| A SILENT FRIEND DECIDES TO SPEAK UP |
| Elihu, out of nowhere, proposes new ideas about suffering. |
| "Not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments." 32:12 |
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| Up to this point in Job, the action has revilved around Job and his three friends. The debate among them, growing ever more heated, finally breaks off. They have reached a standoff. Job will not admit to any sin deserving of terrible punishment, and his three friends will not back down from their ideas about suffering. Suddenly, a new voice is heard. Elihu, a young man, has been listening in silence all this time. He can restrain himself no longer. He flares up, first at Job for being so self-righteous and then at the three friends for not coming up with an answer to Job's questions. He refutes all four of them, turning their own words against them. Is Elihu Right? Elihu is shocked at Job's vigorous self-defense. Surely God cannot be unjust, he insists. Submit to the pain, even if you don't understand it. Don't blame God; praise him. God has shown too much of his wisdom and perfection, especially in nature, for anyone to doubt him. Elihu offers a new explanation for Job's pain. Perhaps, he suggests, God gave suffering to Job not as a punishment but as a purifying influence. God can use suffering to improve a person, if it is received in the right spirit. Where did Elihu come from? Who is he? Are his theories right? Mystery surrounds the man. His speeches stand alone, and no one responds to them. As a result, the book of Job gives no clue on whether Elihu expressed a worthy point of view. Some readers believe Elihu forms a bridge between the |