Job 37

To confront God in this way would be like trying to stare down the sun. God cannot be approached like an equal; He cannot be argued with. He is always just and always right; He does not oppress people wrongfully (verse 23). Therefore, Job has no complaint against God. Instead, Job should show himself wise in heart and humble himself before God and revere Him (verse 24).

How are we to assess Elihu? Surely he was much closer to the truth than Job's three friends were. Elihu understood that suffering was sent by God not only to punish the wicked but also to correct the righteous. Job's problem, according to Elihu, was that he wasn't responding to the correction properly; Job's attitude was wrong. And therefore Job's suffering had been prolonged. Job wasn't suffering because of his sin, he was sinning because of his suffering.

Because of his suffering, Job had become combative; he was demanding an explanation from God. Job was so determined to uphold his own righteousness that he came close to impugning God's righteousness. But Elihu told Job that he should stop putting his faith in arguments and explanations and start putting his faith in God Himself. In this, Elihu was right, of course. Yet Elihu was only a human being; it was time now for a greater Speaker to come and put to rest the arguments of men.