Job 33
Elihu identifies himself as a follower of God verse 1- 7
Wherefore – Job – I pray you – hear my speeches
and hearken to all my words
BEHOLD – now I have opened my mouth
my tongue hath spoken in my mouth
my words shall be of the uprightness of my heart
my lips shall utter knowledge clearly
The Spirit of God has made me
and the breath of the Almighty has given me life
IF you can answer me
set your words in order before me stand up
BEHOLD- I am according to your wish in God’s stead
I also am formed out of the clay
BEHOLD – my terror shall not make you afraid
neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee
Elihu states that Job claims innocence verse 8- 11
Surely you have spoken in mine hearing
and I have heard the voice of your words
saying
I am clean without transgressions – I am innocent
neither is there iniquity in me
BEHOLD – HE finds occasions against me
HE counts me for HIS enemy
HE puts my feet in the stocks
HE marks all my paths
Elihu believes God speaks to people verse 12- 18
BEHOLD – in this you are not just – I will answer you
that God is GREATER THAN man
Why do you strive against HIM?
for HE gives not account of any of HIS matters
for God speaks once – yea twice
yet man perceives it not
in a dream – in a vision of the night
when deep sleep falls upon men
in slumbering upon the bed
THEN HE opens the ears of men – and seals their instruction
that HE may withdraw man from his purpose
and hide pride from man
HE keeps back his soul from the pit
and his life from perishing by the sword
Elihu confirms that God chastens HIS people verse 19- 22
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed
and the multitude of his bones with strong pain
so that his life abhorred bread
and his soul dainty meat
his flesh is consumed away – that it cannot be seen
his bones that were not seen stick out
yea – his soul draws near unto the grave
and his life to the destroyers
Elihu wants Job to confess he is a sinner verse 23- 28
IF there be a messenger with him – an interpreter
one among a thousand
to show unto man his uprightness
THEN HE is gracious to him
and says
Deliver him from going down to the pit
I have found a ransom
His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s
he shall return to the days of his youth
he shall pray to God
and HE will be favorable to him
and he shall see HIS face with joy
for HE will render to man
HIS righteousness
HE looks upon men – and IF any say
I have sinned – and perverted that which was right
and it profited me not
HE will deliver his soul from going into the pit
and his life shall see the light
Elihu tell Job that LORD sends warnings verse 29- 33
LO – all these things works God oftentimes with man
to bring back his soul from the pit
to be enlightened with the light of the living
Mark well – O Job – hearken to me – HOLD YOUR PEACE
and I will speak
IF you hast anything to say – ANSWER me
SPEAK – for I desire to JUSTIFY thee
IF not – HEARKEN to me
HOLD YOUR PEACE
and I shall TEACH you wisdom
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter
knowledge clearly. (1305 “clearly” [barar] means pure, plain, candid, in an open and genuine manner, without pretense, to separate and remove, or sort)
DEVOTION: There are a group of people who when they open their mouths they only speak the truth. It sometimes is the truth that can hurt other people. These individuals don’t put any punches. When someone asks them what they think about something they don’t try to be politically correct they are just honest and let the chips fall where they may.
Many of us try to be “nice” when we answer people which can get us in trouble many times because then the people come back on us an say “why wert you honest?” The only answer is that we didn’t want to hurt their feelings with honesty.
God does want us to be honest with people in a loving manner. Sometimes that is not easy. The end result has to be that we are individuals who are known for our honesty. We can tell people that we prefer not to answer a question because we know that it would hurt the individual.
Our answers need to be clear to those we deal with on a daily basis. They will know that our answer will be honest and might hurt at first but it will be what they need to hear. We have way too many people who are people pleasers with their answers to people and in the end it really hurts the people who like those kinds of answers.
We need to be a people who say what we mean and mean what we say in a loving manner. This takes a lot of work in our relations with others.
CHALLENGE: Remember that Jesus Christ always gave the right answer to those who asked HIM. HE is our example to follow.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 13 “Why do you strive [רִיבוֹתָ] against HIM? for HE gives not account of any of HIS matters.” (7378 “strive” [riyb] means debate, contend, plead, to conduct a case or suit, or make complaint)
DEVOTION: Elihu understands that Job’s complaint is against God in a way that none of the other three friends of Job have stated. Job wants God to be comprehensible even when things go bad, and if they go bad, Job wants God to explain to him why. We often ask the question “why?” when we encounter difficult things in our lives. When God does not answer us in the time frame that we expect, then some choose to become bitter with God. Job comes to realize that God does not need to give an account to him about what God is doing, and that His children frequently will not know the reasons behind the suffering that He allows into our lives. Our suffering does not allow us to have a reason to complain to God or even argue with Him. Sometimes he allows suffering to come into our lives to test us and see if we really will trust Him even when we do not understand the “why” of our suffering. We can become a whining baby or a joyful persevering believer.
CHALLENGE: Which are you? (Marc Wooten – board member of SCM)
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: 16 Then HE opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. (2856 “seals” [chatham] means marked, to fasten with or as if with a seal, to complete, confirm, stopped up, or stop.)
DEVOTION: Elihu thinks that God instructs people through many means whether through dreams or through illness or pain. He believes that man usually don’t know that this is God communicating to them to help them understand what is happening and why.
However, today God communicates through HIS Spirit directly primarily through HIS word, the Bible. There is enough information in the Bible to help us understand what is happening in our lives. We have to study to show ourselves approved.
If we are not good students of the Bible we will not be learning what the LORD expects of us and do things our own way. HE wants things done HIS way and if we don’t listen, HE may use other means to get us to go in the right direction.
Our responsibility is to be attentive to HIS Word in the Bible and then apply it to our lives in our everyday living. Too often those who claim to know Christ and claim to follow HIM are not studying the Bible. They might read it but not really study to learn more about how HE wants us to live.
We have to ask the question of ourselves “Are we trying to listen to the Holy Spirit talking to us today?” The only one who knows the answer to this question is us.
If we are listening and obeying we will live a life that is pleasing to HIM. If we just read our Bible and pray and then leave the room with no intention of understanding what we have read and what we have promised in our prayer then we will not live the life that HE wants us to live each day.
CHALLENGE: Our instructions will come to us daily if we are genuinely listening and learning from HIS word through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our life.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness (4397 “messenger” [mal’ak] means to dispatch, angel, ambassador, representative or king.)
DEVOTION: We were introduced to Elihu in the last chapter. He is the youngest of those with Job. The three friends are done and now Elihu uses the conversation of Job with his three “friends” as the basis of his comments.
Elihu believes that the LORD is instructing him to speak. He tells Job that he has the Holy Spirit giving him instructions and the breath of the Almighty giving him life. He believes that just like Job he is a created being out of dust. With these comments he begins using Job’s comments to instruct him as to what is going wrong in his life.
First, he believed that Job said he was sinless but that was not true. He stated that he was blameless. There is a difference. We can be blameless because of the forgiveness the LORD gives us on a daily basis. We can never claim sinless because only Jesus Christ was sinless in a human body.
Second, he wants Job to realize that God is greater than man. Therefore, HE never does anything wrong. He doesn’t like Job challenging God. He continues to say that God speaks to people through dreams and visions, sickness and through angels at times.
We realize that the book of Hebrews instructs us that in our time period the LORD usually speaks through the Word of God. There are times when those who have asked for more understanding of God but did not have the Word of God, HE has spoken to him. We also realize that even today the LORD speaks through sickness. Paul writes in I Corinthians that if Christians do not examine themselves the LORD will send weakness, sickness and pre-mature death. Elihu is warning Job that he could face premature death if he doesn’t confess his sins and let God give him a ransom.
Job is going through a time of suffering. He wishes that there were an angel or ambassador of God to tell men what is right for them to do. The point that Elihu is trying to make is that God is always right. HE always does what is right. HE sends or allows things in believers lives that will help them grow in HIM. HE sends suffering to encourage believers to examine their lives to see if there is sin in their life. HE gave Paul a thorn in the flesh to humble him.
However, Elihu was also telling Job that sometimes God sends a messenger to help us understand what we are going through. We all have this wish. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an angel to visit us each night and tell us what to do the next day?
Every human being should know that they were born in sin and will sin until they die. Some have the misconception that they are sinless here on this earth while they are living. This has hurt some people. We know from the Word of God what is right and wrong. God speaks to us through HIS word now. The Holy Spirit makes it plain to us as we practice the presence of God on a regular basis. We just need to apply it.
CHALLENGE: Don’t look for an angel to come and answer your questions. LOOK to the Word of God. Remember that as we meditate on the Word of God the LORD can instruct us regarding any questions we might have, but we have to study the whole counsel of the LORD which is found throughout the Word of God.
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: 31 Mark well, O Job, hearken to me: hold your peace, and I will speak.
(7181 “mark” [qashab] means hearken, attend, heed, be attentive,
incline, pay attention, or listen)
DEVOTION: Job was innocent. He had all the facts stacked against him. His friends seemed to not know that he was innocent but they had a hard time defending him through this trial in his life.
They were there by his side to encourage him but they still didn’t have the right words to say to give Job comfort. Those words could only come from the LORD. The LORD spoke and Job understand where he stood with the LORD and with his friends.
Today we find that we can do all the right actions and pray the right prayers and still feel that something is missing in our life of service to the LORD. We have to remember that our life is not based on our feelings but the facts of the Word of God.
We have to dig into the Bible to find out what the LORD is saying to us about a given situation. Even our Christians friends get the facts wrong at times regarding what is happening in our life. It is hard to go it alone but that is what Job had to do when he was faced with his current trial. He had to question the LORD and then look for answers that could be found in the nature and actions of the LORD. Are you going through a current test of the LORD where your friends don’t have the answers and at times you don’t seem to have the answers?
This book shows us that if we continue to get into the presence of the LORD, we can find the answer by waiting on HIM to reveal it to us. It takes time!!!
CHALLENGE: Are we willing to wait on HIM????
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
I have sinned verse 27
I have perverted that which was right verse 27
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Man shall pray unto God verse 26
HE will be favourable unto him
He shall see HIS face with joy
HE will render unto man HIS
righteousness
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 4, 6, 12, 14, 26,
29
Almighty verse 4
Give not account of any of HIS matters verse 13
God speaks but man doesn’t perceive verse 14
God works oftentimes with man verse 29
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of God hath made me verse 4
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are
co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angel as interpreter for man(?) verse 23
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Job verse 1, 9
Claimed to be clean without transgression
I am innocent
Elihu verse 1- 33
Wants Job to hear his speeches
Wants Job to hearken to his words
Words from uprightness of his heart
His lips will utter knowledge clearly
Breath of Almighty gives life
I also am formed out of clay
God is greater than man
God speaks but man doesn’t perceive
In dreams
In vision of the night
Then HE opens ears of men
Then HE seals their instruction
Chastened with pain in bed
Teach Job wisdom
Formed out of clay verse 6
Enemy verse 10
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Transgression verse 9
Iniquity verse 9
Not just verse 12
Pride verse 17
Sinned verse 27
Perverted verse 27
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Uprightness of my heart verse 3, 23
Knowledge verse 3
Life verse 4
Clean verse 9
Innocent verse 9
Just verse 12
Chasten verse 19
Uprightness verse 23
Gracious verse 24
Deliverance verse 24
Ransom verse 24
Pray verse 26
Joy verse 26
Righteousness verse 26
Confession verse 27
Light verse 28, 30
Brought back verse 30
Justify verse 32
Teach wisdom verse 33
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Pit verse 18, 24, 28, 30
Perishing by the sword verse 18
Grave verse 22
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QUOTES regarding passage
31–33 Unfortunately like so many well-meaning messengers of grace, Elihu was so fully convinced of his good intentions toward Job that he became insufferably over bearing. (Smick, E. B. (1988). Job. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 1007). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Job 33:31–33 suggests that Elihu wanted Job’s response, but at the same time Elihu wanted Job to keep quiet! Elihu was filled to the brim with his subject and didn’t want to stop talking. But Job didn’t reply because he was waiting for God to speak. Job had already stated his case and thrown down the gauntlet. What Elihu thought about him or said to him made little difference to Job.
Job had taken his case to a much higher court; and when Elihu finishes speaking, the Judge will appear. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (p. 130). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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33:32 I desire to justify you. Elihu expressed he was on Job’s side and wanted to see him vindicated in his claims to righteousness, so he gave opportunity for Job to dialogue with him as he spoke (v. 33). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Job 33:32). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 33. If not, hearken to me, &c.] If he had no objection to make, nor answer to return, then he desires he would attend and listen to what he had further to lay before him: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom. For though Job was a wise and good man, he might become wiser and more knowing; and indeed, when instruction is given to a wise man, he will be yet wiser, Prov. 9:9 and this may be received sometimes from persons inferior in age and abilities. Elihu proposed to teach him, as he did, natural, moral, and evangelical wisdom, especially the wisdom of God in his providential dealings with men, and what is man’s highest wisdom under them; which is to be reconciled unto them, and patiently to submit, and to fear the Lord, and be careful not to offend him, which to do is wisdom and understanding. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 462). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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THE HOLINESS OF GOD
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
John has just said, “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” So how is it to be full? Well, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is…” What would you have expected there? I suggest that most of us would have expected, “God is love” or “God is mercy” or “God is compassion”; but the startling and astonishing thing is that he says, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” And we may say to John, “You have been saying that we are to be given an amazing joy, and then you confront us with that?”
But that is precisely what he does say. We must not start with the knowledge of God, though that is absolutely essential. Nor must we start with God as a source of philosophy. We must not even start with God as love.
Now we can see at once how by putting it like this we give an utter contradiction to what has been so popular especially since 1860. The great message that has been preached for a hundred years is, “God is love.” That is the thing that has been emphasized, and we have been told that our fathers, and especially the Puritans with their preaching about justice and righteousness and repentance and sin and punishment and death, had been entirely contradicting and denying the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been told that God is love–that is what we needed, and there He was to meet us. Yet what an utter travesty of the gospel that is! This is the message: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
A Thought to Ponder
We must not start with God as a source of philosophy. We must not even start with God as love.
(From Fellowship with God, pp. 106-107, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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My Lord and My God
“And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)
Thomas has been called “doubting Thomas” because of his initial reluctance to believe in the Lord’s resurrection, but neither the Lord nor the other disciples ever viewed him in such a light. His later ministry, as the first missionary/ martyr to India, speaks clearly of his great faith.
It is only in John’s gospel that we have any specific insight into Thomas’ character. When the other disciples sought to dissuade Jesus from returning to Jerusalem, it was Thomas who urged, Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). Thomas understood the dangers awaiting them but was ready to go wherever Jesus desired him to go. In the upper room when Jesus spoke of going away, Thomas, still willing to go with Him anywhere, was the only one to ask, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Then, just a few hours later, the Lord had been crucified, and soon “the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19) as they hid themselves in the upper room.
But Thomas was not hiding! The Scriptures do not say where he was when Jesus appeared in their midst, but he was not hiding there like the others. He may well have been out working or witnessing, doing whatever he could to follow the Lord, but he (like the others) had failed to understand Jesus’ promise that He would rise again.
When the other disciples reported that they had seen the resurrected Lord, Thomas, realizing the tremendous significance of such a miracle if it were true, insisted he must see the proof firsthand. Then, when he saw the Lord, he showed a higher comprehension of what had taken place than any of the others, as he whispered in awe: “My Lord, and my God!”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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The Christian’s Lifestyle: Our Control
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)
Two factors need to be identified with this verse. First, the immediately preceding context confines the primary application to behavior, just as the immediately following context relates the “filled” behavior to the fellowship of believers. Secondly, the imagery stresses control of the behavior by the Holy Spirit (contrasting filled with drunken behavior).
The filling is not synonymous with the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12-14), since all are so baptized but not all are filled. Nor is it equal with or subsequent to speaking in tongues, since some specifically identified as being filled with the Holy Spirit (John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Jesus) never spoke in tongues. Some individuals (Paul, Peter, Stephen) were filled on different occasions. Apparently, the filling produces a temporary effect like alcohol does. The effect of the filling of the Holy Spirit enhances or encourages a God-like behavior in contrast to the Satan-like behavior stimulated by alcohol.
Some passages equate power with this filling (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:13;1 Thessalonians 1:5), and others equate it to wisdom (Colossians 1:9-11; Philippians 1:9; Colossians 3:15– 17). The immediate context, however, lists four evidences of the Holy Spirit’s control (Ephesians 5:19-21): songs of praise together; personal singing and private melody to God in our hearts; thanksgiving; and voluntary submission to one another in the Lord. Since the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to the saints (Ephesians 4:7-11) for the purpose of building the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-16), it stands to basic reason that the Holy Spirit’s control is designed to enhance and stimulate the ministry of believers to each other and the personal joy and awareness of the goodness of God. (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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“And all the children of Israel murmured.”
—Numbers 14:2
There are murmurers amongst Christians now, as there were in the camp of Israel of old. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the afflictive dispensation. They ask, “Why am I thus afflicted? What have I done to be chastened in this manner?” A word with thee, O murmurer! Why shouldst thou murmur against the dispensations of thy heavenly Father? Can he treat thee more hardly than thou deservest? Consider what a rebel thou wast once, but he has pardoned thee! Surely, if he in his wisdom sees fit now to chasten thee, thou shouldst not complain. After all, art thou smitten as hardly as thy sins deserve? Consider the corruption which is in thy breast, and then wilt thou wonder that there needs so much of the rod to fetch it out? Weigh thyself, and discern how much dross is mingled with thy gold; and dost thou think the fire too hot to purge away so much dross as thou hast? Does not that proud rebellious spirit of thine prove that thy heart is not thoroughly sanctified? Are not those murmuring words contrary to the holy submissive nature of God’s children? Is not the correction needed? But if thou wilt murmur against the chastening, take heed, for it will go hard with murmurers. God always chastises his children twice, if they do not bear the first stroke patiently. But know one thing—“He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” All his corrections are sent in love, to purify thee, and to draw thee nearer to himself. Surely it must help thee to bear the chastening with resignation if thou art able to recognize thy Father’s hand. For “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.” “Murmur not as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer.” (Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster)
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Love suffereth long, and is kind … 1 Cor. 13:4–8 .
Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, that is, it bursts up in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of mathematical certainty in Paul’s category of love. We cannot say—‘Now I am going to think no evil; I am going to believe all things.’ The characteristic of love is spontaneity. We do not settle statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there. In everything to do with the life of God in us, its nature is only discerned when it is past.
The springs of love are in God, not in us. It is absurd to look for the love of God in our hearts naturally, it is only there when it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we do not love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, it comes naturally. In looking back we cannot tell why we did certain things, we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God manifests itself in this spontaneous way because the springs of love are in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 5:5.) (Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.)
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