Day 31 – Chapter 32

“Job’s three friends now fell silent. They were talked out, stymied because Job wouldn’t budge an inch—wouldn’t admit to an ounce of guilt. Then Elihu lost his temper. (Elihu was the son of Barakel the Buzite from the clan of Ram.) He blazed out in anger against Job for pitting his righteousness against God’s. He was also angry with the three friends because they had neither come up with an answer nor proved Job wrong. Elihu had waited with Job while they spoke because they were all older than he. But when he saw that the three other men had exhausted their arguments, he exploded with pent-up anger” (32:1-5, The Message).

There is no one who knows your situation better than you. Others, having the luxury of looking in from the outside, can sometimes see things about you and your situation you are unable to see, but even still their knowledge is limited. In our text today we meet a new player in this drama, Elihu, that is angry that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were unsuccessful in establishing Job’s guilt or coming up with an answer to all his troubles. His entire tone is insulting and demeaning not only to Job but to his three so-called friends as well. He has the audacity to suggest that he is the one with wisdom and that these three older men’s failure to properly indict Job is proof that age and experience do not guarantee good sense (v. 9).

The manner in which Elihu builds his case points to a quirk in human nature and that is the tendency to believe that we know the intricacies of a person’s personal situation just because we have observed a few things or heard a few things. Perhaps one of the reasons the body of Christ is often so disjointed and isolated from one another is because of this penchant to make assumptions and accusations. The tragedy is that the assumptions and accusations force the one who has been victimized to be on the defensive, because if the assumptions and accusations are allowed to go unchallenged they run the risk of becoming factual to those who have itching ears to hear.

For our part, to counter the accusations and assumptions of others, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God about our situations. If we are innocent God will ultimately vindicate us. This was Job’s hope and the very thing his detractors could not countenance in him. But if we are guilty we need to own it and then take the necessary measures to correct the situation. Ultimately God is our final judge and arbiter. The ones making the assumptions and accusations have neither Heaven nor Hell into which to put you so don’t allow them to pull you out of your time and place.

Heavenly Father, come and vindicate us quickly. Our enemies, disguised as friends, are gathering and the accusations are flying. We are growing weary of the relentless attacks and the never-ending presumptions of guilt. Cover us with Your mercy and grace. Keep us from becoming bitter with our ‘friends.’ Help us to hold on to the truth and to discard that which is false. Look within us and show us our failures and faults, and give us the strength to make the right decisions that will impact our circumstances and give You glory and honor. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.