The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

Elihu wasn't finished. More like he was just getting warmed up to the challenge of pointing out the error of his "elders" words.

Remember, because of his age, he held back and let the older and wiser men speak, and then Job gave his rebuttal and they answered back. Here comes this young man who may not have had the years, but his truth quickly cut through the misinformation the old guys gave.

Here is something to which I can relate. While in general it can be said that "the older one is, the more one knows." But, the truth of the matter is that a really wise older person knows when they don't know, and consequently knows when to shutup and listen. Listening is the hard part, because all of us get set in our ways – young and old. Being set in our ways keeps us from hearing the truth.

The problem is that we get hung up on thinking we know more than the person talking, [more]and so we do not listen and actually think about what they are saying. It's not that Job was not listening, but that all that had been said up to this point was trashing or questioning God.

Elihu in these five chapters (32-37) makes it clear that the real issue was not that God was punishing Job, but rather that we (Job and his friends) don't have any right to question what God does.

Elihu's points probably sounded like fingernails on a chalk board to Job, Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar
[html]<ul><li>God does not do wickedness (34:10)</li>
<li>God will not prevert justice (34:12)</li>
<li>He cannot rule and hate justice (34:17)</li>
<li>Our righteousness is never more than God's (35:2 & 7)</li></ul>[/html]
As Elihu speaks in chapter 35, we see the might and power he attributes to God. His words are a reminder to Job and Company that God is in control, even if we don't want to acknowledge it. Elihu reminds us (even though he was speaking to them) that pride keeps us from hearing what God is saying to us or seeing what God has put in front of us. When we reach the point that we think we know more than God and want to order our own lives, then we are really in for trouble.

At the end of chapter 35, the Kid strikes with swiftness as he says "Job did not have anything to say – he just babbled words on and on. He talked about what he knew nothing about! A big fat waste of energy!"

Maybe the words of the Psalmist work better…"Let the words that I say and what I think about a lot be something that will make you happy God, for You are the rock upon which I want to set my life and You have redeemed me." (Psalm 19:14)

Job did a very good job of rebuking his friends. Friends who did not really have any answers, but still, they spoke. Their "words" of wisdom, though many, did not move Job to confess or accept responsibility for anything that had happened to him. If anything, it confirmed for Job that something else was going on, but poor Job did not know what.

The friends should have been there to bring some comfort or support. They definitely did not do that.

They had all had their turns speaking, and Job rebutted each argument or scenario. And still there were no answers. Job's protests [more]that he had done nothing wrong seemed to fall on deaf ears.

And then the kid stood up!

No one knows how old Elihu was, but in his own words he says "I let you guys speak because you are way older than me. (32:6)" It was his sense that because of his lack of years and experiences, he should let the older people speak, because they might bring some wisdom to the subject at hand.

After listening for what must have been hours, Elihu came to the conclusion that "old people might not be wise or understand what justice really is". He hits them up side the head with a "You talked but did not say anything. For all you had to say, none of you could refute Job."

Sort of points out how even today, we talk, but the words mean nothing. We verbally wrestle with family, friends and co-workers, but our words are meaningless. Without the real picture of what is going on, we babble about what we think. Our "wisdom" is based upon false or incomplete theories or information.

My Pastor gave us a challenge a couple of weeks back from the book of James. The challenge was to read the Word. But more than that, the challenge was to "DO" the Word. You see, it's not enough for us to memorize or shout platitudes. It's what we do with what we know. Our experiences should make us different people – they should make us do things a different way. Knowing what the Bible says and doing what the Bible says are two different things.

Job's friends had words, but they were stymied. They had no answers for Job, but they wanted to be heard. It's as though they felt that the more they talked, the wiser ther were.

Elihu captures the essence of the matter when he says "Lemme tell you guys something, what you are doin' an saying ain't right, and the reason is simple. God is greater that any man, so stop trying to make Him explain Himself! (33:12 my translation)

What do you expect from God? More than that, what does God expect from you?

Getting to the end of the two-week challenge has led to some powerful words! Paul ends Philippians with some sensible and clear directions on living.

Somehow chapters 3 and 4 of Philippians are both a defense and a reason for being a follower of Christ. It is interesting that once again, Paul, like James, John and Peter warn the "church" to watch out for false teachers. It would be easy to ask "where did they come from – they were right there, that close to the historical event." Yet they were there ready to mislead the early church. No wonder the church started out with Councils which have set down again and again over the years what being a follower is all about.

It is not that the Gospel has changed, just that people don't take the time to read and study it themselves, and so begin to believe what someone "says" about it. That's why the leaders of the early church again and again had to remind people of what Jesus said and did.

Paul was in a unique position, having been a man who at first thought that all those believers were wrong, and should be wiped from the face of the earth. His mission before he became a believer was to search out the early church and see that it was stamped out. But, it is his past that allows him to speak in this letter. He says "If you think all those people who want you to follow laws so you can be right, look at me. I followed all the laws! I was mister perfect, but all that was a losing proposition because of what Christ did!" (3:4-11 my condensed version)

He wanted to make it clear that he knew he wasn't perfect, but was going to continue working toward finishing the race. What imagery for us. What an example. Here was a man who had met all the requirements for how to live, but he said "it wasn't enough!" He wanted to get the prize for what God had called him to be and do.

Humility shines out here. There is a little hidden lesson for those of us who think we have been Christians a long time. That lesson is buried in the verses that end with the race analogy. We are not perfect! We should not think of ourselves that way. (3:15)

Chapter four has some great slogan verses. When we look at them, they challenge us to live our lives differently.

• Rejoice always
• Visible gentleness
• No Worry
• Pray!

That's enough work to keep me busy every day of my life. Any one of these by itself is hard enough to do, and then he puts them all together!

For me, one of the keys of Philippians is in Paul's "Whatever" list in verse 8. Just reading the list gives you pictures of your life that have to give us hope. They challenge us to better things – get out minds out of or off our problems.

Makes me question what I spend my time thinking about. Do I spend time on the good or the bad? And then, do I put it into practice?

That's the real question. Now that you read it, are you doing it?