Elihu said:
(Job 32:7-10)
I thought, Age should speak ; advanced years would teach wisdom.
But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.
Therefore I say: listen to me ; I too will tell you what I know.
(Job 32:17-33:3)
I too will have my say; I too will tell what I
know, for I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me ;
inside I am like a bottled up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief ;
I must open my lips and reply.
I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man ;
for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.
But now, Job, listen to my words ; pay attention to everything I say.
I am about to open my mouth ; my words are on the tip of my tongue.
My words come from an upright heart ;
my lips sincerely speak what I know.
Then he went on a winded discourse telling Job things that were not true about his situation.
It makes me think about when people have an opinion about your situation and when they're wrong about it just like Jobs friends were.
Elihu was so convinced it was the spirit of God compelling him to "speak truth" to him. But it obviously wasn't the spirit of God at all.
People might be genuinely sincere about what they think about you and your situation , but they can be sincerely wrong.
Some of what Elihu was saying was even Scriptural. But it just didn't apply to Jobs situation.
People can pour out all kinds of Scripture on you when giving their opinion about your situation.
But it's important to spend time listening to what the LORD says to you about the situation.
And if what the Lord tells you doesn't line up to what others are telling you, and what you know to be true, like with Job, don't worry about what other people are saying, Just listen to the Shepherds voice, and hold on and trust what He says.
At one point after hearing all this wrong talk from Jobs friends, Job says:
(Job16:1-5)
" I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!
Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?
I also could speak like you, if you were in my place;
I could make find speeches against you and shake my head at you.
But my mouth would encourage you ;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
At the end of the book of Job God spoke to Jobs friends. He said this to them:
"The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves.
My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your Folly. You have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has.
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and so Zofar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them ; and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.
These are good reminders for me too. That I would pray before I speak, and check my heart motives.
And when people say wrong things to me to just hang on to what the Lord has told me, hang on to what i know to be true, trust the Lord through it, and pray for those who are speaking wrongly about me as I have been in that place before too.
...Sunday thoughts
