Elihu joins Job and his friends in their debate. Elihu is angry at Job for justifying himself instead of God, and at Job's friends for condemning Job without refuting his arguments. Elihu launches into a long speech where he defends God's character as just and wise, arguing that either Job deserves his suffering or God is unfair. Elihu's mistake is not considering a third option - that God is fair and Job does not deserve his suffering, with the devil attacking Job to make him curse God. The story of Job leaves many questions unanswered, showing there are things beyond human understanding, and believers must trust God even without understanding.

1. Lesson 10 for December 3, 2016
Adapted from www.fustero.es
www.gmahktanjungpinang.org
“ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your
ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts’ ” (Isaiah 55:9, NKJV).

2.  The silence of the “comforters”.
 Elihu shows up.
 Elihu’s speech.
 Elihu’s mistake.
 Questions without answers.
A fourth friend joined
the group as Job’s
friends heatedly
argued with him.
Elihu remained silent
for a while. Then, he
started a long
speech. That was the
last attempt to make
Job reflect on his sin.

3. THE SILENCE OF THE “COMFORTERS”
“So these three men ceased
answering Job, because he
was righteous in his own
eyes.” (Job 32:1)
Job’s friends gave long speeches about
important things, but they basically defended
God’s character in how He was treating Job.
His “comforting” speech for Job was: God is
punishing you in His mercy because of a
hidden sin, so you repent.
Job maintained his innocence. He didn’t understand
why he was suffering, but he remained faithful and he
still trusted God (see Job 13:28; 19:25-27; 28:28).
We may know the truth, but we need humbleness and
wisdom to understand how much truth can be applied in
each moment.

4. “But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry
with Job for justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry with the
three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had
condemned him.” (Job 32:2-3 NIV)
Elihu began talking once Eliphaz, Bildad
and Zophar were quiet. He was part of
Nacor’s family (Abraham’s brother). Both
his name (Elihu = “My God is Him”) and
his father’s (Barakel = “God blesses”)
prove he was a son of many generations
of believers.
Elihu “became very angry”:
 On Job, because he was justifying
himself instead of justifying God.
 On his friends, because they
condemned Job but couldn’t refute
his defense.
Did Elihu understand Job’s arguments?
Was his wrath fair?

5. “Surely God will never do wickedly,
nor will the Almighty pervert
justice.” (Job 34:12)
Is God fair or is job an innocent victim? Elihu
chose to defend God’s character and to accuse Job
of impiety.
He actually defended God very well. He
introduced Him as Creator, Sustainer, Wise, Just,
Almighty… (Job 34:21-22; 36:5-7; 37:23-24).
1st OPTION: If God is fair, then…
Job deserves what’s happening to him.
2nd OPTION: If Job doesn’t deserve what’s
happening to him, then…
God isn’t fair.

6. ELIHU’S MISTAKE
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty
for me to attain.” (Psalm 139:6 NIV)
Elihu was not wise and humble enough to accept a
third option: God is fair and job didn’t deserve what
was happening to him.
There’s a third party in this conflict: the devil was
attacking Job so he wouldn’t trust God anymore.
The devil was a beautiful perfect cherub until evil was found in him
(Ezekiel 28:12-17).
No one can explain how evil
began in Lucifer. We cannot
explain the consequences of sin
that happen in our lives either.
“It is mysterious, unaccountable;
to excuse it is to defend it.”
(E.G.W. “The Great Controversy”, pp.
492, 493).

7. QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS
“You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I
spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
(Job 42:3 NIV)
Were Job’s kindness and faithfulness the
source of evil in his life? Why did his
family and servants have to die? Was his
suffering beneficial? It didn’t even make
Satan accept his defeat. Was it worthy to
accept Satan’s challenge?
There are many unanswered questions in
the book of Job. We now know all the
history of God’s revelation, so can we
thoroughly answer those questions?
There’s a clear lesson in Job’s story;
there are many things we don’t
understand, but “the just shall live by
his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4). In which things do you need to
trust God even if you don’t
understand them?

8. E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, cp. 31, p. 301)