Commentary - Job 36:1-4

Bird's-eye view

In these opening verses of his final discourse, Elihu steps onto the stage to deliver his summation. The debate between Job and his three friends has ground to a halt, ending in a stalemate of mutual incomprehension. The friends have run out of arguments, and Job has exhausted his complaints. Into this silence steps a younger man, Elihu, who has been listening with a growing sense of frustration. He is vexed with Job for justifying himself rather than God, and he is equally vexed with the three friends for failing to refute Job, thereby leaving God's reputation besmirched. This introduction to his speech is therefore a demand for attention, a claim to divine insight, and a declaration of his ultimate purpose: to vindicate the righteousness of God. Elihu presents himself as God's defense attorney, promising to deliver a final, unanswerable word on the matter. While his zeal is commendable, his self-assurance borders on the audacious, and we are meant to see in him the final and best attempt of human wisdom to solve the problem of suffering before God Himself appears to show how inadequate all human wisdom truly is.

The core of this prologue is Elihu's claim to speak on God's behalf. He asserts that his knowledge is both comprehensive ("from afar") and pure ("not a lie"), and that he himself is "perfect in knowledge." This is a bold claim, and it sets the stage for a discourse that, while containing much truth, ultimately falls short. Elihu's speeches are a significant step up from the rigid, cause-and-effect theology of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. He introduces the concept of God's discipline as corrective and instructive, not merely punitive. Nevertheless, he is still a man attempting to unscrew the inscrutable. His words serve as a necessary prelude to the whirlwind, clearing away the last of the human arguments to make way for the divine revelation.

Outline

Context In Job

Elihu's speech begins in chapter 32 and runs through chapter 37, forming the bridge between the dialogues of Job and his three friends and the arrival of God in the whirlwind. The three cycles of debate have failed. The friends insisted that Job's immense suffering must be the result of some immense, hidden sin. Job, knowing his own integrity, has vehemently denied this, but in his desperation has come perilously close to accusing God of injustice. The argument is stuck. Elihu, whose name means "My God is He," enters as a new voice. He is not part of the original trio and is identified as a Buzite, a descendant of Nahor, Abraham's brother. He has waited to speak out of respect for his elders, but can no longer contain himself. His speeches are different; they are longer, more monological, and they introduce new theological arguments. He is not explicitly condemned by God at the end of the book along with the other three, suggesting his words occupy a different category. They are the high-water mark of human reasoning in the book, preparing the way for a wisdom that is not of man at all.

Key Issues

The Best Man Can Do

Before God speaks, He allows the very best of human wisdom to have its say. Elihu is not a buffoon like the other three counselors. They were woodenly right, which is to say, functionally wrong. They took a true principle, that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked, and applied it with all the finesse of a blacksmith performing brain surgery. They saw suffering and deduced a specific sin, affirming the consequent. Elihu is more sophisticated. He sees that suffering can be pedagogical, a form of loving discipline from a wise Father. This is a profound insight and a necessary corrective.

And yet, Elihu is still a man under the sun. He is still trying to explain God, to fit the Almighty into a neat theological system that makes sense to human reason. His introduction in these first four verses is dripping with the confidence of a young man who believes he has figured it all out. He is about to speak "in God's behalf," to "ascribe righteousness to my Maker." His intention is noble, but his self-presentation is a warning. The claim to be "perfect in knowledge" is something no finite creature can make. He is the best that man can offer, but the book of Job is designed to show us that the best man can offer is not nearly enough when confronted with the majesty of God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then Elihu continued and said,

The dialogue has been broken. Job has had his final say, and his friends are silenced. The phrase "Elihu continued" links this speech to his introductory remarks in the previous chapters. He is not starting a new conversation but rather bringing the existing one to what he believes will be its proper and final conclusion. He is taking the floor, uninvited by the others, but compelled by his own spirit and, as he would have it, by the truth itself.

2 “Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.

Elihu begins by demanding their patience and attention. "Wait for me a little" has the tone of a man who knows he has something important to say and will not be rushed. His central premise is that the case for God has not been adequately made. The three friends tried and failed miserably. Job, in his agony, has argued against God. Elihu sees a vacuum, a theological space that needs to be filled with a robust defense of God's character and ways. He appoints himself as God's spokesman. The phrase "in God's behalf" is crucial. Elihu is not here to comfort Job, nor primarily to correct him, but to vindicate God. This is a high and noble calling, but one fraught with the peril of presumption.

3 I will take up my knowledge from afar, And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

Here Elihu lays out his method and his thesis. First, his knowledge is "from afar." This could mean that he will draw upon a wide range of learning, from ancient traditions or from deep observation of the world. It suggests a comprehensive, bird's-eye perspective, not the narrow, provincial arguments of the three friends. He is claiming to see the bigger picture. Second, his thesis is simple: he will "ascribe righteousness to my Maker." This is the central task of all sound theology. God is righteous, and all His ways are just, whether we understand them or not. Elihu's goal is to demonstrate this righteousness in the case of Job's suffering. He is setting out to prove that what has happened to Job is not, as Job has sometimes implied, an act of divine caprice or injustice, but is consistent with the perfect character of God.

4 For truly my words are not a lie; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

This is the verse where the alarm bells should start to go off. Elihu first guarantees the truthfulness of his words. "My words are not a lie." This is a necessary claim for any who would speak for God. But then he goes a step further. He claims that "One who is perfect in knowledge is with you." The most natural reading is that he is referring to himself. He is the one with complete and flawless understanding. Now, we must be charitable. He might mean that the spirit of truth is with him, or that the perspective he is offering is a perfect one. But the plain sense of the words is a staggering claim of personal intellectual and spiritual authority. It is the kind of claim that only one Man could ever make without falsehood, and that Man is not Elihu. This youthful overconfidence is the crack in his foundation. While much of what he will say is true and helpful, it is delivered by a man who thinks he knows more than he does. And this is a setup. The book is preparing us for the appearance of the only one who truly is perfect in knowledge, and when He speaks, He will not do so to "explain" Himself, but to reveal Himself.

Application

Elihu's introduction provides us with a crucial lesson on the nature of theological debate and godly counsel. His desire to defend God's righteousness is entirely praiseworthy. We should all be zealous for the reputation of our Maker. When God's name is being dragged through the mud, whether by skeptics or by suffering saints, we have a duty to speak up on His behalf. We are to ascribe righteousness to Him always.

However, Elihu's example is also a profound warning against pride. It is one thing to defend God; it is another thing entirely to present ourselves as God's infallible defense attorney. We can have the right thesis, "God is righteous," but deliver it with the wrong spirit, a spirit of intellectual arrogance. The moment we begin to think of ourselves as "perfect in knowledge," we have stepped onto very thin ice. True wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, which is to say, it begins with humility. It begins with the recognition that we are finite creatures and He is the infinite Creator. Our knowledge is partial, our understanding is flawed, and our perspective is hopelessly limited.

Therefore, when we are called upon to minister to those who are suffering, or to defend the faith against its critics, we must do so with a deep sense of our own inadequacy. We speak the truths we know from Scripture, but we do not pretend to have the full blueprint of God's secret counsels. We point people to the cross, where the righteousness and love of God are most profoundly displayed, and we confess that there is much we do not understand. We minister, not as those who have all the answers, but as fellow beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. Elihu wanted to close the case for God with a brilliant argument. But God closes His own case, not with an argument, but with His presence. And that is what we must offer as well: the truth of God's Word and the promise of His presence, all offered in a spirit of humble faith.