Wisdom From An Uneducated Toy Maker (Job 32:1-11)

It is not an exaggeration to say that, while an unnerving silence hung over the ash heap, at any moment the Comforters expected something horrific to happen to Job – perhaps even an event along the lines of a chapter-one calamity. Hartley writes, “Job's avowal of innocence is so audacious and final that it leaves the Comforters speechless. All are terrified, waiting for an answer from the heavens. But God remains silent.”

32:1 “Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.”

Whenever there was a debate in the Land of Uz, whoever failed to make a reply was declared the loser. So to everyone in AshHeapville it seemed that Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (and by extension God Himself) have lost.

But perhaps “stalemate” would be a better way to describe the tense atmosphere at the ash heap. No one can see how both God AND Job can be right. To paraphrase Trapp, Job is viewed as stubborn, contentious, self-conceited and opinionated. But from Job’s point of view Job is merely resolute and tenacious and true to himself.

But it is now that the story takes an unexpected twist. Standing just offstage an unannounced fifth man suddenly appears…the long-winded young gun by the name of Elihu.

More than one commentator characterizes Elihu as “comic relief” – someone who would pierce the tense atmosphere. Youthful and bombastic is how Hartley characterizes him. There is a fair amount of speculation as to his identity: perhaps a relative of Abraham, perhaps the writer of the book of Job, or even perhaps the prophet Balaam in his youth. Whoever he is, he certainly does seem to provide a theological bridge leading up to the appearance of God in chapter 38.

32:2 "But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God."

One thing is for sure: Elihu may have been young and pompous and bombastic, but he was really MAD. So mad that his nose caught on fire! Four times in vs. 2-5 it is stated that “his anger burned.” Trapp translates it literally, “Then burnt the nose of Elihu...” It wasn’t the smell of burnt toast at the ash heap, it was the smell of burning and flaring nostrils! His anger had been simmering for a long, long time, and when the opportunity finally came, it boiled over.

Swindoll tells us that these four speeches of Elihu in the Biblical text (chapters 32-37) are longer than 12 of the Old Testament books and 17 of the New Testament books! This bombastic, long-winded bystander was mad and he decided to get it all out.

His nose-on-fire anger was directed first toward Job. Why? Because “he justified himself before God.” Or as Barnes puts it, “He understood Job…as being more willing that aspersions should be cast on the character and government of God, than to confess his own sin.” Poole writes, “He took more care to maintain his own innocence than God’s glory.”

32:3 "And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job."

What an incredible summation of the Comforters stance in the Book of Job, “They had found no answer and yet had condemned Job!”

The Graybeards have utterly failed to comfort Bag-O-Bones.

32:4 “Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned. 6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, ‘I am young in years and you are old; therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.’”

In his commentary, Adam Clarke wrote, “How young he was, or how old they were, we cannot tell; but there was no doubt a great disparity in their ages; and among the Asiatics the youth never spoke in the presence of the elders, especially on any subject of controversy.”

The word “young” means “small of days” or “insignificant”; “old” comes from a root word meaning “stooped for age.” There is apparently a wide gulf in their ages. The Comforters were the ancients and conceivably had a widespread reputation for being sages or men whose wisdom was renowned. They were men of great experience and great wisdom.

32:7 “I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom. 8 But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. 9 The abundant in years may not be wise, nor may elders understand justice. 10 So I say, ’Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’ 11 Behold, I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you pondered what to say.”

One of the former church members at Hawthorne Assembly of God, the most learned professor Grant Gonyo used to say, “We are too soon old and too late smart.” Trapp writes, “There are beardless sages and grey headed children.”

Note the words “wisdom” or “wise” and “understanding” or “understand” in these verses. Although synonymous, here is how the Theological Wordbook of the OT defines each:

Old Testament “wisdom” (hakam) is quite distinct from that of other ancient world views. It was practical as distinguished from the ivory tower theoretical wisdom of the Greeks. In the non-Hebrew cultures the energy or power to become and remain moral was seen to reside in the intellect. Knowledge was virtue, and according to Plato, if a person had perfect knowledge he could live the good life. However, the emphasis of OT wisdom was that the human will was to be subject to God. Therefore, Hebrew wisdom was not theoretical and speculative -- it was practical, based on revealed principles of right and wrong and was to be lived out in daily life. The source of all wisdom is a relationship with a personal God who is holy, righteous, and just. That wisdom lead to a fear of the Lord (which in actuality is just the beginning of wisdom). Wisdom could then be defined as a simple trust in God and the avoidance of sin.

The word “understanding” (bîn) could also be seen as “insight.” The verb refers to knowledge which is superior to the mere gathering of data. “Bîn” is a power of perceptive insight. While understanding is a gift of God, it does not come automatically. The possession of it requires a persistent diligence. It is more than IQ; it connotes character. One is at fault if he doesn’t have it and in fact, not to pursue it will incur God’s punishment.

Job did not need someone to spew theories and speculations about the reasons for his suffering. He definitely needed someone to provide some practical, perceptive insight. It would surprisingly come from this young man named Elihu.

We’ve come a long way since chapter 2 and verse 13, “Then they (the Comforters) sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that {his} pain was very great.”

They would have been much farther ahead had they simply continued to say nothing, and instead helped to scratch his itching mass of sores with a broken piece of pottery.

In his book “When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough,” Harold Kushner relates a touching story of how one uneducated elderly man could bring comfort when the educated professionals could not:

“Many years ago, when I was young, a business associate of my father’s died under particularly tragic circumstances, and I accompanied my father to the funeral. The man’s widow and children were surrounded by clergy and psychiatrists trying to ease their grief and make them feel better. They knew all the right words, but nothing helped. They were beyond being comforted. The widow kept saying, “You’re right, I know you’re right, but it doesn’t make any difference.” Then a man walked in, a big burly man in his eighties who was a legend in the toy and game industry. He had escaped from Russia as a youth after having been arrested and tortured by the czar’s secret police. He had come to this country illiterate and penniless and had built up an immensely successful company. He was known as a hard bargainer and a ruthless competitor. Despite his success, he had never learned to read or write. He hired people to read his mail to him. The joke in the industry was that he could write a check for a million dollars, and the hardest part would be signing his name to it at the bottom. He had been sick recently, and his face and his walking showed it. But he walked over to the widow and stared to cry, and she cried with him, and you could feel the atmosphere in the room change. This man who had never read a book in his life spoke the language of the heart and held the key that opened the gates of solace where learned doctors and clergy could not.” (When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough” pg. 109-110)