Lord, we would consider that though the God of all things, Who owes us nothing, Lord, that we actually deserve punishment. We deserve separation. In love, you gave us Jesus, the One who understands our suffering, the One who entered into it, the One who can deal with it, Lord. So, Father, I pray for the saints in this room, for the Christians. Lord, may we not trust in our experience but Your voice. May we not put You in a box, Lord, but may we just expectantly wait for Your salvation. And I pray for those in this room that don’t know You that are either in suffering or on their way to it. Lord, I pray, God, that they would see that there’s a life coming after death, Lord, that they can have eternal life, and peace, and joy with You in Your Son, Jesus. Would You save, and heal, and open the eyes of the blind today for Your glory, Lord? In Jesus’ name. Amen.