LIVE: "Will God Esteem Thy Riches?" (JOB 36), Part 1/4

Job has friends who can quote true things about God all day long, but Job still sits in ashes with no comfort and no explanation. That’s where we camp out as we continue our verse by verse Bible study through the Book of Job, focusing on Job 36 and the speech of Elihu. He’s younger, louder, and convinced he’s defending God’s righteousness with “perfect knowledge” on his side. The problem is not that Elihu only says false things. The problem is what happens when true statements get forced into a neat story that doesn’t fit the sufferer.

We walk through Elihu’s claims about God’s power, wisdom, justice, and mercy, then slow down when he reframes suffering and affliction as correction. Is hardship always pointing to sin? Is it discipline meant to open our ears? Or can it be something else entirely? Our group discussion tests Elihu’s logic against the full context of Job, including the dangerous idea that obedience guarantees prosperity and that pain proves guilt. Along the way, we talk about transgression, repentance, hypocrisy, and what “humility” really means when someone is already crushed.

This is a practical conversation for anyone doing Christian discipleship, pastoral care, or simply trying to make sense of suffering without turning God into a formula. We end by naming the tension Elihu never resolves: Job’s real “why” is still unanswered until God speaks. Subscribe for the next part, share this with a friend who loves the Book of Job, and leave a review if this study helps you. What’s a “true” spiritual line you’ve heard that still didn’t help in pain?

Transcript

Welcome And Setting Job 36

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Christians, how are you doing today? I hope that everything is going well with you on this Thursday evening tonight. I'm going to continue the exposition on the book of Job. Our exposition on the book of Job, and we're going to be in chapter 36 of the book of Job. So what I will do is get right into it. Good evening. So we're in Job 36, and we have another one of Job's friends, if he is, in fact, one of his friends, Elihu, speaking, and giving his assessment of Job's condition and how he got to be in it. And Elihu is one of four men that have been speaking to Job. And we know that the first three guys, Zophar, Bildad, and Eliphaz, have had some very harsh ways in which they spoke to Job and the way they accounted for his affliction. Elihu is a younger guy, may or may not be connected to Job in any kind of way, but he is young and he is a different type of a speaker than Job's other three friends. Very different. And so, and many people have had their variety of assessments as to how they view him, but he tends to be a person that is one who is very verbose. I mean, he speaks more than anybody else, than any of the other three men that were speaking to Job. And also, he doesn't necessarily address the reasons as to why Job was being afflicted. There is no indication in any sense of him speaking in a way that brings any comfort to Job. He says a lot of things to Job that are true, like all of Job's miserable comforters have done. But none of them, including this guy Elihu, actually had anything to say, encouraging to Job or giving an explanation as to why he was in the situation that he was in. And so this is where we are tonight, and this is where we break into the conversation. Now, we're in chapter 36 tonight. Our next chapter will be chapter 37, and after that, we don't hear from any of Job's friends anymore or Elihu. Because in chapter 38, God speaks, and things begin to move along in a way whereby Job is able to get some comfort because God intervenes. And the interesting thing is that Job finally gets what he wants, which is to have his hearing with the Lord. And so this is a very important um part of the book because Job does get what he ultimately wants, which is a hearing with his God, and he will absolutely get that. Now, Job chapter thirty-six. Elihu continues, and in verse one, the chapter begins where it says, Elihu also proceeded. And he said, Suffer me a little, and I will show you that I have yet to speak on God's behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words shall not be false. He says, Truly my words shall not be false. For he or he that is perfect in knowledge is with me. This is what he says. So Elihu begins by asking for patience as he continues to speak. He's asking for for patience. And he continues to say what he has to say. And he says that his purpose is to speak in defense of God's righteousness. And so in doing so, he also claims that what he is about to say is drawn from a from careful probing thought and is intended to uphold the justice of God. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with upholding the justice of God. Nothing at all. That's a good thing. But the emphasis is that God is perfect in knowledge and therefore cannot act unjustly. And the argument that follows rests upon this foundation that is now being laid by Elihu. And so we're going to see as he progresses the things that he says that he believes is going to be upholding God's righteousness and representing a defense in God. And I think one of the things that is interesting to me is that he is so certain that his words will not be false. And he really believes, or at least he's conveying that he believes that he is speaking for God. And so this is the backdrop of where we are in Job chapter 36 with Elihu. So now in verse 5, Elihu says, Behold, God is mighty, and he despises not any. He is mighty in strength, mighty in wisdom. He preserves not the life of the wicked. He doesn't preserve the life of the wicked, but he gives he gives right to the poor. He withdraws not his eyes from the righteous. But with kings are they on the throne. Yea, he does establish them forever, and they are exalted. Again, Elihu says things here that are very true. Very true. He speaks about God's greatness and how the greatness of God is joined with justice and with mercy. And though he is mighty, he does not despise the lowly. He does not despise the lowly. And this is clear here. And like I said, he's telling the truth, he's speaking true things. Elihu says, Elihu says that God defends the poor, and he does not ultimately preserve the wicked. And he says that the righteous, the righteous, the righteous are under God's constant care and concern, and in due time he will exalt them. In due time, he will exalt them. And so this teaches that God's power is always guided by his wisdom and by justice. No problem here. Everything he says here is true. Everything he says here is true. We'll get on to verse eight. And it says here, Elihus continues, and if they be bound in fetters and be holden in cords of affliction, then he shows them their work and their transgressions, that they have exceeded. He opens also their ear to discipline and commands that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. And so now, Elihu, he shows affliction, and we know that in this narrative, Job is the one that has been afflicted, without a doubt. This is an unquestionable fact. He presents affliction as a means of correction. Now, contrary to what the other friends were saying, they were looking at the affliction as being condemnation and punishment for sin that Job supposedly has committed. But Elihu's position is that Job's affliction is being used as a means of correction. And again, the issue is going to be, or that we all need to answer, is what is Job being corrected for? And this is a big this is a big point. But he points out that when people are bound by trouble, that God uses this to reveal sin and to call them to repentance. And this is what his suggestion is, whether implied or whether he is speaking directly about Jove. And if it's implied, um, if he if it's implied, then it's just put out there as a general observation of truth, which is true, or he is saying that Jove's affliction came because God wanted to correct Job. And this is what this is what we have to ask ourselves. And so affliction also, according to Elihu, is instructive, instructive, and can be used to open the ear to discipline, as he says in these verses. And he says, and and he points out that if the warning is heeded, if you hear the instruction that comes by way of the affliction, and you hear it and you heed it, the restoration will follow. And if not, destruction is possible to be followed, to come to come as a result of it. So according to him, suffering may serve as a warning, a merciful warning, rather than immediate judgment. So I'll start right now and go around and ask people what do you think so far? And um, I'll start with you, Meg, since you're already starting with the question. So let's start with you. Your thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

I just yeah, I think it's good so far. Ellie who's speaking the truth. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 13:21

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Yeah, I just want to like the question that I asked was like, did where did Ellie who say that about sin, though?

SPEAKER_04 13:30

We'll get we'll get back to that. We'll come back around to that. What I what I don't want to do is have these conversations all over again. Sister Mariah, go ahead. What do you think so far?

SPEAKER_07 13:45

Um, I mean, what he's saying is true so far from uh what we have read. Um we know that he does not preserve the life of the wicked um in such a way that is um as he preserves the believers and those that have faith in him. Um so yeah, I I feel like he's right in in his sense of um what he is saying about Bobby.

SPEAKER_04 14:14

Absolutely. Brother Jeffrey, good evening. How are you doing, brother?

SPEAKER_01 14:19

I'm well, my friend. Thank you. Uh yeah, uh the ladies have kind of echoed a little bit what I was thinking too. Like his three other friends, Job's three other friends, it does not all of it apply here to what's happening with Job. Yeah, there's some good, there's some nuggets of truth here that we can live by. Maybe even Job heard some things that he agreed with, but they still didn't apply to him. The scripture doesn't say that, but that thought did occur to me while you were explaining to this. Maybe there's some things here. Job says, yeah, you're right. You're right. Doesn't apply to me, but you're absolutely correct. I will remember that moving forward. The thing here is that Job is still listening, and he is still, after 36 chapters where we are now, he's still trusting that God is going to exonerate him. And of course, we know in a couple more chapters, uh, Jonathan, that process will begin.

SPEAKER_04 15:30

Absolutely, brother. Sister Lisa, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_06 15:34

Well, um I guess I I pretty much need to echo the rest of the panel. Um, the thing that's kind of stopping me is in verse 11, um, you know, where God commands they return from their iniquity true. If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity.

SPEAKER_05 16:02

Good window.

SPEAKER_06 16:04

Uh that's not always true. Um, and again, it seems as though Elihu is doing exactly what the three friends, he's still in that. If you're in sin, you're gonna suffer. If you are righteous in the eyes of the Lord, you'll live in prosperity all the days and pleasantness. Um it's obviously not true because of what Job is actually going through. I mean, they don't know it, and Job doesn't even um, he's not even sure why, but we know this isn't true. This statement right here isn't true.

SPEAKER_04 16:45

So um, yeah, I just look forward to that's a brilliant observation that's that's a brilliant observation. That's a brilliant observation. That is not always true, and Job is an example of that right now. Now, somebody could argue and say, oh, well, he is he he eventually gets what he gets in the future when God comes and breaks in. But that wasn't something that Elihu knew. You know, and but the it but the issue is is that what brought on Job's situation? This is what this book is about. What brought that on? And and and and from the perspective of his friends from Elihu and the other three, because none of them address the reality because none of them knew. They couldn't know. And so, and so Job didn't know, and none of them knew. Nobody knew. This was something that took place in heaven, it took place between God and the devil, and that's what happened. So no one addressed, uh, addressed Job's the real reason. So you have a two different, you have two different perspectives. One is that he's being punished and condemned for sin, the other one is that he's being corrected for sin, and now he's being admonished, basically, to um, you know, as we're gonna see, to repent and to respond to this warning so that he could be prosperous. So that he could be prosperous. Um, Brother Juan, what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

On that situation, brother, you have all meanings you're speaking right, man. It's like really you're being right on the point on it. The thing about it that gets me is because sometimes our afflictions are never brought upon us.

SPEAKER_03 18:28

Sometimes they're never gonna be told to you, they're never gonna be shown to you. These are something that you're gonna learn into yourself by you getting to know the word, by you getting to start, because as as job, as job went through that with his friends, remember they didn't have that that goodness to walk with God, they didn't have that time, those offerings that they were doing because they were can they were giving him like telling him, Oh, well, you did wrong, you did this, you were doing this, this is your fault, this is why you did this, because you weren't you weren't walking around, you weren't doing the things that God told you to do. Something they had an excuse for it. They had instead of emotion and state and be like, you know what? Hell no, let's pray, let's get to let's talk to God, let's get to see what's going on, what's really happening, why you going through this? Because we are friends, we wanna be, we don't wanna see that on you on us. So, this is something that they needed to see and grow in themselves because they didn't want to know that, because they were just believing on what they seen in him, so they were blaming him for what he seen himself because he kept on thinking in his heart that something was wrong that he did, but in reality, no, it's what God wants to see, how strong you could live through those afflictions, what you could believe in him through those times. So that's something you don't ever know what happens when you see that.

SPEAKER_02 19:43

We have something for ourselves, and that that's something that I get to see in brother. So I appreciate that. Amen, brother.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Pastor response and a and a good one on top of that, and a good one on top of that, Sister Candy.

SPEAKER_05 19:53

What do you think? Sister Candy, you there?

SPEAKER_04 20:02

All right, I'll come back to her. Meg, I'm gonna come back to you for a second. Do me it tell me how you interpret verse nine.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

It says then he declares to them their hold on, and if they are bound in fetters and are caught in the cords of affliction, he then declares to them their work and their transgressions that they have magnified themselves. He opens their ear to instruction and commands that they return from evil.

SPEAKER_04 20:33

So how do you interpret that?

SPEAKER_00 20:35

I just is well, he declares to them their work. He shows them their works.

SPEAKER_04 20:39

And there's but you but you asked the question, where did he say something about sin? So you don't see that in this verse at all?

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Well, is he is Elihu accusing Job right now?

SPEAKER_04 20:50

That wasn't the question. You you said where you said where did he mention sin? So do you see sin in that passage at all?

SPEAKER_00 20:58

I mean, and their transgressions. I mean, is transgressions sin always? Yeah, it is.

unknown 21:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 21:06

Tell me a situation where sin is not transgression.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Well, where there where the law is not given, then there is no transgression, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:14

No. Um That's not but that's not what that that's not that's not that's not b the issue. Transgression is always sin. When it says that where the when the Bible says that where there is no law, there's no transgression, meaning there's no responsibility for a for the wage of transgression to be paid until the law came. Transgression is always sin. If you think differently, I'm open to hear it.

SPEAKER_05 21:48

You sure? All right, all right.

SPEAKER_04 21:53

So Job thirty six, we look at verse thirteen. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. They cry not when he binds them. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean. He delivers the poor in his affliction and opens their ears in oppression. Once again, what he says here is all true. He makes a distinction between those who are humble and those who are hypocritical. The hypocrite does not pray sincerely in affliction, but becomes more hardened, stirring up greater judgment.

SPEAKER_05 22:55

Is this the case with Job? Anybody? Is this the case with Job?

SPEAKER_00 23:07

No. Is Elihu accusing Job here?

SPEAKER_04 23:12

I didn't I didn't that that's not that's not the issue. I'm asking.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

What you're saying, is this the case with Job?

SPEAKER_04 23:16

No, I'm asking, I'm asking you, Meg, I'm asking a simple question. Is this true about Job? It's not about what Elihu's accusing. I'm asking you, is this true about Job? So let's Job has been deemed righteous. I know. So let's take it let's take it off the table that Elihu's accusing him. Okay? Okay. Let's say, let's say he's not accusing Job.

SPEAKER_05 23:40

Does this apply to Job? Meg, does it apply to Joe?

SPEAKER_03 23:49

Verses. Everything applies to him. Every single thing that you said applies to Joe. Hold on, brother. Hold on, brother.

SPEAKER_04 23:58

Hold on, brother. Hold on. I want to finish this. The hypocrite, we're in verse 13 through 15. The hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. They cry when none, they cry not when he binds them. They die in youth, and their life is and their life is among the unclean. He delivers the poor in his affliction and oppresses and opens their ears in oppression. So I just asked a simple question. Whether Elihu is accusing him or not, it does, I'm just asking a question. Does this apply to Job?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

No, he Job is not godless in heart, and he doesn't lay up anger. I agree. He's just giving knowledge and defending God's dealings with men. That's what I would say.

SPEAKER_04 24:46

Okay, so I agree. We agree there. Now, so and what and what he what he also points out is that the humble, however, are taught through affliction and and and that they're delivered by it. In other words, their affliction becomes the grounds or the means whereby they are delivered when they humble themselves. So is Job in this case in need of some humbling?

SPEAKER_05 25:21

Anybody?

SPEAKER_07 25:32

Like when Job was saying that it was God who caused his affliction and he caused the other people to there go and afflict him even more. I think that that is a cause for him some type of humbling to understand truly what it was that God was doing in that time, not being cruel to him, but and um that would be my answer.

SPEAKER_04 25:57

Right. Because he he he did he did suggest that there was some cruelty he was undergoing, and he and he seemed to be laying that that man, we we know that everybody needs to be humbled. But but anyway, so yeah, I do believe I know, I know. So I do believe that Job did have some humbling to begin with, but also what we what what I want to continue to maintain is this. The humility that Job required had a lot to do, in fact, had everything to do with what took place with his friends and Elihu after undergoing his affliction, not because of some sin that he would that he was guilty of that required his humility. And this is a point that cannot be ignored. This needs to be understood. Because it wasn't because of uh he he he doesn't need humbling because of something that he did that brought upon him the affliction. The humility that Job does need and is in it and is in need of having to undergo was was um is about his re you know the responses that he's making to these guys. Sister Lisa, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 27:26

So I have to di um to respectfully disagree um with the I like it go ahead with the humbling aspect. When we see people in need of humility, those are people walking and standing and speaking in pride. I don't see that Job was ever speaking in pride. I believe he was he misunderstood what was happening and he voiced it in a way, um, and which which we know will result in a correction from the Lord, but a loving correction at that. So I I don't believe this um when he where's the verse right here that you just read about um the godless in heart. We know he's not godless in heart. I I don't think that he is um he is one that's needing to be humbled in any way. This man is still sitting there full of pus and sores and bleeding and scratching himself with it with pot shirts, and I wouldn't describe him in any sense, even if he's he's speaking wrong words. Um I I wouldn't describe that as being prideful, um, which would require to be humble. Do you see what I mean? I don't mean it's just the word, I think, for me.

SPEAKER_04 28:56

Right. Well, I think we're gonna get I we're gonna get there's gonna be a lot more clarity when we when we advance through the through the scriptures. There's gonna be a lot more clarity coming.

SPEAKER_06 29:07

I love that.

Big Question Before God Speaks

SPEAKER_04 29:10

I'm gonna re reserve some of my responses to this. But here's what I will say. Here's what I will say that you are not alone in that um assessment. There's there's a a lot of quality, good uh Bible interpreters who agree with you on that. And just like there are also uh a great many that would agree with Mick's position to a point. But but but um but again, it it does go to show, as I have said before, that that Elihu he speaks differently than the other guys. He his his his approach to Job is much different. It's much different. And he points out in these verses that you know the afflictions or the troubles that come as a result of the afflictions, um they should serve as a means of instruction and hopefully the eventual deliverance from that affliction that that he that that a person is going through, assuming that the person who is undergoing it responds correctly. You know, now the thing is we have to what we have to understand here is that there are there are two ways to look at what Elihu is saying. Because this is next to the last chapter, so 36 we're in now, and then we have one more chapter when he speaks before God starts to speak. So when it comes to Elihu, the thing that is going to have to be asked, is you're gonna have to answer, is did he say anything that was designed to quell Job? Did he answer Job's issue as to why he underwent his affliction? Did he did did did he or anybody address why Job was being afflicted? And I will have to tell you, a resounding unequivocal no, none of them did. So did they all say things that were true?