Sep. 02, 2026

 “TRIED AND TESTED”

                                           “THE EXPLOSION OF ELIHU”               

JOB 32:1-33:33

Youth Answers Age:

*Job Is Silent

Job has ended his defense and has testified that he is not guilty of the sins he has been accused of by his friends.

*Job’s Three Friends Are Silent

*God Is Silent

God doesn't appear just because somebody thinks He should. He doesn't answer to our time schedule.

*Elihu Has Been Silent, But He Is About to Speak

1.  THIS IS WHY GOD IS SPEAKING THROUGH ME- Job 32:1-22

Why would Elihu spend a whole chapter justifying his right to speak? 

First of all, he is younger than everybody else in the story.

His second reason is that he wanted to hear the complete debate and have all the arguments laid out before him.

*After a brief introduction, Elihu gives four reasons why it is

important for him to speak and for them to listen:

*He Was Angry-Job 32:1-5

Job 32:1-3 “1So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. 3Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”

vs.2- Elihu is formally introduced, He is a Buzite, which would trace his family back to Buz in Genesis 22:

Genesis 22:20-21 “Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram.”

Elihu is upset with all of these guys. He is highly offended by the act of Job defending his own righteousness. vs.2

We are told four times in verses 1-5 that the wrath of Elihu was aroused. Apparently he was pretty angry!

vs.3- Elihu is fair and doesn’t take sides.

Romans 2:1 “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

Elihu's anger is righteous indignation coming out of his zeal for God.

Elihu is obviously a brilliant man. As we read the word he spoke, though, I think you will agree that there is not much “spirit of meekness.”

Job 32:4-5 “Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. 5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.”

*He Was Anointed- Job 32:6-9

Job 32:6-9 “So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you. 7I said, ‘Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ 8But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. 9Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.”

In verses 8-9, Elihu specifies why he should be able to speak:

“The breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.” vs.8- this is “inspiration” it has to do with God giving understanding to man’s spirit. 

2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

Oscar Wilde rightly said, "You're only young once, but you can be immature indefinitely.”

Psalm 119:100: “I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.”

Elihu believes he is speaking on behalf of the Almighty. He believes that the Spirit of God has anointed him to speak.

*Elihu’s Motivation- Job 32:10-14

Job 32:10-14 “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.’ 11Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say. 12I paid close attention to you; And surely not one of you convinced Job, Or answered his words— 13Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’;
God will vanquish him, not man. 14Now he has not directed his words against me; So I will not answer him with your words.

vs.10-12- Elihu feels justified in adding his two-cents.

vs.13-14- Here is Elihu’s real motivation, he simply cannot stand to think that these men will go away convinced they are right.

Truth is truth, truth doesn’t need anyone to defend it.

*He Was Aroused- Job 32:15-20

Job 32:15-18 ““They are dismayed and answer no more; Words escape them. 16And I have waited, because they did not speak,
Because they stood still and answered no more. 17I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion. 18For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.”

Job 32:19-20 “Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins. 20I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.”

The pressure within him has built up to the bursting point. He is ready to burst with words "like a wineskin full of wine" vs.19.

Jeremiah 20:9 "Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.”

Like Elihu, Jeremiah could not hold back his words any longer. He was bursting at the seams!

The apostle Paul also sounds a lot like Elihu when he says:

1 Corinthians 9:16 "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”

God's truth cannot and will not be restrained.

*He Was Arrogant- Job 32:21-22

Job 32:21-22 “Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; Nor let me flatter any man. 22For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me away.”

Proverbs 24:23 “These things also belong to the wise: It is not good to show partiality in judgment.”

2.  THIS IS WHAT GOD IS SAYING THROUGH ME- JOB 33:1-33

*Elihu’s Assurances to Job- Job 33:1-7

Elihu begins by giving Job a sense of perspective regarding his

lecturer's words: He now singles Job out, and urges him to listen carefully and weigh every word:

Job 33:1-2 “But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words. 2Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth.”

Elihu claims to speak from a pure heart:

Job 33:3-4 “My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge. 4The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

Job 33:5-7 “If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand. 6Truly I am as your spokesman before God;
I also have been formed out of clay. 7Surely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you.”

vs.5- What can prevent confusion and chaos? Only one thing, the authority of the Word of God, the Bible!

*Elihu’s Argument With Job- Job 33:8-11

Job 33:8-11 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, 9‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. 10Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; 11He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.”

Elihu begins his argument by quoting Job in verses 9-11.

*Elihu’s Analysis of God-Job 33:12-33

Job 33:12-13 “Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man. 13Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.”

Elihu certainly had things calculated. God is sovereign.

*Elihu’s Arguments Detail God’s Communication With Men:

Job 33:14-16 “For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. 15In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds,
16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.”

In verses 15-16, Elihu describes how God speaks in unusual ways:

God speaks in different ways and is not bound by what we may find convenient or comfortable. In these next verses, Elihu outlines four different ways that God communicates to man.

1. God Speaks Through the Supernatural- Job 33:17-18

Job 33:17-18 “In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, 18He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.”

2.   God Speaks Through Suffering- Job 33:19-22

Job 33:19-22 “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, 20So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. 21His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. 22Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.”

Pain is God's megaphone to arouse a deaf world!

3. God Speaks Through His Son- Job 33:23-24

Job 33:23-24 “If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.”

He says that God sometimes speaks through His Son, who is Jesus Christ. 

1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”

This Mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is both the Mediator and the ransom.

There is only one God and one Mediator between God and man, and that One is Jesus Christ.

4. God Speaks Through Salvation- Job 33:25-30

Job 33:25-30 “His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. 26He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. 27Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.28He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light. 29“Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”

As we come to the end of chapter 33, Job is going to be told what the Gospel is by Elihu.

• Here Is Repentance (Job 33:27)
  Repentance is seen in verse 27: "I have sinned and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me." 
• Here Is Redemption (Job 33:28)
  Verse 28 says, "He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, and his life shall see the light." 
• Here Is Rebirth (Job 33:25)
  Verse 25 gives us a picture of what it is like to be born again: "His flesh shall be young like a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth.”
•  Here Is Restoration (Job 33:26)

Elihu then says in verse 26 that God "restores to man His righteousness.”

*After Elihu finishes his speech, he literally admonishes Job to listen to the words that he just offered- Job 33:31-33

Job 33:31-33 “Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak. 32If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. 33If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

There is a very critical word in this passage that we need to go back and examine. It is the word "Pit," and it is used five times in chapter 33. "Pit" is an Old Testament word for “death."

2 Peter 3:9

The only work that God ever acknowledges is the work of His own Son when He died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin. 

John 14:6