Wisdom Literature (14): Job – Elihu’s Last Words and God Answers from the Storm

Last week Elihu, the young man who had listened respectfully to the whole debate, began to speak. This week he finishes his speech, and then the Lord Himself answers Job out of the storm. This session finishes Elihu’s speech (Job 36–37) and begins the Lord’s answer (Job 38–39). The main lessons of the book will come with Job 40–42 in the next sessions. Use these notes with the recording: read each passage first, then the notes, then the questions at the end.

Reading Plan

1. Recap: Elihu – God Is Mighty, Yet He Cares (Job 32–37)

Elihu waited because of his respect for the older men, as people in the East (like many in Africa) do (Job 32:4–7). When he spoke, he told Job plainly that empty talk and many words would not change his situation, and he called Job to fear the Lord.

His central point: God’s greatness does not mean He ignores people. “God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose” (Job 36:5). His purpose is to judge the wicked and to help the afflicted. David marvelled at the same truth: “what is mankind that you are mindful of them?” (Psalm 8:4). We are not a small project to God; He gave His only Son to save us.

2. Four Dangers in Suffering (Job 36:16–25)

Elihu saw dangers ahead for Job. They were not only for Job then; they can happen to any of us in a hard season, whether it lasts a year or a week.

1. Looking for a shortcut. “Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside” (Job 36:18). Job did not know God was working on something great through him. Shortcuts make us miss the message God has for us. Money can buy many things, but not maturity, self-control or a healed marriage; those are formed as God works in us (Ephesians 5:25).
2. Longing for death. “Do not long for the night” (Job 36:20). Job often wished he had died, yet he feared God and left his life in God’s hands. If you are in that kind of darkness, do not carry it alone: speak to a pastor or someone you trust today.
3. Giving up and turning to sin. “Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction” (Job 36:21). Some people become bitter and walk away from the faith. Like the three Hebrew young men, true faith holds its position even before God acts (Daniel 3:17–18), and many heroes of faith died without seeing what was promised (Hebrews 11:13).
4. The way forward: a new vision of God. “Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song” (Job 36:24). Praise changes things, just as prayer does. Being able to praise God in the middle of a trial is a sign of maturity.

3. Consider God’s Wonders (Job 36:26–37:24)

“How great is God—beyond our understanding!” (Job 36:26). Elihu described the rain, the lightning, the wind and the clear skies as the work of the Almighty, and asked Job: “Stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds?” (Job 37:14–18). If Job could not explain the weather, how could he argue his case before God? His conclusion: “Therefore, people revere him” (Job 37:24).

Elihu’s place in the story: unlike the three friends, Elihu read Job’s problem accurately. Job had not sinned in the way the friends claimed, but his attitude was drifting towards self-righteousness. Elihu’s rush of questions prepared Job for the questions God was about to ask. God often sends someone to prepare the way. Job did not answer him.

4. God Answers out of the Storm (Job 38:1–3)

“Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm” (Job 38:1). Why the storm? In the session, members said it shows that God is above everything we find frightening or overwhelming, and that He was present in Job’s situation all along. A further answer: Job could not learn this lesson outside the storm. God had spoken this way before, at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16–19) and to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:4). This side of God is often left out of preaching (2 Timothy 4:3), yet it teaches us to fear Him rather than be familiar with Him.

God’s first words: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me” (Job 38:2–3). Job had asked to take God to court; now God takes him up on it. The passage is full of holy irony: God knows Job cannot answer, but He brings him to the place where he learns once and for all. God did not question Job’s love or integrity (Job 42:7); He questioned his attitude and his ability to explain God’s ways.

Lesson: knowing our own ignorance is the first step towards true wisdom. Those who do not know that they do not know are in the worst place of all. The way out is humility.

5. God’s Questions: An Overview

God’s speech is a series of questions about His work in nature, which can be summed up in three:

Job’s two responses come in Job 40:3–5 and Job 42:1–6: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5). We will study them next.

6. Question One: Where Were You? (Job 38:4–18)

• The earth (38:4–7). God pictures Himself as a builder who marks off the dimensions, lays the foundations and sets the cornerstone, while “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” Job was not there, so how could he claim to know so much about God’s works?
• The sea (38:8–11). Here the picture is birth: the sea bursts out like a baby from the womb, wrapped in cloud and darkness, and God sets its limits.
• The dawn (38:12–15). Has Job ever commanded the morning? God’s light exposes the deeds done in darkness.
• The depths (38:16–18). Has Job walked the floor of the sea? Its deepest known point, in the Pacific, is about 11 km down, and we still understand only a little of God’s world.

From the session: God planned creation as a garden of joyful beauty, but sin and greed have damaged it. As Gandhi observed, the earth has enough for every person’s need, but not for every person’s greed. When God shows us His holiness, we respond like Isaiah: “Woe to me! I am ruined!” (Isaiah 6:5). The greatest wisdom is often silence: do not be quick to speak, and be willing to say sorry.

Encounter: a faith that has never encountered God is easy to abandon. An encounter with God leaves a mark you never forget, and it teaches you to fear God rather than people.

Next session: God’s questions continue, and Job gives his first reply (Job 38:16–40:5). An exam on the whole book of Job is coming: keep reading.