1 "But now, hear my speech, O Job, and listen to all my words. 2 See, I open my mouth; the tongue in my mouth speaks. 3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. 4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 Answer me, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand. 6 See, before God I am as you are; I too was formed from a piece of clay. 7 No fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy on you."
A. I think it might be helpful to begin this study with a brief consideration of the last two verses of ch.32: "I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery toward anyone. For I do not know how to flatter--or my Maker would soon put an end to me!" How do you respond to Elihu's self-presentation in 32:21-22?
B. He keeps talking in 33:1-7, and still appears very self-conscious as he does. What is your reaction, for example, to 33:3?
C. Elihu tells Job that "no fear of me need terrify you" (v.7). Does Job seem like the type of person to be terrified by Elihu?
D. What, then, is your emerging picture of Elihu by the time you get to 33:7? We have seen above how the scholars tend not to like Elihu. But, is his self-confidence and refusal to engage in flattery any different than Job's?
33:8-11
8 "Surely, you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words. 9 You say, 'I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Look, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy; 11 he puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.'"
A. I think this passage is a lot more remarkable than most scholars do. Elihu quotes Job. Sometimes the quotations are word for word (as in v.11 and 13:27), while others seem to capture the ideas expressed by Job in several passages (as in v.9 with 16:17; 9:20-21; 13:23). What is the significance of Elihu's quoting Job's words?
B. Zophar also tries to quote some of Job's words in 11:4. How does what Elihu does here compare with Zophar's attempt?
C. Elihu's quotations come directly from Job 13. Can you suggest any reason why he may have focused on that text rather than other words of Job?
D. When you quote someone you can generally do it for two reasons: either to refute them or to show your sympathy with the ideas they express. But even if they are quoted only to refute, it shows that the hearer has taken pains to listen to the speaker. What might be Job's first reaction to hearing his words quoted to him precisely as he said them?
33:12-18
12 "But in this you are not right. I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal. 13 Why do you contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of my words'? 14 For God speaks in one way, and in two, though people do not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber on their beds, 16 then he opens their ears, and terrifies them with warnings, 17 that he may turn them aside from their deeds, and keep them from pride, 18 to spare their souls from the Pit, their lives from traversing the River."
A. Elihu seems to be saying (v.12) that he hears Job only to refute him--"but in this you are not right." But I think his answer is a bit more subtle than that. What is Elihu saying in this passage?
B. Job has been complaining all along that God is "silent." But now Elihu is going to explore three ways that God speaks to people. Which is the one he mentions in this passage?
C. Do you hear echoes in Elihu's words of Job's in 7:12-14? If so, what "twist" is Elihu putting on Job's experience of sleep? Job just stopped with the idea that God terrifies him through the visions. How is Elihu trying to interpret them?
D. So we get the first insights into Elihu's "method" with Job in this passage. How would you describe this method? Is it one that has an appeal to you? Does Elihu, at this point, seem to have insight that the other friends do not?