mediator – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

There are a lot of problems in trying to interpret Job, and one of the biggest problems is what to do with Elihu.

I’ve seen commentary that basically call him a big windbag full of hot air, which is why (they say) Job, his friends, and even God essentially ignore him.

And I’ve seen other commentators commending him saying that his speeches were a precursor to God’s own confrontation with Job.

I’m more inclined, after reading everything, to go with the idea that Elihu basically said what was right.

I think the key verse for me is found in chapter 32, where it says of Elihu,

[He] 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)

What was he angry about? Two things.

First, that Job questioned God’s justice.

Second, that Job’s friends never refuted Job’s wrong ideas about God. All they did was say he was a sinner, and that God was punishing him for it. This without any shred of proof.

In chapter 33, he addresses Job’s complaints that God had made himself Job’s enemy for no reason, and that God wouldn’t answer Job’s complaints.

Elihu replies by saying God does speak; it’s just that many times, we aren’t listening.

Elihu mentions that God sometimes uses dreams to speak, perhaps referring to the nightmares that Job had been experiencing. The purpose of these dreams?

To turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. (Job 33:17-18)

In the same way, Elihu says that God also speaks to us through our suffering in order to chasten us.

Some commentators take these words as Elihu’s backhanded way of saying to Job, “You’ve sinned, and that’s why you’re being punished, so repent.”

But perhaps what spared Elihu the fate of Job’s friends was that he wasn’t saying the trials Job was going through was the result of some great sin he was trying to hide, but rather that God was using these trials to purge out the sin and pride latent in all of us.

And Elihu points out to Job that God was not doing this because he is our enemy. Rather, he loves us and is constantly working to save us. He tells Job,

God does all these things to a person— twice, even three times—to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them. (33:29-30)

What’s more, there’s an element of grace in all this.

In verses 23-25, we find an interesting passage where Elihu talks of a mediator that not only teaches a man what is right, but intercedes for him saying,

Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them (33:24)

And because of that intercession, that person can find pray and find favor with God. And when they do, they cry out,

I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved.

God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life. (27-28)

Isn’t this the picture of salvation God gives us in the New Testament?

What I take from this is that God doesn’t allow trials into our lives for no reason. He allows trials to humble us, and to remind us that we are all sinners in need of grace.

And if we ever doubt his intentions as Job did, let us remember that it was God that found a ransom for us that saved us from death and hell. A ransom that cost his own Son his life.

So when we face suffering in our lives, remember that God allows it not because he hates us. Rather in his love, he will use it both to save us and refine us. And as Job himself said,

When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

The need for a mediator

In this passage, we see more of Job’s frustration bubbling over at God. On one hand, he recognizes God’s sovereignty in this world. But on the other hand, God seems so distant.

Job said,

When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ (Job 9:11-12)

Not only that, Job felt like God was torturing him for no good reason. He said,

Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.

If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him? (16-19)

Further, it seemed like God was delighting in his misery.

When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. (23)

Ultimately, it seemed to Job that God was simply being unjust.

It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked’…

When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it? (22-24)

It’s easy to criticize Job, but considering all that he went through, I think most people, even the strongest of Christians would feel that way.

Still, there is some truth in this chapter that would be well to remember. First, no one can stand before God and claim to be righteous. Job said,

But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? (2-4)

Many people think that they’ll be able to stand before God on judgment day and give a reasonable defense for themselves.

But on that day, he will lay out before us every evil thought, every evil deed, and even every incident where we failed to do what we knew was right.

And when he does, and we compare our lives to his holiness, we will know that there is nothing we can say to defend ourselves. All our excuses, all our logical arguments, and everything we could say will be revealed for the shams that they are.

Many on that day will find themselves saying the words of Job,

How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?

Though I were innocent (compared to others, that is, for no one is truly innocent), I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. (14-15)

Job knew he could not stand before God and be found innocent, and so he cried out,

If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.

Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot. (33-35)

He didn’t have that mediator. But we do. Paul wrote,

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men (I Timothy 2:5-6).

He also wrote,

Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)

None of us can stand alone before God and be proclaimed guiltless before him. All of us deserve to be condemned.

But Jesus is our mediator. And he tells the Father, “I’ve paid for their sin on the cross.”

Now the Father says to us, “You are no longer condemned. Your sins are forgiven.”

Not only that, in Jesus, we have someone who suffered like we do. Unlike us, however, he was completely blameless, and yet suffered anyway.

So in Jesus, we have someone that understands our pain in suffering. He understands our confusion. He understands our feelings of abandonment. And he reminds us that he went through every emotion we’re going through.

As the writer of Hebrews wrote,

Because [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

And again,

For we do not have a high priest (in Jesus) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)