Job 32:1-5 Job's Friends Did Not Go Far Enough

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Transcript

Welcome to the InAllWisdom Podcast,
A weekly podcast dedicated to wisdom for life.
I am Jim Donnelly, your host.
I have completed a commentary on
The book of Ecclesiastes, all 222 verses.
Ecclesiastes Amplified: A Collection of Wise Words 
Currently in the proofreading process. 
 
In the meantime, I am working on the book of Job, 
all forty-two chapters, all one thousand and seventy verses.
My book title prompts a different approach: 
Title: Job True Story—About a God who has not distanced Himself from human suffering. 
 The title of today's Podcast is: "Job's Friends Did Not Go Far Enough" 
Job's friends may have hung in there for just thirty-six days before they packed up and were ready to go back to their homes. 
Allow me to read the first section of Job chapter thirty-two.  
It is a prose narrative section. An ordinary speech; a story section.  
JOB CHAPTER 32
  1 Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 
2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. 
3 And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 
5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned. (Job 32:1-5, NASB). 

Today's Podcast is titled:
 "Job's Friends Did Not Go Far Enough"
A spiritual terrain, plotted with error, was familiar to Job's three friends. It was a hazardous trek, including the regions of Sabbath, Witness, and Righteousness. These three regions of truth formed the thoughts of the Hebrew mind. 
This Hebrew worldview comes into focus here in Job 32. 
The instructions in the Torah about Sabbath, Witness, and Righteousness are part of the Bio that is used by the Author to introduce Elihu. Because there was a possible error at every turn; navigating through the valleys and mountains of life included thinking through Sabbath, Witness and Righteousness.
 
Well, let's ponder that a bit.
 
First up is the idea of working and Sabbath rest:
To a Hebrew reader of Job 32:1, a blink of an eye would have yielded a clear understanding of "ceasing" to answer. Because the very first word of Job chapter 32 is "Shabbat" (Sabbath). It is the root of the Hebrew word translated: "They rested". The only other occurrence in the Hebrew Bible of this exact Hebrew word form is also the first word of a Hebrew sentence translated: "So the people [they] rested on the seventh day." (Exodus 16:30, NASB). 
Also, "Three" is the second word of Job chapter 32. Torah (Moses' writings) includes the word "Three" nineteen times. Fifteen of them occur with the word "days". "Three days" was an embedded phrase in the minds of the followers of God in Job's time, (see, Genesis 30:36; 40:12, 13, 18, 19; 42:17; Exodus 3:18; 5:3; 8:23; 10:22, 23; 15:22; Numbers 10:33 (2x); and 33:8. 
Job 32:1 literally begins: "They rested three... ". 
So, the immediate reaction of a Hebrew reader or hearer of the first two words of Job chapter 32 may have been something like this: That can't happen or should not happen, we are to work three more days. 
So, Sabbath instruction, working six days, is first up in setting the tone for Elihu. Hebrew readers and hearers of Job chapter 32 associate "Sabbath" and "Three" closely.
Even though they knew the rest of the sentence, they would still have related "three" to "six days of work and then Sabbath rest", and they would have rounded out their conclusion this way: The three friends should have worked six days a week until they successfully protected God's glory from Job's shout-outs.
 
Second, is the idea of "answering [testifying, witnessing]" for or against.
The situation of someone who "ceased . . .  from answering" would have immediately brought to mind another Torah instruction: "If a malicious witness rises against a man (lit. to testify against) to accuse him of wrongdoing [rebellion]" (Deuteronomy 19:15). 
The language was familiar because it ties into the commandment: "You shall not bear false witness [testimony or answering] against your neighbor." (Deuteronomy 5:20, NASB). 
Perhaps their reaction would have been something like this: 'Why did they stop testifying against Job? They should have kept working and finished the task as a faithful witness [bearing true testimony about God] and Job until Job repented.' 
Third, because "He was righteous in his eyes":
Job had a stellar evaluation from God: "The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." (Job 1:8, NASB).  
Job stood above the crowd for fearing God and turning away from evil. No one else was on the platform with him. 
However, thoughts of self-righteousness were just around the corner, ready to ambush him, to take him down, and so they did. 
So first up in Job chapter 32 is the Glory of God, not Elihu. The reader must understand this sequence; it is God who is to be glorified above all else. Elihu's name means: "He is my God".
So, there we have it: God is front and center in Elihu's name, and we will soon learn that God is front and center in Elihu's life.
God should be front and center for all humankind. God alone should have first place in our lives.
But the journey through life is often difficult, Endurance is required for the trek. In every stage of life, "the process often seems long, and we lose our song in the night" (those words; dozens and dozens of times, have blessed me. They are in a song that Steve Green sings, 'He who began a good work in you". 
Job's friends rested, they "threw in the towel", they "gave up", they should have "carried on"; they should have meditated more on what Yahweh had said; instead, they rolled up their misunderstood scroll of truth and went home.
 We have come to the end of today's InAllWisdom Podcast. A Weekly Podcast dedicated 
to wisdom for life. Thank you for listening! 
Please join me again for another interesting episode about Wisdom for Life. 
Until he COMES ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory, I give this blessing that was given to Israel:  
The Lord bless you, and keep you; 
The Lord make His face shine on you, 
And be gracious to you; 
The Lord lift up His countenance on you, 
And give you peace.’ (Numbers 6:24-26, NASB).