Speaking for God When God is Silent

Well, good morning.

It's good to see all of you this morning.

I feel like I need to introduce myself.

I'm Pastor Andrew, for those of you who don't know me.

It's been a while, and it's really great to be able to have so many gifted men who can carry

the word and deliver it from week to week.

And we are a privileged church to have so many gifted men who can give us.

The final song that we sang, and actually all the songs that we sang this morning really

helped to speak of the theme of this section of Scripture we're going to be covering this morning.

That last song in the final phrase of that song says,

Draw me close and teach me to abide.

Draw me close and teach me to abide.

That's the essence of the message this morning.

That's what we learn this morning from our passages that start in Job chapter 32 and work their way all the way to Job chapter 37.

Job 32 · chapter mention Job 37 · chapter mention

Draw me close.

Teach me to abide.

Of course, that song is drawn out of the Scripture.

John 15 verse 4 says this,

John 15:4

Abide in me.

This is Jesus speaking.

And I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine.

Neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine.

You are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

If you want to have a life that enjoys the product of fruitfulness, it must be attached to the vine.

It's got to draw from the source of truth that comes from God in his word.

And it's so important for us, especially in this day and age, because we live in a society, we live in a culture of influencers, right?

And those of you who are younger would probably, it's kind of the hip term, influencers, right?

And we might talk, the older generation, we might talk about counselors, advisors.

We might talk about those who are providing a level of direction and guidance in life.

But we have got to understand that we're living in a culture right now, and it's always been this way,

but especially in the here and now, where we are bombarded by counselors.

We're bombarded by influencers.

Wherever you go, on the billboards, on the computer screens, on your cell phones,

when you go home, you're listening to the radio, wherever you are, you're bombarded by influencers.

And we are those who influence as well.

Well, you give advice.

You might not call it counsel, but you're going to provide your opinion, whether it's asked for or not.

And we want our voice to be known.

We want our voice to be heard.

We want people to listen up.

We have something to share.

And that's, again, the day and age in which we live.

We have something to give.

We have an opinion to provide.

And we just want people to listen.

We want our voice to be heard.

And so the counsel that we give is never in a vacuum.

It's always conditioned by something.

It's either conditioned by the experiences that we have,

or conditioned by the things that we hear,

or the things that we read,

or the things that we see,

or the latest talk show hosts,

or the latest, the trending life hacks that you might be associated with.

We are influencers because we have been influenced.

Our lives are constantly bombarded by perspectives,

opinions, values, and social norms.

And whether it be Oprah Winfrey,

or Dr. Phil,

or for the older generation, Phil Donahue,

or Barbara Walters,

or Whoopi Goldberg,

whoever it is,

whoever's the talking head,

whoever's sharing their opinion,

whoever you're listening to,

is going to be influencing you in a way to think.

Maybe social media.

Maybe it's Charlie Kirk,

or Ben Shapiro,

or Jordan Peterson.

Whoever it is that you're tuned into

is going to be somebody

who is influencing your perspective,

your values,

your thinking,

guiding your experiences,

and also influencing your perspectives

and your advice to others.

The world is intent on influencing the way you think.

The world wants your mind.

Because if it can get to your mind,

it can get to your heart.

The world wants to have you.

And so,

there could be not a more important topic

than what we're covering this morning.

Because you will be influenced

and are being influenced in some way,

and you are an influencer,

whether you think so or not.

And so,

this is a really important thing

for us to consider

as we look into the Word of God today.

And it begs the question,

how do we tune our ears

to listen to right wisdom?

And how do we tune our lips

to speak the wisdom of God?

How can we be influenced in the right way?

How can we influence others

in the right way?

That's what it boils down to.

That's really what this passage

in Job chapter 32,

Job 32 · chapter mention

moving all the way to Job 37,

is all about.

It's about influence.

How will you influence?

Will you influence in a way

that points to God,

or will you influence in a way

that points to this world,

points to you,

points to your perspectives,

your advice,

your expertise,

whatever it might be.

How does your influence

point to Jesus?

How does your heart

help to draw out

and encourage faith in Him?

Of course,

the psalmist has a lot to say,

and I love the psalms

because it's so much about counsel,

good counsel, right?

And it opens up this way.

It says,

Blessed is the man

who walks not

in the counsel

of the ungodly,

or stands in the path of sinners,

or sits in the seat

of the scornful.

But,

here it is,

his delight

is in the law of the Lord.

In His law,

he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree

planted by rivers of water

that brings forth

its fruit

and its season.

Its leaf

will not wither.

So there's two roads

to choose from.

There's a road

of listening

to the counsel

of this world

to be influenced

by the ungodly,

the sinners,

the scornful,

or

to be influenced

by the great influencer,

by God Himself,

who loves

to steer you

in the right direction,

who has made

His word available,

His truth available

to you.

And as John

referred to

a little earlier,

we are living

in a day and age

where we couldn't ask

for anything more

as it speaks

to revelation,

the revelation of God

in speaking

to all of the things

of this life,

providing direction

for us

in every area of life.

What a blessing

it is.

And how do we access,

how do we access

that knowledge?

How do we allow

God's word

to influence

our hearts

so that we can be

the right kinds

of influencers

to those around us?

Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.

It's a familiar

passage as well.

Trust in the Lord

with all your heart.

Lean not

to your own understanding

in all your ways.

Acknowledge Him

and He shall

direct your paths.

I love the way

the NIV puts it.

He will make

your paths straight.

If you want to have

straight paths,

God delights

in making them straight.

God wants to counsel you.

And God has provided

His counsel,

the best counsel

in His word

for us to access

and through the power

of the Spirit

we can understand it

and apply it.

He not only helps us

understand the truth,

but by God's grace

He gives us the power

to put it to work.

It's amazing.

We are,

of the most people,

most to be

thankful

for what God

has done for us.

So,

the title of this message

and it probably

kind of tips

my hand

as it were

in telling you

kind of where

I land on Elihu,

but what we're

going to see

is Elihu

is a lot like

his friends.

He's going to speak

for God

when God is silent.

And whenever we do that,

whenever we speak

for God

and God is silent,

beware.

It's not only

dangerous,

it's disastrous.

it will lead

to disaster

in your life

and in the lives

of those

you're seeking

to lead.

So,

we're going to pick up

this study

in Job

from chapter 32

and as you can imagine,

we do not have

enough time

probably even

to read it all,

let alone

to talk about it all.

So,

I want to just

hit the high spots.

I want to introduce

to you

who this guy

Elihu is.

I want us

to evaluate

his life

and his counsel

because there's

something for us

to learn here.

That's what

the apostle Paul

says in 2 Timothy 3.16

that all scripture

is given by inspiration

of God.

It is profitable

for doctrine,

reproof,

correction,

instruction,

and righteousness

so the man

and woman of God

might be perfect,

thoroughly equipped

for every good work.

So,

there's something

for us to learn here

but we can't learn it

unless we understand

what's going on

and however we take

Elihu

will kind of

help to steer

the way we see

what's going on

and the things

we take away

from his advice,

his counsel.

So,

we're going to see

the introduction

to Elihu.

That's kind of

our first point

this morning

and we're going to see

that Elihu

was an influencer

and right out of the gate

you're going to notice

that he is an angry

influencer.

Okay?

And you're going to see

this as we read

through Elihu

the angry influencer.

Picking it up

at verse 1.

Notice.

So,

these three men

ceased to answer Job

speaking of Eliphaz,

Bildad,

and Zophar.

And because he was

righteous in his own eyes

speaking of Job

this is when Elihu

begins to speak.

So,

then Elihu

the son of Barakal

the Buzite

of the family of Ram

burned with anger.

he burned with anger

at Job

because he justified

himself rather than God.

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.

Now Job

had waited to speak

excuse me

now Elihu

had waited to speak

to Job

because they were

older than he.

And when Elihu

saw there was

no answer

in the mouth

of these three men

he burned

with anger.

Do you see it?

Anger.

Anger.

Anger.

Anger.

And not just

frustration

but he burned

with anger.

He was seething

with anger.

He just could not

contain himself.

We're going to see

that more as we go.

We don't know

how long

he's been present.

We don't know

how he's related

to Job

or his friends.

We don't know

how much he's heard

about this.

We don't even know

how he got invited

to the party

as it were.

Was he just walking by

he saw Job

and his friends

sitting on the

ash heap

and decided

to join

we don't know

we're not given

that information

but here he is.

Up to this point

he's been quiet.

Up to this point

he's been willing

to listen.

Up to this point

he's shut his mouth.

And now that Job

and his three friends

are silent

Elihu decides

it's now his turn.

Elihu by the way

means

he is my God.

That's telling

of his orientation.

It's telling

of something

about him

and I think

we're going to see

as we work

our way through

that Elihu

really does care

about God.

I believe

that's the case.

In his dad

his father's name

Barakel

means God blesses.

And so

these Hebrew names

point to God

and that's

significant for us.

But

it is important

for us to see

this anger

that's on the surface.

Five times

excuse me

four times

in just

these five

verses

the author

wants to emphasize

he burned

with anger.

And we're left

with this question

and we're not

going to answer

it quite yet.

Is his anger

righteous

or is his anger

carnal?

Is it fleshly?

We'll explore this

as we move along.

But

there's two

aspects

to his anger.

First he's

angry at Job

because Job

has justified

himself

rather than God.

That's in verse 2.

And then in verse 3

he's angry

because Job's

friends can't seem

to put Job

down.

They can't seem

to argue their case.

They can't seem

to convince Job

that he's in the wrong.

Now

on the surface

Elihu

is driven

by the right motive.

I think we can

all agree

that Elihu's

motive

of trying

to justify

God

trying to glorify

God

trying to defend

God's honor

is a correct

and lofty thing.

But we should

be challenged

by the

truth that we learn

from James

the half brother

of Christ

in James 1

19 and 20

when it says

know this my

beloved brothers

let every person

be quick to hear

slow to speak

slow to anger

for

the anger

of man

does not produce

the righteousness

of God.

Just keep that

locked away

keep that in the

back of your minds

understand that

there can be

righteous anger

but there's also

mostly

the kind of anger

that comes

out of us

it's driven

by selfish

motives

it's driven

by fleshly

things

and that anger

does not produce

the righteousness

of God.

So beware

just because he

burned with anger

does not mean

that he is

speaking

for God.

Next

Elihu

was a

wordy

influencer

not just an

angry

influencer

but a

wordy

influencer

and we see

that in a

sampling of

passages

beginning in

chapter 32

verse 6

where it says

this

and Elihu

the son of

Barakal

the Buzite

answered and

said

I am young

in years

and you are

aged

therefore

I was timid

and afraid

to declare

my opinion

to you

I said

let days

speak

and many

years

teach wisdom

and so

while he

waits

and he's

willing to

listen

now he's

hit the

tipping point

now the

others are

quiet

and now

Elihu

is going

to step

in

we see

that in

verse 11

behold I

waited for

your words

I listened

for your

wise sayings

while you

searched

out what

to say

I gave

you my

attention

and behold

there was

none

among you

who refuted

Job

or answered

his words

now jump

down to

verse 18

for I

am full

of words

the spirit

within me

constrains me

behold

my belly

is like

wine

that has

no vent

like new

wineskins

ready to

burst

I must

speak

that I

may find

relief

I must

open my

lips

and answer

you get

the sense

of this

eruption

that's about

to take

place

this explosion

of words

because

Elihu

just

cannot

contain

himself

anymore

and the

anger

that's

burning

within

him

has now

bubbled

to the

surface

and now

it's

explosion

you might

call it

word

vomit

that's

what we

see here

and we

know that

he's

angry

he's

angry

and God

will

burn

with anger

too

we see

that in

Job

Job 42:7

chapter 42

verse 7

but the

anger

that God

will burn

with

we see

this

the Lord

speaks

these words

to Job

the Lord

said to

Eliphaz

the Temanite

my anger

burns

against you

and against

your two

friends

for you

have not

spoken

of me

what is

right

as my

servant

Job

has

so while

there is

this anger

bubbling

and boiling

down inside

of Elihu

it's not

an anger

that we're

going to see

mimics

the same

anger

of the

Lord

at least

in terms

of the

person

or the

direction

he has

one

of the

two

but he

has

Job

also

in his

crosshairs

and God

is not

angry

with Job

so

is his

anger

appropriate

are his

words

appropriate

and from

this point

on

we're

going to

see

we're

going to

only hear

from

two

speakers

there's

no more

dialogue

anymore

it's

only

going to

be a

monologue

that

Elihu

will

speak

for six

consecutive

chapters

he will

not

take

a breath

he'll

speak

2700

words

more than

any of

the other

friends

of Job

and I'm

sure

I'm sorry

I don't

know

my

popping

up here

there we

go

maybe give

it a little

bit more

service loop

that Elihu

will just

start to

spill

these words

and he

won't even

take a

breath

and it's

fascinating

to me

that as

the younger

individual

he will

speak

four

consecutive

speeches

as opposed

to the

three

speeches

of the

others

and he'll

even

speak

more

than

God

God

will

speak

for

four

chapters

about

1900

words

and

Elihu

will

just

go on

this

rampage

for

2700

words

without

interruption

without

inviting

response

he just

keeps

on

speaking

and I

think the

lesson

that we

see

one of

the

minor

lessons

that we

see

is

more

words

does

not

mean

Elihu

is

more

right

more

words

does

not

mean

you're

more

right

matter

of fact

Proverbs

10

19

will

say

this

when

words

are

many

sin

is

not

absent

but

he

who

holds

his

tongue

is

wise

there

is

wisdom

in

restraining

the

number

of

words

and

speaking

in

a way

that

is

concise

and

deliberate

and

Elihu

just

gives

vent

to

his

words

because

of

the

anger

inside

and

we

are

still

at

the

point

of

deciding

whether

or not

Elihu

is

speaking

for

God

and

that

is

one

of

the

fundamental

questions

of our

time

this

morning

does

he

represent

God

faithfully

or

is

he

just

like

Job's

other

misguided

friends

is

he

speaking

for

God

does

he

speak

in

a way

that

not

only

acknowledges

God

but

does

he

speak

in

a way

that

represents

God

faithfully

or

we'd

assume

that

since

God

doesn't

rebuke

Elihu

at the

end

that

Elihu

must

then

be

right

in

God's

eyes

what's

going

on

there

but

let's

just

dive

in

and

try

to

tackle

these

first

couple

of

points

quickly

so

we

can

get

to

the

lesson

in

all

of

this

for

us

does

Elihu

represent

God

faithfully

does

Elihu

represent

God

faithfully

that's

an

important

question

because

fundamentally

the

lessons

that

we're

going

to

learn

from

these

chapters

are

going

to

rise

and

fall

they're

going

to

rest

on

what

we

determine

how

we see

Elihu

and

how

God

sees

Elihu

if

he's

speaking

for

God

then

it's

an

example

we

need

to

follow

if

he's

not

speaking

for

God

then

it's

an

example

for

us

to

resist

right

so

as

you

can

imagine

though

commentators

are really

mixed

on

this

and

that

has

been

some

of

the

biggest

challenge

of

these

chapters

is

who

is

Elihu

is

he

speaking

for

God

and

where

are

we

supposed

he

says

almost

every

commentary

is

skeptical

about

Elihu

critical

of

his

views

his

tone

his

character

such

a

widespread

agreement

among

critics

ought

not

to

be

lightly

jettisoned

and

yet

in

Christopher

Ash's

opinion

and yet

I think

it is

wrong

let us

consider

some

of the

arguments

and he

goes

on

to

share

his

arguments

now

I

don't

know

which

commentators

he's

looking

at

or

reading

from

all

the

commentaries

that I

have

all

the

contemporary

commentators

see

Elihu

in a

positive

light

that

he

is

one

who's

approaching

the

argument

differently

than

Job's

other

friends

that

he

is

one

who's

adding

to

the

conversation

that

he's

one

who's

addressing

Job's

sin

in a

way

that's

appropriate

and

truthfully

I've

gone

back

and

forth

and

I

don't

think

this

is

cut

and

dry

and

I

don't

want

to

provide

a

perspective

that

I've

arrived

but

I

do

want

to

share

some

things

that

at

the

end

of

the

day

I

think

are

convincing

enough

so we

can

understand

where

Elihu

is

coming

from

so

while

this

is

not

a

simple

decision

it

is

an

important

one

and

at

the

end

of

the

day

the

question

that

we

need

to

ask

ourselves

is

does

Elihu

represent

God

faithfully

that's

the

underlying

question

to

commend

about

about

Elihu

we

see

first

of

all

that

he

cares

about

the

honor

of

God

he

cares

about

the

honor

of

God

and

that

by

the

way

is

fundamental

in

representing

God

to

know

who

God

is

and

to

want

to

defend

the

things

that

God

would

defend

and

so

we

saw

right

out

of

the

gate

in

chapter

32

verse

2

that

Job

justified

himself

rather

than

God

and

that's

what

got

Elihu

riled

up

and

that's

an

appropriate

reason

to

speak

that's

an

appropriate

reason

to

be

angry

second

he

claims

to

be

speaking

for

God

not

just

wanting

to

honor

God

but

he

actually

claims

to

be

speaking

for

God

and

we

see

this

in

chapter

32

verses

8

and

9

notice

he

says

it

is

the

spirit

in

man

the

breath

of

the

almighty

that

makes

him

understand

it

is

not

the

old

who

are

wise

nor

the

aged

who

understand

what

is

right

and

to

this

Christopher

Ash

will

say

this

he

says

Elihu

implicitly

claims

divine

inspiration

for

his

words

if

this

is

so

and

then

he

says

I

believe

it

is

then

we

are

faced

with

a

choice

either

Elihu

is

a

false

prophet

or

he

is

a

true

prophet

and

I

agree

we

are

left

with

one

of

two

options

you

are

either

speaking

for

God

or

you

are

not

speaking

for

God

it

can't

be

a

both

and

situation

in

chapter

36

verses

2

and

4

not

only

does

he

claim

inspiration

but

he

claims

perfection

notice

this

in

chapter

36

verse

2

it

says

bear

with

me

a

little

and

I

will

show

you

for

I

have

something

to

say

on

God's

behalf

I

will

get

my

knowledge

from

afar

and

ascribe

righteousness

to

my

maker

for

truly

my

words

are

not

false

one

who

is

perfect

in

knowledge

is

with

you

oh

really

that's

interesting

basically

what

Elihu

is

saying

is

well

God

can't

be

here

but

it's

a

good

thing

I

am

because

I'm

gonna

advocate

for

God

and

I'm

perfect

in

knowledge

and

it's

by

the

way

perfect

in

knowledge

is

the

exact

phrase

that

he

uses

of

God

in

chapter

37

verse

16

do

you

know

the

balancings

of

the

clouds

the

wondrous

works

of

him

who

is

perfect

in

knowledge

yeah

God

is

perfect

in

knowledge

but

buddy

I

am

too

so

here

we

go

I'm

gonna

share

with

you

what

God

has

in

mind

and

by

the

way

if

he

was

or

if

he

is

speaking

for

God

then

he

needs

to

have

that

kind

of

perfection

but

nowhere

in

the

book

do

we

find

Elihu

saying

thus

says

the

Lord

and

as

we're

gonna

keep

making

our

way

through

there

actually

he

says

I'm

gonna

share

with

you

my

own

opinion

so

this

provides

a

standard

for

us

does

he

truly

speak

for

God

or

does

he

not

speak

!

God

and

that's

important

he

wants

to

honor

God

he

claims

to

speak

for

God

he

seeks

to

uphold

the

honor

of

God

the

character

of

God

and

that's

seen