Elihu is apparently a much younger man than the three
friends, Zophar, Eliphaz and Bildad.
This is the first we have heard of him, we were only told three men came
to be with Job in his suffering. Elihu
begins by explaining why he has heretofore kept silence. He was deferring to age and experience, in
the belief that these things were the source of a wisdom greater than any he
might possess. Now, he says, I was
completely wrong to believe that about you people, including Job. He doesn't convict Job of sin but he has
concluded that Job's argument has run to convicting God of unrighteousness in
visiting all this upon Job. Job has not
claimed this directly but certainly his theology of correspondence between
righteousness and prosperity has indirectly led to such a conclusion
logically. If Job is righteous as he
claims, and he is suffering unjustly, where is the injustice? Elihu divorces suffering from sin and so
calls upon Job to affirm God as good no matter what his situation. In this, he says, Job will find peace and
rest and this will end. Still, we aren't
there theologically, there remains the idea that if Job gets his theology right
about God and pain, the pain will end.
The division is based on the claims Jesus has just made to
be the Good Shepherd. God alone is the
Good Shepherd, see Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah 11 and you'll see that
there is but one Good Shepherd. Jesus'
claim is surely blasphemous but the question is begged because of the healing
of the man born blind in John 9 whether maybe He is who He claims to be. They make a good decision, they ask Him to
say one way or another if He is the Christ.
He doesn't refuse to answer, He says they have all the information they
need to make the decision themselves, which is a claim in itself isn't it? If He and the Father are one, He is the Good
Shepherd, simple logic. At the end of
the day, they don't know because they aren't God's sheep, these hear His voice
and respond. The sovereignty of God in
salvation is clear. Today, be thankful
He is sovereign, He has manifest Himself to you and called you by name, no
matter your situation, He deserves that.
Paul's message in the synagogue that Jesus was the
fulfillment of the messianic expectations, the heir of David, made quite an
impression. Luke tells us that almost
the entire city turned out the next week to hear more. Unsurprisingly, the message aroused
opposition, as it had always done. The
Jews rejected Paul and Barnabas' message and the men themselves. Paul, at this point, says that because of
this rejection, they will turn their attention to the Gentiles, that the light
was and is meant to enlighten the nations, not just Israel. This identification with Gentiles was
something remarkable for Paul in particular but his mission was given by God
Himself and as he turns to the Gentiles, all who were appointed to eternal life
believed. The sovereignty of God was
argued by Elihu, Jesus, and Luke as the author of the book of the Acts in plain
terms. We are to rest in that but we are
to witness as if it depended on us.
No comments:
Post a Comment