Wisdom for the Waiting

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

Then Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite of the family of Ram, burned with anger.

He burned with anger at Job because he justifies 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 Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

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

And Elihu, the son of Barachel 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.

But now hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words.

You say, I am pure without transgression.

I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.

Behold, he finds occasions against me.

He counts me as his enemy.

He puts my feet in the stalks and watches all my paths.

Behold, in this you are not right.

I will answer you, for God is greater than men.

Why do you contend against him, saying,

He will answer none of man's words?

For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.

Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times with a man,

to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life.

Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God that he should do wickedness,

and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

For according to the work of a man, he will repay him,

and according to his ways, he will make it befall him.

Of a truth God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

Shall one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

who saith to a king, worthless one, and to nobles, wicked men,

who shows no partiality to princes,

nor regards the rich more than the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands?

When he is quiet, who can condemn?

When he hides his face, who can behold him,

whether it be a nation or a man?

For has anyone said to God,

I have borne punishment, I will not offend anymore.

Teach me what I do not see.

If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more.

Will he then make repayment to suit you because you rejected?

And Elihu answered and said,

Do you think this to be just?

Do you say,

It is my right before God that you ask,

What advantage have I?

How am I better off than if I had sinned?

Surely God does not hear an empty cry,

nor does the Almighty regard it.

How much less when you say that you do not see him,

that the case is before him,

and you are waiting for him.

And now, because his anger does not punish,

and he does not take much note of transgression,

Job opens his mouth in empty talk.

He multiplies words without knowledge.

God thunders wondrously with his voice.

He does great things that we cannot comprehend,

whether for correction or for his land,

or for love.

He causes it to happen.

Hear this, O Job.

Stop and consider the wondrous works of God.

Out of the north comes golden splendor.

God is clothed with awesome majesty.

The Almighty, we cannot find him.

He is great in power.

Justice and abundant righteousness,

he will not violate.

Therefore, men fear him.

He does not regard any who are wise

in their own conceit.

This is the word of God.

Let's try this and see if this works.

Thank you, Anastasia.

That was a long and difficult reading,

and if you feel like I don't have a clue

what is going on, that's okay.

A couple of reasons for that.

One, Job is a difficult book

to understand and comprehend.

The second reason is

these chapters are very difficult,

and so on Wednesday,

when I needed to give the scripture reading

to the office to print the bulletins,

I was still trying to work out

what on earth was going on,

and so there's a whole lot there,

and subsequently,

between Wednesday and Saturday,

I found out a whole lot more,

and so that was a long, difficult passage.

Anastasia, thanks for reading it for us.

Guys, let's see if we can make sense of this,

but maybe before we do that,

why don't you join me in prayer?

Let's pray together,

and just ask God to speak to us.

So, Heavenly Fathers,

we come before you this morning.

We pray that you will speak to us.

We pray, God,

that we will understand more of who you are.

We will see you, behold you,

and it will result in us adoring you.

Jesus, come and have your way, I pray,

in your powerful name.

Amen.

Friends, let me start asking you a question.

Have you ever suffered terribly?

Maybe lost a loved one?

Been unfairly treated at work?

Been the victim of some traumatic experience?

And when you went through that,

where was God?

How did God speak to you at that time?

Was He silent?

Did He explain Himself?

Did He answer your questions

or explain His actions?

Did He help you to see the bigger picture

of what He's doing?

Friends, have you ever found yourself

in a place of desperation,

only to feel like,

not only has God removed His hand from you,

but He's turned His face away

and is now silent?

I ask you these questions

because that's the place

that Job finds himself once again.

And if you're new to church

or new to Watermark,

we're working through this

very difficult book of the Old Testament

called Job.

For seven weeks,

we're in week five,

I think it is,

and so we're almost coming to the end.

It's an exceedingly different book,

a difficult book of the Bible.

And in it,

this righteous and good man

called Job,

He's described as God-fearing

and righteous man,

blameless in all His conduct.

He suffers terribly.

In one day,

everything that He has

is taken from Him.

His possessions,

His wealth,

His status in the community,

but most painfully,

even His children,

in one day,

everything is taken away from Him.

And to make matters even worse,

He is inflicted

with a terrible skin disease,

and He is really brought

to the end of Himself.

And Job doesn't know

why any of this is happening.

We know,

the Bible tells us,

but Job doesn't know.

It's because God and Satan

have had a conversation.

And God has allowed Satan

to do this to Him.

And Job then gets

these three lousy friends

that come to Him.

They come to comfort and console Him,

but they do the very opposite.

They don't comfort Him,

they just condemn Him.

And they say to Him,

Job,

this is divine retribution.

We know that you seem

to be an honest,

a good man,

but there must be

some wickedness

that you've done.

God is punishing you

for something

that you've done wrong.

And Job goes back

and says,

it's not true.

I haven't done anything.

And so for 24 long chapters,

there's this back and forth

between Job and his friends.

They say,

you're guilty.

He says,

I'm not.

And they debate Job's goodness

versus God's goodness,

Job's righteousness

versus God's justice.

And Job's friends say,

God is just.

You must be a wicked sinner.

And Job says,

I'm innocent of what you say.

God is the one

who's being unjust.

And then finally,

in chapters 29 to 30,

Job gives his final speech

and he pours out his heart to God.

And he says,

I haven't done anything wrong.

I'm not perfect,

but I haven't defrauded anyone.

I haven't cheated on my wife.

I haven't stolen anything.

I haven't treated the poor unfairly.

I haven't worshipped a foreign God.

And then ultimately he says,

all I want is the friendship of God.

He says,

oh,

that I were as the days of old

when the friendship of the Lord

was upon my tent.

Oh,

that God would hear me

and answer me.

And so he pours out his heart

and he lifts his eyes to heaven

and he says,

God,

what are you going to say?

God,

are you going to answer me?

Or are you just going to stay silent?

Friends,

have you ever felt like that?

Well,

what happens next in the book of Job

is that God doesn't answer him.

Not immediately.

He sends a messenger

and he sends a rather difficult messenger

because he sends a rather brash,

self-confident young man

called Elihu.

And that's what Anastasia read to us this morning.

In many ways,

it's disappointing.

Job pours out his heart

and he says,

God,

where are you?

What are you going to say?

And God,

rather than answering him,

sends him Elihu.

Friends,

I wonder if you can relate to that.

Have you ever felt desperate for God?

Desperate for a sign from above?

God,

are you hearing my cries?

Are you paying attention to me?

And all God does is

give you a Bible.

Or maybe an awkward CG member.

Or a difficult church member.

Or maybe a brash pastor.

The kind of person you don't want to speak to

at that point of time.

Can you relate to that?

Well, that's what Job gets here.

And so having called upon God,

God instead sends him Elihu.

And so look at what happens in chapter 32.

If you've got your bulletin,

you're going to need to follow on.

And maybe if you've got a Bible,

open up.

We're going to be jumping around quite a bit.

But it says,

Elihu,

the son of this guy,

he burned with anger.

He burned with anger at Job

because Job justified himself

rather than God.

He burned with anger also

at Job's three friends

because they found no answer,

although they declared Job

to be in the wrong.

Now Elihu waited to speak to Job

because they were all older than him.

And so he says,

I am young and you are aged.

Therefore,

I was timid and afraid.

You see,

he's a good Asian, right?

He lets the older people speak first

and he knows his place.

He says,

I was a timid and afraid

to declare my opinion,

but now hear my speech,

oh Job.

Listen to my words.

And so this is Elihu

and he comes to speak

and he has a message for Job.

Now commentators,

scholars go back and forth

whether Elihu is somebody

that we should pay attention to

and listen to

or whether he's just like

the other friends

and we should write him off.

And I went back and forth

on this this week.

At the beginning of the week,

I thought,

no, Elihu,

he's just like the other guys.

He's got nothing good to say.

But as I studied it,

actually,

I thought,

no,

actually,

Elihu's got a lot to say

and maybe we should listen to him.

And so this is what Elihu says.

Essentially,

he answers Job

by challenging Job's thinking

about God

and challenging Job's hard attitude

towards God.

Okay?

So Job says this,

God is silent.

He doesn't answer me.

And Elihu says,

no,

God's speaking in a thousand ways,

but your hard heart

is making you deaf

to his voice.

Okay?

Job says,

God is unjust.

He allows bad things

to happen to good people.

And Elihu says,

no,

God is not unjust,

but his justice

doesn't operate

in the timing

or the manner

that you want.

And Job shakes his fist

at the heavens

and he says,

what's the point

in being good

when God abandons me anyway?

And Elihu says,

God doesn't answer

those who demand

an answer from God

or try and manipulate him

with their good behavior.

He answers those

who come to him

humbly

in humility.

And the point

of Elihu's speech

is this,

Job,

it's true that maybe

your suffering

is not a direct result

of some sin

that you did

in your life.

That's what Job's

friends are saying.

But are you possibly

sinning now

in the way

that you are

handling your suffering?

That's the point.

That's why

the narrators

left these speeches

in here.

Rather than just

jumping from Job

to 38

where God speaks,

Elihu is saying,

Job,

you may not have sinned

in a way

that causes your suffering,

but are you sinning

in the way

you're handling

your suffering?

So,

Huell Jones,

the commentator,

says,

Job's friends

said that Job

was suffering

because he had sinned,

they were wrong.

Elihu challenges Job

whether he has sinned

in the way

he's handling

his suffering.

And that's the reason

why these chapters

are in here.

In other words,

here's the question

that these chapters

want to ask of us,

and this is a profound question.

Do you know

how to suffer

wisely and well?

If you live long enough,

friends,

you will suffer.

Hardship will come

to all of us.

It's just a matter

of a question

of timing.

But do you know

how to suffer well?

Do you know

how to suffer wisely?

You see,

the friends,

they come,

and ultimately

they're rebuked by God,

but they have this

very simplistic

understanding of the world.

They say,

Job,

you're going through

a hard time,

you must have done

something wrong,

right?

It's very karmic.

Very karmic,

not very Christian.

And there's this

back and forth,

and Job says,

no, I haven't,

and they said,

yes, you have,

et cetera, et cetera.

But Elihu comes along

and says,

Job,

even though you may

not have done anything

to deserve the suffering

in the first place,

how are you handling

your suffering?

In other words,

is your suffering

making you hard

and angry

and bitter

and resentful,

or is it making you

humble,

gentle,

and wise?

As Henry said

to me earlier,

is suffering

making you bitter,

or is it going

to make you

a better person?

And that's the question

that these chapters

are asking us.

As a result of our suffering,

are we hard

and angry

and bitter,

or are we gentle,

wise,

and humble?

Now,

David Paulson

and Timothy Lane

wrote a book

many years ago

called How People Change.

And one of the premises

of their book

is that one of the main ways

that God uses,

or methods that God uses

to grow us

and change us as people

is to bring hardship

and suffering

into our life.

What David Paulson

calls the heat.

Okay?

So God turns up

the heat in our lives,

and it's uncomfortable

and it's difficult,

and God uses that

to grow us

and mature us.

But the key question

is this,

when the heat

comes your way,

who is God

to you

in that point of time?

Who is God

and how do you

turn to God?

In other words,

let me give you an example.

Let's say

your marriage

is really difficult.

Marriage is hard.

And you're feeling

the heat at home.

Well,

who is God

to you

at that point of time?

Well,

one of the things

that the Bible says

is that God

is the one

who teaches us

how to lovingly

and sacrificially

lay down our lives

for our spouses

and to treasure them

and cherish them.

Not serve ourselves,

but to serve them.

We see that example

in Christ.

Well,

let's say maybe

money is really tight.

And so life is difficult

because you've got to

watch every cent.

Well,

who is God?

God is a provider.

He's promised

to take care of you.

In other words,

is that hardship

going to make you bitter

and angry and hard?

Or are you going to come

and see who God is

and relate to God

on the basis of that

and let that change you

and soften your hearts

that you become wise

and gentle

and humble?

Well,

friends,

in this passage,

Elihu

wants to show Job

who God is

and by doing so

bring Job

back from the brink

of bitterness

and resentment

and hardship

and bring him

to a place

of humility.

And he wants Job

to repent,

but more than that,

he wants to build

faith in Job

so that Job

trusts God

and relies on him.

Okay,

does that make sense?

Do you follow the logic?

What's happening?

Yes,

okay.

Okay,

do you follow the logic?

Okay,

okay,

let's see if we can

do this.

So,

who is God?

That's the question

that Elihu's asking.

Job,

you say that God

has abandoned you,

you say he's unjust,

he's silent,

he's wrong,

he's unfair,

who is he?

Well,

Elihu's going to give us

three things

about who God is

and the first thing

he says is this,

God is the God

who is not silent.

He is not silent.

Chapter 33,

verse 13,

Elihu says,

why do you contend

against him,

Job,

saying,

he answers none

of my words.

Okay,

so that's been

Job's complaint.

All this time,

Job has been

complaining.

God is silent to me.

Chapter 13,

I would speak

to the Almighty.

I want to argue

my case against him,

but he's walked

out the room.

God is nowhere

to be found.

Or chapter 31,

oh,

that I had want

to hear me,

but when I call

out to God,

he just turns

his back on me.

God is silent.

And Elihu says,

that's not true.

Look at what he says,

verse 13,

why do you contend

against him?

Saying,

he answers none

of man's words.

For God speaks

in one way,

in two,

though man does

not understand it.

Behold,

God does all

these things,

twice,

three times

with a man,

to bring back

his soul

from the pit,

that he may be

lighted with

the light of life.

Elihu says,

God is not silent,

but just because

you don't understand

what he's doing,

or don't see

what he's doing,

doesn't mean

that God

has abandoned you.

friends,

throughout scripture,

one of the things

that God says,

one of the things

that differentiates

the one true God

from false gods

and idols,

is that God

is a God

who speaks.

So Psalm 115

says,

the idols of the nations

around us,

their gods are

the work of human hands.

They have eyes,

but they do not see,

ears,

but they do not hear,

mouths,

but they cannot speak,

and they make no sound

in their throat.

The idols that we trust in,

they promise so much,

but they can't hear

our prayers,

and ultimately,

they cannot promise us

anything.

But God,

the one true God

is God who speaks,

and Elihu reminds us,

he speaks in a thousand ways,

but sometimes,

we can't perceive

his voice.

Sometimes,

God speaks through

his written word,

probably the most

comprehensive way

that he speaks.

God speaks through

his spirit in our hearts.

God speaks through

creation.

But here,

Elihu says,

sometimes God speaks

through visions

and dreams of the night.

I don't know if you've

ever had this.

I haven't had it very often,

but I have had it

from time to time.

There have been times

when I've had a dream

in the night

that's been so vivid,

so crystal clear,

I woke up in the morning

and I knew exactly

what it meant

and what God was trying

to say to me.

I'll tell you one

such instance.

I was 20 years old,

a university student

in Cape Town,

South Africa,

studying politics

and economics,

and I can still

picture it absolutely

to this day,

almost 20 years ago.

I was studying

politics and economics

in South Africa.

I had a dream one night

and in my dream,

I was in a train

railway carriage

and the carriage

was full of Chinese people

that were locked up

and imprisoned

unfairly and unjustly.

And in this dream,

somehow I had a role

to freeing these people

and letting them out

of this carriageway.

And when I woke up,

I knew absolutely

that one day

I was going to be a pastor

in Asia

to a city full

of Chinese people.

I just knew absolutely

with clarity

that that's what God

was saying.

That's what Job says.

Sometimes God,

he speaks in a thousand

different ways

and sometimes we don't

perceive them

and understand them.

Look at what Elihu

says here.

God speaks through

our guilty conscience.

Verse 16,

One of the roles

of God's Spirit

is to bring conviction

of sin,

to make us aware

of the fact

that we're on

the wrong path.

One of the ways

that God helps us

to see our own hearts.

Now one of the challenges

with this

is that we live

in a culture

that tells us

that no one can question

your version of truth

and that what feels good

must be good, right?

And so what that means

is we live in a day and age

where we suppress

our conscience

because our conscience

often tells us

this is not a good path

and yet our culture

tells us

if it feels good

it must be good.

Who's your conscience

to tell you not to do it?

No, no,

what's good for you

must be right and true.

But here our conscience

is one of the ways

that God speaks to us.

God opens the ears of men.

He warns us

by speaking to us.

Elihu says

sometimes God speaks to us

in our pain.

Verse 19

Man is rebuked

with pain on his bed

with continual strife

in his bones.

Elihu says

sometimes God allows

difficulty and hardship

to come to us

not as punishment

but as waking

as a warning

to wake us up.

God speaks in our pain

and there's a

very famous quote

by C.S. Lewis

you might know it.

Listen to what he says.

He says

I hope you can see this

The human spirit

will not even begin

to try to surrender

self-will

as long as all

seems to be well.

Error and sin

both have this

deceptive property

that the deeper

they are

the less we suspect

their existence.

They are a masked evil

but pain

is an unmasked evil

unmistakable evil.

We can rest contentedly

in our sins

but pain insists

on being attended to.

God whispers to us

in our pleasures

speaks to our consciences

but he shouts

in our pains.

It is his megaphone

to arouse

a deaf world.

And Job is struggling

because not only

is he suffering

but in his pain

he has become deaf

to God's voice.

He's unable

to hear God

speaking to him

unable to sense

God's leading

and so now he feels

the double agony

of suffering

and that God

has turned his face

away from him.

But Elihu's point is

God is not silence.

Our God is a God

who speaks

and he may not speak

in the way that you

want to hear him

or you think he ought

to speak

but God is speaking.

He has not left you.

Friends,

the most powerful way

that God spoke to us

about his commitment

and his love

is actually through

the silence of Jesus.

As Jesus was silent

before Pontius Pilate,

as Jesus was silent

before Caiaphas,

as Jesus was silently

led like a lamb

to the slaughter,

as Jesus silently

hung on the cross.

In the silence of Jesus,

God was speaking

powerfully and profoundly

of his commitment

and his love.

That though you and I

are sinners,

God has not abandoned us

and he has not

turned his face away.

Friends,

when life is hard

and it may be hard

for you this week,

when suffering

comes your way,

when you lose your job,

when a relationship

comes to an end,

when a loved one

passes away,

when a child

is diagnosed

with a rare disease,

when the doctor

phones you

and says,

the report says cancer.

Friends,

when you suffer

a miscarriage,

how are you going

to respond?

Elihu reminds us

that God is not silent

even in our pain

and sometimes

the pain

and the anger

and the disappointment

can crowd out

God's voice

and yet his voice

is the one thing

we need.

God is not silent.

Secondly,

Elihu reminds us

that God is not unjust.

Now,

in chapter 34,

Elihu addresses

Job's biggest concern

and that is that

God is simply unjust.

Job has been a God-fearing

and a blameless man.

He has loved God

and loved people

and where has it gotten him?

At a ruin.

Sorrow.

Anguish

of the severest kind.

He's lost everything

that was precious

and valuable to him.

It's been taken away

and this leaves Job

with one conclusion.

God is unjust

and not trustworthy.

The one thing Job concludes

is whoever God is

or whatever he's up to,

he's certainly not trustworthy,

not good.

And so look at how Job says this.

Earlier on,

he says,

chapter 27,

God has taken away my rights.

The Almighty has made me

bitter in soul.

Chapter 9,

Though I am in the right,

I cannot answer him.

He crushes me with a tempest.

He multiplies my wounds

without cause.

To God,

it's all the same.

He destroys both the blameless

and the wicked.

He mocks the calamity

of the innocent.

The earth is given

into the hands of the wicked

and God,

he covers the faces

of the judges.

It's a common feeling, right?

I wonder if you felt like this.

How can God allow suffering

and hardship

to come our way?

If God is good,

if God is powerful,

why does he allow evil

to happen in our world?

Why does he allow difficulty

to come our way?

Sometimes it seems

that God allows disaster

to mock the misfortune

of the innocent,

that the earth is given

into the hands of the wicked.

And Job considers that

maybe God is blind

to what's really going on.

And maybe God just can't see.

Or maybe God is influenced

by the rich and the powerful

and so he's turned a blind eye

to the poor

and the suffering.

Or maybe,

thinks Job,

God has struck a deal

with the wicked.

That he said,

listen,

if you don't cause

too much trouble for me,

I won't cause

too much trouble for you.

But look at what Elihu says.

God will not do wickedly.

The Almighty

will not pervert justice.

And then he gives

a profound argument.

He says,

who gave God charge

over the earth?

Who laid on him

the whole world?

Now,

Elihu's argument is this.

He says,

the reason you can trust God

is because God

is God.

Now,

that sounds circular.

Okay?

But listen to his argument here.

In other words,

Elihu's saying,

God's authority

of running the world

was not delegated

to him

by some higher deity.

So,

it's not that,

you know,

there's all these deities

in the sky

and the supreme deity

is dishing out

job descriptions.

And he says,

who's going to take

planet earth this month

or this millennium?

And all the gods

come say,

no,

not me.

And he says,

okay,

Yahweh,

it's your turn

to take planet earth

this millennium.

And God says,

really?

I had planet earth

last millennium.

Do I have to get them again?

Okay,

fine,

I'll take planet earth.

And he says,

if that were the case,

we can imagine

that God grumbling,

selfishly,

unjustly,

deals with us

as we don't deserve,

right?

Kind of like

some middle manager

in the company

that's given a portfolio

they don't really care about

and all they care about

is their career

and so they don't care

about treating

the people underneath

them fairly or justly.

All they're thinking about

is their own interests.

And I says,

but that's not God.

God is the designer

and the architect

and the creator

of the world.

This world is his world.

He is the supreme being.

And he's not looking

after the world

begrudgingly

because somebody

gave him this portfolio

that he doesn't want.

This is his delight,

his creation.

He loves it.

And the fact, Job,

that you long for justice

is proof

that this God

has put justice

into the heart

of creation.

The fact that you want justice

is because God is just

and this is how he has

organized the world.

God is the one true God,

the supreme architect

and governor

and owner of the world

and his world,

he loves it.

And so look at what he says.

God is just

because it's the way

he has designed our world.

Furthermore,

he says,

Job,

you've misunderstood

God completely.

He shows no partiality.

God isn't influenced

by the powerful

and the rich.

Me,

immortals,

we're persuaded.

We influence

some powerful person

comes in

and we all say,

yes,

okay,

yes,

sir,

I'll do what you want.

But some other person

comes in

and we turn our back

at them.

But God is not like that.

Look at verse 18.

God says to the kings,

worthless one,

to a noble or a prince,

wicked man,

he shows no partiality

to princes.

He regards the rich

no more than the poor

for they are all

the work of his hands.

God is not partial

towards the rich

and the powerful

like you suppose.

Job says,

well,

maybe God,

you know,

maybe he doesn't know

all that much stuff.

Maybe he's busy

investigating my case.

So he's like a detective

in the police force

and there's some crime

and he takes a year

or two years

or three years

to kind of find out

what's going on

and Elie says,

no,

his eyes are on

all the ways of man.

He sees everything.

There is no gloom

or darkness

where evil deers

may hide.

God has no need

to consider a man further.

God knows everything

that's going on.

You see what Elie is saying?

He's saying,

God is just.

There is no darkness

that hides things from God.

He is not in the dark

wondering about

what's going on.

Maybe there's a court case

and some piece of evidence

is buried or hidden

or the defense lawyers

do a great job

of keeping it out of

not admissible into court.

But God says,

Elie says,

everything is before God.

He sees it.

But his final point here

is when bad things happen

and the righteous suffer

and we cannot tell

what God is doing,

that's not because

God is doing nothing.

In other words,

God's apparent inaction

does not contradict

his justice.

God's slowness of act

as we would like it

does not mean

he is unable to act

or unwilling to act.

It simply means

that his justice

doesn't run

on our time scale.

Friends,

have you ever felt

that God is doing nothing?

Maybe God's justice

doesn't run

on our time scale.

And so in the final summation,

Elihu reminds Job

that he is not God.

There is a God

who is omniscient

and sovereign

and on the throne

and that throne

is not occupied

by you, Job.

It's occupied

by God.

Friends,

what about you?

How are you going to respond

when things go,

don't go your way

this week?

When injustice

and unfairness

come your way?

Will you throw

your hands in the air?

Will you shake

your fist at God?

Will you tell him

that he doesn't know

how to run the world?

Elihu calls Job

and indeed calls us

to the most counter-cultural

and the most counter-intrutive

thing in the world.

Rather than pacifying Job

and patting him on the back

and says,

oh shame Job,

I'm so sorry for you.

I understand

how it must feel.

Rather than coddling Job

in his self-pity,

he calls Job

to repent

and he says,

Job,

you are not God.

You are not God.

There is a God in heaven

and it is not you

and maybe

you should trust him.

Now friends,

why do we find this so hard?

Maybe you're here this morning

and you find this offensive.

You find,

you say,

Kevin,

you're just like Elihu.

You're this brash young man

and you've got no compassion

in your heart.

Okay,

maybe that's true.

But still,

why do we find this so hard?

Why is Elihu's word so hard?

Well,

let me give us a couple of reasons.

Firstly,

I think self-justification

runs really deep

in the human heart.

Remember his words

at the beginning of chapter 32.

It says,

Elihu burnt with anger

at Job

because he justified himself.

Self-justification

runs very deep.

I find it in my own life.

Secondly,

as I mentioned earlier,

we are increasingly told

that no one can disagree

with your version

of the truth,

right?

And so,

who is Elihu?

In fact,

who is God for that matter

to tell Job

that he's wrong?

I mean,

if Job feels right,

it must be right.

And don't we feel the same?

Who is God

to call me

to repentance?

But then thirdly,

as I said,

we live in a time

in which

what feels to be true

is often deemed

or given more significance

than what may

actually be true.

And so,

we live in a time

that what feels

to be your truth

must be true.

And therefore,

if I feel God

is unjust or wrong,

that I'm right

and justified

to think like this,

then we live in a culture

that says

that must be the case.

But friends,

you see,

that's why we need

Elihu.

That's why we need

the Bible.

That's why we need

a church community

that can sometimes

tell us

what we feel

to be true

is not always

the whole truth.

That there is a God

and we can trust Him.

Friends,

God is God

and He is good.

God is God

and He is just.

God is God

and He is trustworthy.

And even when we

can't see and understand it,

He is still good.

Friends,

the only time

in the history of the world

when God really was unjust

was when He allowed

the perfect,

innocent Son of God,

Jesus Christ Himself,

the innocent man

to take upon Himself

the sins of the world

so that we who

really are guilty

can go free.

Friends,

when life looks unfair

and seems unjust,

God has not forgotten

or abandoned you.

Look to Jesus

and see what He did

and what He went through.

And so,

Elihu says,

God is not silent.

Secondly,

He is not just.

Thirdly and finally,

this will be quick,

God is not small.

Now,

it's a bit hard

to summarize

the last three chapters

very quickly,

but I encourage you

to read them.

Chapters 36 and 37,

Elihu essentially

comes to Job

and He says,

Job,

your view of God

is way too small.

And look at what He says here.

In verse 35,

chapter 35,

verse 9,

Elihu says this,

because of the multitude

of the oppressions

of people,

people cry out.

They call out for help

because of the arm

of the Almighty

that is against them.

But none says,

where is my God,

my Maker?

In other words,

Elihu says,

people often

when they come

to hardship,

they call out to God

like superstitious people

call out to their charms.

They say,

God,

I don't know who you are,

but you must be good.

You must be powerful.

Come and deliver me.

But they don't call out

in faith.

They say,

they cry out to God,

but none says,

oh my God,

my Maker,

the one that I've trusted.

Oh Lord,

I need you.

They cry out in anguish,

they cry out in pain,

but they do not cry out

in faith.

And so what does God think

of these empty cries

into the heavens?

Verse 12,

they cry out,

but he does not answer them

because of the pride

of evil men.

Surely God does not hear

an empty or deceitful cry.

The Almighty does not regard it.

In the rest of chapter 36 and 37,

Elihu reminds Job

that God is both great

and majestic

and all-knowing

and all-powerful,

but he's also gracious

and merciful.

And utterly fair

and kind.

Look at verse 5.

He says,

behold,

God is mighty,

he does not despise any.

He is mighty in strength,

but also mighty in understanding.

And so Job,

beware lest wrath

entice you into scoffing.

Don't become arrogant

and conceited

in your pain.

Verse 21,

take care, Job,

not to turn to iniquity.

Job,

don't let your suffering

lead you into sin.

Finally,

at the end,

Elihu says,

behold,

God is exalted in power.

Who will be his teacher?

Who has prescribed

his way away for him?

Or who can say to him,

you have done wrong?

Elihu says,

Job,

your view of God

is way too small

and you don't know

who he is.

And so Elihu

brings imagery

after imagery.

He says,

Job,

consider the weather.

How is snow created?

How are the weather patterns

formed?

Do you know?

Will you teach God?

Will you teach God

when it should rain

and when it should not?

Job,

you are not God.

Let God be God.

And so friends,

have you ever suffered terribly?

Have you ever lost

a loved one,

been unfairly treated,

been the victim

of some traumatic experience?

And where was God

in all of that?

Was he silent?

Did he allow the unjust

to get away with it?

Did he explain himself to you

or answer your questions?

Friends,

if you haven't experienced

suffering or a hardship yet,

it's unlikely that you won't.

There will come a time

when you experience it.

And when such tragedy

comes your way,

how will you respond?

Will you grow bitter

and angry

and hard?

Will you grow resentful

towards God?

Or will you become

withdrawn and isolated,

away from community,

will you withdraw

into yourself?

Will you become

conceited and angry

to those that are

enjoying life

and enjoying

the blessings of God?

Or friends,

will you allow,

will you open yourself

up to God?

Will you cry out to him

not in superstition

but in faith?

Will you trust him?

Will you allow

the suffering

and the sorrow

to soften you,

to humble you,

to make you a wiser,

more gentle person,

more full of faith?

Friends,

you can only do that

if you know

who God is.

He is not silent.

He is not unjust.

He is not small

and he does not respond

to manipulation.

He is the sovereign God

of all,

mighty and majestic,

but merciful

and gracious

and kind.

Let's come to him

now in prayer.

Let's pray together.

Father God,

this passage

is so challenging.

It's so provocative

and God,

it's somewhat easy

to maybe sit

through a sermon,

put up with me

for 35 minutes,

but God,

to actually live this

in the day-to-day

experience of life

on a Tuesday afternoon,

on a Wednesday morning,

on a Thursday night,

God,

when children are sick,

when marriage is hard,

when money is tight,

when things go wrong

at work,

God,

it's hard.

Won't you help us

in those times

to turn to you?

Won't you help us

to trust you?

Won't you help us

to love you?

God,

I pray,

won't you give us faith

to do that this week,

I pray,

in your good

and gracious name.