Elihu instructs Job to hearken to his words as God’s spirit has stirred him, granting wisdom and authority. Elihu is not deferential and speaks with a youthful arrogance.
Elihu articulates a similarity he shares with Job - how God has pinched and molded both from clay. The idea is to show man’s equal and minuscule stature before the Lord. Elihu concedes that his words may not weigh upon Job. Nevertheless, Elihu attempts to connect with Job in the most meaningful way.
Elihu goes onto paraphrase Job’s argument in a mocking sense. For example, Elihu has heard Job: declare himself pure; count God as his enemy; and announce how all is designed against him. He notes how Job expressed feeling trapped -- as if his feet were placed in stocks. When able to move, Job feels all his steps are scrutinized and punished.
Elihu expresses that he will be the one to convince Job how much more righteous God is than man. This seems to be an effort to defeat a sense of perceived pride in Job.
Elihu then asks Job why he contends with God if Job believes God has not answered his pleas. He preaches that Job should know that while God does not account for his ways; He does speak to us. Elihu contends that Job (and man in general) is not attuned to listening.
Elihu believes God can speak to us in various ways, including through dreams, meditation, and the trials of life. Elihu instructs – if your ears are open to hearing the Almighty, He can lay bare the truth. He posits that dreams can serve as an avenue for God to reach us -- as it is the realm where the mind is at rest and not encumbered by earthly matters.
Perhaps the most common way God speaks to us is through the ordeals he has us endure. As this Book demonstrates, the lessons can be terrifying and painful but there is a purpose to them, which is often to have us turn from sinful ways.
Elihu teaches that God’s nature is to save man from the “Pit.” He appears to be referencing a punishing afterlife that awaits if we do not submit and allow the Lord to save our soul. God provides each of us what we need to reach him though his probing tests, which can manifest in countless varieties given our individuality. The Hebrew Bible says remarkably little on the afterlife but the Book of Job touches on this mystical arena.
This other dimension or afterlife is also referenced as the “Current,” which, in antiquity, was regarded as a dividing line between our world and the one beyond.
Elihu is stressing that Job must yield to the Almighty to be saved. This demonstration of deference is needed because of our stature before an awe-inspiring God.
Elihu then goes back to referencing Job’s suffering. He implies that some level of suffering is universal before we reach the point of communion with God.
Job, for example, is so ill he despises nourishment. Bread is referenced in this regard – which, in the Bible, often symbolizes spiritual knowledge. Elihu continues that Job’s flesh wastes away and his bones are laid bare. In a sense, this is a process all humanity goes through during our earthly cycle.
Elihu then turns to possibility of a redeemer or messianic figure. He speaks about how fortunate man would be to have a spokesperson to declare our righteousness. Elihu posits this savior often manifests just as man reaches the edge of the Pit and is at the point of despair. Elihu characterizes this dynamic as being rescued from “the Angels of Death.”
Elihu speaks of the Lord bringing man into his Light and restoring Job to something akin to his youth. He speaks about Job’s flesh being made new and placed back into the prime of his life. Many Christians will find a “born again” reference in this message.