Job 33:1-18  Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 33:1-18.  Let’s go!

Job 33:1-7 (NIV) 
 “But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.
 I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
 My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.
 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
 Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me.
 I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.
 No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

On verses 1-7:  At first when I read these 7 verses, the initial impression I get is that Elihu is a bit long-winded and in love with himself.  Then I thought, “Well, maybe it’s because Elihu is nervous, so he ends up speaking quite verbosely at the beginning.” But the more I study Elihu’s words, the more I think I can appreciate Elihu’s purpose in speaking this way:  Elihu is trying to make it clear to Job where he is coming from.  He is trying to build rapport with Job.  How?

  • First, Elihu addresses Job by name (v1), something that Job’s older friends never did.
  • Second, Elihu says in verse 3 that his words “come from an upright heart”, suggesting that Elihu has searched his own heart before speaking.
  • Third, Elihu says in verse 3 that “my lips sincerely speak what I know”.  This communicates both genuineness (“Job, I’m speaking from the heart”) and humility (“this is what I know for whatever it’s worth”).
  • Fourth, Elihu invites Job to test what Elihu is saying and welcomes Job to disagree with him (“Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me” (v5). He invites Job to have an intelligent discussion with him, not an angry argument.
  • Fifth, Elihu admits that he is human too, “taken from clay” (v6).  Clay is a symbol for frailness and weakness.  So Elihu is effectively acknowledging that he has weaknesses and flaws too.
  • Sixth, when Elihu says in verse 7, “No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you”, Elihu is saying, “Job, I’m on your side.  Don’t think that I’m here to attack and condemn you.”

What can we learn from this?  When you have something to say that you know will be challenging for your listener to hear, make it your goal to build rapport with your listener first.  Consider doing the 6 things Elihu did for Job.  Use the person’s name and speak tenderly to them (v1).  Search your heart before you open your mouth (v3).  Speak from the heart and be humble (v3).  Invite them to disagree (v5).  Admit your own weakness and recognize that there is a chance you could be wrong (v6).  Let them know that you are on their side (v7).  People are more open to listening to someone they consider to be humble and self-aware over someone who is arrogant and insensitive.

Job 33:8-12 (NIV)
 “But you have said in my hearing– I heard the very words–
 ‘I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.
10  Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
11  He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.’
12  “But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.

On verses 8-12:  Elihu paraphrases Job’s previous claim that he is pure and without sin (v9; for example, see Job 23:11) and that nonetheless God has found fault with Job and considers him an enemy (v10-11; for example, see Job 13:24).  Elihu takes issue with these claims by Job.  When he says, “in this you are not right, for God is greater than man” (v12), Elihu is probably saying, “Job, you’re wrong when you say that God considers you His enemy, for God’s ways are far greater than you can imagine.” Whereas Job looked at his circumstances and assumed that God was against him, Elihu encouraged Job to consider that God has a greater purpose in allowing Job to suffer that has nothing to do with God considering Job to be a sinner and His enemy.

What can we learn from this?   When we are tempted to accuse God of wrongdoing, thank God for friends who help us to see that God may be up to something greater than we think.

Job 33:13-18 (NIV) 
13  Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man’s words?
14  For God does speak–now one way, now another– though man may not perceive it.
15  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds,
16  he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
17  to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,
18  to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.

On verses 13-18:  To paraphrase Elihu, “Job, don’t complain that God is not answering you (v13). for God speaks in various ways (“now one way, now another” (v14)), whether in a dream (v15), a vision or otherwise.  Keep in mind the reason God speaks: it is to warn us (v16), to protect us from doing wrong (v17), to keep us from pride (v17) and to save us (v18).

What can we learn from this?  The question is not “Is God speaking?”  The question is “Are we listening?” Remember that God speaks in various ways and always with our protection and well-being in mind.

Heavenly Father, thank You for friends who stand by my side and help me to see You when my own vision is clouded by pain, anger or bitterness.   In Jesus’ name, AMEN!