“When we open the Bible and begin to read slowly and listen for God, the Spirit illumines our mind and gives us a direct word from God.”
—THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD (James Bryan Smith)
WALK [away] LIKE AN EGYPTIAN
We start the Exodus this week with lots of plagues and hard-heartedness. I say, "start,” because there is a lot more Exodus-ing to go.
Most important part of this week's Exodus reading: Passover. This event sets the theological stage for Jesus to become the final Passover lamb for the sins of the world and the end of death. Stay tuned.
Received a question about Elihu.
I took a stab at answering it, below.
Write me if you want to discuss any of this. Questions and comments always welcome.
Blessings,
Steve
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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf
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The Question: Who is Elihu?
The 3 friends were introduced early on, then reprimanded by God at the end of the book, but nothing is said about Elihu. Is he someone of importance?
My Answer:
Eliihu is introduced as the son of Barakel from the Land of Buz, a neighboring country to Uz. Interestingly, Elihu means “My God is He” and Barakel means “God Blesses.” We have no idea how many people have been observing the exchanges between Job and his “comforters.” But we do know at least one other, Elihu, has heard every word. He is a younger man who, though stirred to anger by what he has been hearing, has remained patient and respectful of Job and his “comforters,” all older men.
Elihu is allotted five straight chapters to speak his peace. That, in itself, is significant. It is also significant that God does not include Elihu in His condemnation of Job’s three “comforters.” In fact, a careful review of Elihu’s message reveals it goes hand-in-glove with what God eventually says.
And that’s most likely why Elihu is there: to deliver, as informed by the Spirit, God’s wisdom. Job makes a spiritual journey over the course of his afflictions (see journey milestones listed below). Elihu’s message then affirms Job’s improved understanding of God and encourages Job to embrace that new understanding. It is no stretch to say that Elihu was the “warm-up” for when God confronts Job at the end of the book.
Job’s spiritual journey: a growing understanding of God
1. First 8 chapters: Job is afflicted by Satan (& his so-called friends, his ”comforters”).
2. Chapter 9: “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us.”
3. Chapter 16: “Even now my witness is in Heaven; my advocate is on high.”
4. Chapter 19: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the Earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”
5. Chapter 23: “But He [God] knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
I hope this helps illuminate the person and purpose of Elihu in the Book of Job. Please let me know if you would like more.
This week’s notes:
1. What do you think of Elihu’s attempt to “defend God” in Job chapters 35, 36, and 37? ... does God need defending? And if so, is a human the best choice for an advocate?
2. Why is Job in the Bible?
That's the question I often hear from folk who read the book of Job and come away scratching their heads. I could give you a long and complex answer, but the essence is this: It's there so we can learn how we should and should not think about God. Job, himself, starts out speaking of God correctly. He complains of his situation, but does not blame God for it. As he continues to suffer, he eventually comes to blame God. For this he is called to account by God.
3. Each of Job's three "friends," in turn, get it wrong. If you want to understand how NOT to think about how God interacts with humans, just go back and read what Job's friends had to say. God condemned those “friends” for their faulty thinking and only forgave them when Job interceded for them. Sadly, you hear a lot of people, today, who say the same kinds of things.
4. Eventually, we get to the final chapters where God asserts His sovereigny: the right of God to do as He pleases, without explanation, because all of this belongs to Him already.
I think Job chapters 38, 39, and 40 are stunning, thought-provoking, even mind-bending ... and, perhaps, the most revealing chapters in the Bible when it comes to helping us understand God. Absolutely worth reading through two or three times.
5. In Exodus (and later) don’t get hung up on the long lists of genealogies. I will work at tipping you to important names that crop up. Some are obvious and don’t need pointing out, while a few others are truly worth pausing to consider.
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