Elihu

Job 32-37

All the while job was having this deep theological discussion with his three friends there was also present one very interested and intense bystander. Elihu, younger by his own admission, had shown respect unto his elders while listening to them fail in their efforts to convince Job of his sinfulness. When they finally gave up, and Job’s words were ended, Elihu can stand it no more.

Job 32:19 “Behold, my belly is as new wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.”

He goes on to criticize both Job and his friends for their primitive understanding of God. For Job to accuse God of being unjust was the height of ingratitude and effrontery. God was so much higher than Job, and his thoughts higher, as to be irreproachable by any man (Job 34:18). Elihu assures Job that although we cannot understand God’s ways, His ways are absolutely correct always.
Elihu’s view of the situation is somewhat higher than that of either Job or his three friends. Of the group described, surely he has the best understanding of the true nature of God. He alone of Job’s friends was not criticized by God at the end of the book. There is much to learn from Elihu considering the nature of God and trouble in the lives of Christian people.