Job 32:13 | KingComments | STEP | As a youngster Elihu patiently waited for the words of the friends and listened attentively to them ( ; cf. ). He did so in the hope that they would give Job a satisfactory answer. It is good that young people first listen to what the elders have to say (cf. ). As has already been pointed out, the elderly, generally speaking, by experience know more than young people. Because they are older, they have experienced more. Yet that is not decisive for the correct understanding of things. The right insight can only be given by the Spirit of God and He can give it to young people as well ( ). Elihu listened to their insights about what happened to Job and why. He did not do this passively, but with the intention of understanding the meaning of their insights. Until they had to “ponder what to say”, which means that he noticed that they chose their words carefully. They proceeded with thoughtfulness and consultation in making their statements. Not only did he listen carefully, but also paid close attention to them ( ), how they spoke, whether what they said came from the heart, or only from memory. They had repeatedly hammered on the same anvil and without any sympathy, fired their ‘theological’ views at Job. They had not really listened to Job, but had kept telling him their own righteous views in different words over and over again. As a result, none of them were able to convince him that they had the right answer to the question of why he was suffering, an answer he was so desperately seeking. With his words, Elihu wants to take away from the friends the thought that they reacted very wisely to Job ( ). It is as if they are now sitting with Job as if they are unhappy, looking sullenly because Job has so stubbornly ignored their wise words. But they should not imagine anything. Only God can tell him why all this has happened to him, for He “will rout him”, that is what these disasters have brought upon him. No man has done this and therefore no man can claim with certainty that he knows why God has done this.

‏ Job 32:13

The Failure of the Friends

As a youngster Elihu patiently waited for the words of the friends and listened attentively to them (Job 32:11; cf. Pro 18:13). He did so in the hope that they would give Job a satisfactory answer. It is good that young people first listen to what the elders have to say (cf. Jam 1:19). As has already been pointed out, the elderly, generally speaking, by experience know more than young people. Because they are older, they have experienced more. Yet that is not decisive for the correct understanding of things. The right insight can only be given by the Spirit of God and He can give it to young people as well (Job 32:8).

Elihu listened to their insights about what happened to Job and why. He did not do this passively, but with the intention of understanding the meaning of their insights. Until they had to “ponder what to say”, which means that he noticed that they chose their words carefully. They proceeded with thoughtfulness and consultation in making their statements.

Not only did he listen carefully, but also paid close attention to them (Job 32:12), how they spoke, whether what they said came from the heart, or only from memory. They had repeatedly hammered on the same anvil and without any sympathy, fired their ‘theological’ views at Job. They had not really listened to Job, but had kept telling him their own righteous views in different words over and over again. As a result, none of them were able to convince him that they had the right answer to the question of why he was suffering, an answer he was so desperately seeking.

With his words, Elihu wants to take away from the friends the thought that they reacted very wisely to Job (Job 32:13). It is as if they are now sitting with Job as if they are unhappy, looking sullenly because Job has so stubbornly ignored their wise words. But they should not imagine anything. Only God can tell him why all this has happened to him, for He “will rout him”, that is what these disasters have brought upon him. No man has done this and therefore no man can claim with certainty that he knows why God has done this.