04 Oct 2026
Of Job’s friends, Elihu alone was not rebuked by God. His words bridge the debate and prepare for God’s appearance. 1) THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Suffering is not always punitive. God may use it protectively and restoratively. Even in suffering, God remains good. 2) THE GREATNESS OF GOD. Job questions God’s justice, but Elihu insists that God always does what is right. Job must humble himself before Him. 3) THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD. God is sovereign and cannot be manipulated or placed in our debt. He governs all things and is not merely reacting to us. Elihu leaves us with a choice: will we fear and obey God, or sin in suffering? Then, as truths settle in, God Himself appears.
The sermon examines Elihu’s speeches in Job 32–37 as preparation for God’s appearance and response in Job 38–42.
Elihu’s Message
• Elihu speaks because Job has justified himself rather than God and accused God of injustice.
• His teaching presents three aspects of God: goodness, greatness, and governance.
• Suffering is not always punitive; it may be protective, restorative, and an expression of God’s goodness.
Main Conclusion
• God is always good, great, just, and sovereign, even when people cannot understand their suffering.
• Elihu does not explain why Job suffers; he challenges the assumption that limited human understanding proves God is unjust.
• Open question: How will God Himself respond to Job in the following chapters?
Introduction to Elihu
• Elihu is a younger man who has listened to the debate between Job and his three friends.
• He feels compelled to speak because the older men have reached a stalemate.
• He is angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God, and with the friends for failing to answer Job’s accusations.
Evaluating Elihu
• Elihu’s speech marks a distinct new phase in the book of Job.
• He speaks uninterrupted and unopposed for six chapters.
• God later rebukes Job’s three friends but does not rebuke Elihu.
• Elihu’s speech serves as a bridge to God’s appearance.
Three Views of God
• God’s goodness: God may use dreams, warnings, and suffering to turn people from sin and pride and restore them.
• God’s greatness: God governs the world righteously and cannot do wickedness or pervert justice.
• God’s governance: Human righteousness does not place God in debt, and people cannot manipulate or judge His rule by their own calculations.
Conclusion and Application
• Elihu warns Job against anger, judgment, and scoffing.
• He points to storms and nature as reasons to stop and consider God’s wondrous works.
• The sermon calls people to trust, wait for, and fear God, especially by looking to Christ’s death on the cross as evidence of God’s goodness and love.
• Elihu prepares for God’s direct response in the whirlwind.
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