This is a remarkable speech because it introduces into the debate a new insight into the purpose of suffering. Job’s friends had argued that his suffering was evidence that God was punishing him for his sins, but Elihu now argues that sometimes God permits us to suffer to keep us from sin. In other words, suffering may be preventive and not punitive. (See Paul’s experience recorded in 2 Cor. 12:7–10.) God does all He can to keep us from sinning and going into the pit of death, and this is evidence of His grace (Job 33:24).
Before launching into his argument, Elihu assured Job that his words were sincere and given by God’s Spirit, so Job had no reason to be afraid (vv. 1–7). Elihu didn’t claim to have any “inside track” with God; he was made of clay just like Job. He promised not to be heavy-handed in his speaking, and he invited Job to feel free to reply. Elihu didn’t want this to be a monologue, but that’s exactly what it turned out to be. Either Job was silenced by what Elihu said, or Elihu didn’t pause long enough for Job to speak (see vv. 31, 33), or Job didn’t think it was worthwhile to respond.
Having assured Job that his words would be helpful and not hurtful, Elihu then proceeded to quote what Job had said about himself (vv. 8–11). Job’s words will form the premise for Elihu’s argument.
First, Elihu said that Job had claimed to be sinless (v. 9), which was not what Job had said. That Job claimed to be sinless was Zophar’s interpretation, not Job’s declaration (11:4). Job did say that he did not lie (6:30), that he was not wicked (10:7), that he was just and upright (12:4), and that he had not disobeyed God (23:11–12); but he never said he was sinless. He consistently maintained his integrity (2:3; 27:4–5) but never said he was perfect. In fact, he denied perfection (9:20–21). Elihu’s basic premise was weak because he confused Zophar’s words with Job’s words. It may have sounded like Job was claiming to be sinless, but he was only saying that he was blameless, which is an entirely different thing.
Second, Elihu quoted Job as saying that God was unjust and was treating him like an enemy (33:10–11). This quotation was true (13:24, 27; 16:9; 19:7, 11). In his speeches, Job had repeatedly asked God why He was attacking him and why He didn’t give him a fair trial. Elihu’s great concern was not to debate what Job said about himself but to refute what Job said about God.
This “young theologian” knew something about public speaking because Job 33 is a model address. First, he stated his thesis in verses 12–14: God is greater than man and speaks to him in ways that he may not always recognize. He then described three different ways that God may speak to man: dreams and visions (vv. 15–18), suffering (vv. 19–22), and the ministry of the mediating angel (vv. 23–33).
The word pit is used five times in verses 14–33. God’s purpose in discipline is to save people from death (James 5:19–20) by breaking their pride and bringing them back to the place of obedience (Job 33:17–18). God seeks to keep them from the pit (v. 18), but rebellious sinners draw near to the pit (v. 22), then go down to the pit (v. 24), and into the pit (v. 28). When it is almost too late, the Mediator brings them back from the pit (v. 30), and they are rescued. “God does all these things to a man—twice, even three times—to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him” (vv. 29–30 niv). God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).
Dreams and visions (Job 33:15–18). In Bible times, God sometimes spoke to people through dreams and visions; today His Spirit directs us primarily through His Word (Heb. 1:1–2). If sinners have frightening visions or dreams, it might shock them and keep them from committing the sins they had planned. Job himself experienced terrifying dreams (Job 7:13–14), and Eliphaz had an unforgettable night vision (4:12–21). God sends dreams and visions in order to “open the ears of men,” which gets them to listen to God’s Word and obey. If they don’t humble themselves, they may go down to the pit of death.
A man stopped a stranger on a New York City street and said, “Can you share a dream with me? I’m on my way to my psychiatrist, and I haven’t slept for a week. I desperately need a dream to tell him!”
Not all dreams have hidden meanings, and not all dreams come from God with special messages in them. More than one nightmare has been caused by improper diet! People who plan their lives around what they learn from the “dream book” are asking for confusion rather than direction. God can use dreams to shake the confidence of a proud sinner, but this is not His normal approach today.
Suffering (Job 33:19–22). In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis says, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” God sometimes uses pain to warn us, humble us, and bring us to the place of submission (Heb. 12:1–11). Elihu describes a sick man, suffering on his bed, wasting away because he has no appetite. (Is this a picture of Job? See 6:7; 7:3–6; 16:8; 17:7; 19:20.) But this man is suffering because God wants to get his attention and prevent him from breaking God’s law.
It is a mistake to say that all suffering comes from God, because we cause some suffering ourselves. Careless driving may lead to an accident that will make many people suffer. Improper eating may upset the body and cause abused organs to protest with pain. There is pleasure in sin (Heb. 11:25), but sin causes suffering. “The way of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13:15). If people defy the law of God, there is a price to pay.
And we must not say that all suffering is a punishment for sin. Elihu argues that sometimes God permits suffering in order to keep people from sinning and going to the pit. God gave Paul a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from getting proud, and Paul learned to thank God for it (2 Cor. 12:7–10). Elihu hoped that Job would submit to God, accept his painful situation, and get from it the blessings God had for him.
Nobody wants to be sick; everybody prays for healing. But the British Congregational theologian P. T. Forsyth said, “It is a greater thing to pray for pain’s conversion than its removal.” That’s what Paul learned to do with his thorn in the flesh. What might have been a weapon to tear him down became, by the grace of God, a tool to build him up! Had he lost that messenger of pain, Paul might have become proud of his spiritual achievements; and that pride might have led him into sin.
Elihu has presented two ways that God speaks to people in order to keep them from the pit: visions and dreams, and sickness and pain. Now he presents the third.
The ministry of the mediating angel (Job 33:23–33). The book of Job opens with a description of God’s heavenly court where the angels (“sons of God”) report for duty (Job 33; 1:6ff.; 2:1ff.). Eliphaz mentions the angels in 4: and possibly in 5: (“holy ones”), and angels are also mentioned in 38: as rejoicing at the creation of the world. Except for this present passage, these are the only references to angels in the book.
Elihu paints an awesome picture. The sinner has been warned by dreams and visions and has been chastened by sickness and suffering. He is drawing near to the grave, and “the destroyers” (“messengers of death,” niv) are about to capture him (33:22). Then a special messenger suddenly stands up (“one among a thousand”) and pleads his case. This messenger has a twofold ministry: he tells the sufferer what he ought to do (v. 23), and he intercedes with God to have the person restored.
It seems likely that this interceding angel is the Angel of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Mediator who gave His life as a ransom for sinners (1 Tim. 2:5; Mark 10:45). As the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God visited the earth in Old Testament times to deliver special messages and accomplish important tasks (Gen. 16:9; 22:11; Ex. 3:2; Judg. 6:11). But Elihu saw this Angel not only as a Mediator between God and men, but also as the Provider of the ransom for sinners.
This is the heavenly “mediator” that Job has been asking for throughout the debate! Job wanted an “umpire” to bring him and God together for a trial (Job 9:33), a heavenly “witness” to argue his case before God (16:19), a “redeemer” who would vindicate him even after his death (19:25). The ministry of this Angel is purely an act of God’s grace (33:24). “Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him” (v. 24 niv). That sounds like our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both our Mediator and our Ransom (1 Tim. 2:5–6).
The concept of “the ransom” is woven into the fabric of biblical theology. The Hebrew word means “to atone for sin by the offering of a substitute.” The condemned sinner can’t be set free by the paying of some cheap price such as money (Ps. 49:7–9), good works, or good intentions. It must be a ransom that God will accept, and God asks for the shedding of blood (Lev. 16—17). Job didn’t ask his three friends to ransom him because he knew they couldn’t (Job 6:21–23). Only God can provide the ransom, and He did. If God has provided a ransom for lost sinners about to go down into the pit, how foolish of them not to receive it!
Elihu promised Job that God would radically alter his situation if only he would humble himself. It would be like a “new birth” (33:25; see John 3)! He would once more enjoy prayer and fellowship with God (Job 33:26). He would confess his sins and admit that God had punished him far less than he deserved (v. 27). Job would move out of the darkness into the light and gladly bear witness of God’s redemption (v. 28).
Job 33:31–33 suggests that Elihu wanted Job’s response, but at the same time Elihu wanted Job to keep quiet! Elihu was filled to the brim with his subject and didn’t want to stop talking. But Job didn’t reply because he was waiting for God to speak. Job had already stated his case and thrown down the gauntlet. What Elihu thought about him or said to him made little difference to Job.
Job had taken his case to a much higher court; and when Elihu finishes speaking, the Judge will appear.