Job isn’t suffering for sin, but he needs to watch out that his suffering doesn’t lead him to sin! Here’s a novel idea from Elihu! “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed” (Job 33:19). The word “chastened” in the AV is also translated as reproved, rebuked, and corrected. Job is not being punished, either unjustly or justly, as he […]
My home in Michigan was locked in the icy grip of winter. I, on the other hand, had happily escaped for a few weeks to the tropics. One free afternoon, I was making the rounds with a gardener friend. He tended the grounds of winter homes of several wealthy northerners. We approached a tree laden […]
Nothing “is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character.” —A.W. Tozer Elihu doesn’t take long in coming to what we call the point! There are two points, actually. “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am […]
Read More… from October 30, 2025 — Being Pointed About The Point
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (Prov 12:15). Elihu is eager to prepare Job for an encounter with God. In fact, he says he’s “full of words,” ready to explode if he doesn’t speak (see Job 32:18-20). In order to be a real help, certain factors […]
Read More… from October 29, 2025 — When & What & How To Speak
Job has compared himself to other men and looks good as a result. But what happens when he meets God? Clearly, Elihu is a sharp young man. “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.’ Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to […]
We weren’t expecting young Elihu, especially when he tells us he’s expecting divine revelation! Elihu addresses, head on, the first objection people might have with him speaking about such difficult subjects. If all these sage old fellows can’t figure things out, how does he think he will be able to untangle the Gordian knot? At […]
C.S. Lewis used to say, “Atheists can never be too careful.” He meant there was evidence against infidelity everywhere. I’ll never forget the words of the nurse as we prepared for our first child. It was she who told us that, to her, newborns said something every time she saw one come into the world. […]
“What is happening to our youth? They disrespect their elders.…They riot in the streets…” —Socrates So “the words of Job are ended” (Job 31:40). Now what? To our shock we discover that there were four interlocutors with Job, not just three. It seems, because of his youth, a man named Elihu has been patiently waiting for the others to […]
Sow an act; you reap a habit. Sow a habit; you reap a character. Sow a character; you reap a destiny. Job concludes his final appeal with a graphic motif utilized throughout the Word. “If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together; if I have eaten its fruit without money, or caused […]