# Job 33 đ: Elihu Says God Speaks
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[[-Job Overview]] | [[Job 32]] | [[Job 34]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
## Elihu Invites Jobâs Attention
[[#Verse 01.]]Â âBut now, O Job, listen to my words,
and hear everything I have to say.
[[#Verse 02.]] See now, I have opened my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth has spoken.
[[#Verse 03.]]Â My words come from the uprightness of my heart,
and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.
[[#Verse 04.]]Â The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â Reply to me, if you can;
set your arguments in order before me
and take your stand.
[[#Verse 06.]]Â Look, I am just like you in relation to God;
I too have been molded from clay.
[[#Verse 07.]]Â Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure be heavy on you.
## Elihu Rejects Jobâs Plea of Innocence
[[#Verse 08.]]Â âIndeed, you have said in my hearing
(I heard the sound of the words!):
[[#Verse 09.]]Â âI am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no iniquity.
[[#Verse 10.]] Yet God finds occasions with me;
he regards me as his enemy.
[[#Verse 11.]]Â He puts my feet in shackles;
he watches closely all my paths.â
[[#Verse 12.]]Â Now in this, you are not rightâI answer you,
for God is greater than a human being.
[[#Verse 13.]]Â Why do you contend against him,
that he does not answer all a personâs words?
## Elihu Disagrees With Jobâs View of God
[[#Verse 14.]]Â âFor God speaks, the first time in one way,
the second time in another,
though a person does not perceive it.
[[#Verse 15.]]Â In a dream, a night vision,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they sleep in their beds.
[[#Verse 16.]] Then he gives a revelation to people,
and terrifies them with warnings,
[[#Verse 17.]]Â to turn a person from his sin,
and to cover a personâs pride.
[[#Verse 18.]]Â He spares a personâs life from corruption,
his very life from crossing over the river.
[[#Verse 19.]] Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed,
and with the continual strife of his bones,
[[#Verse 20.]]Â so that his life loathes food,
and his soul rejects appetizing fare.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones, which were not seen,
are easily visible.
[[#Verse 22.]] He draws near to the place of corruption,
and his life to the messengers of death.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â If there is an angel beside him,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;
[[#Verse 24.]] and if God is gracious to him and says,
âSpare him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,â
[[#Verse 25.]] then his flesh is restored like a youthâs;
he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.
[[#Verse 26.]] He entreats God, and God delights in him,
he sees Godâs face with rejoicing,
and God restores to him his righteousness.
[[#Verse 27.]] That person sings to others, saying:
âI have sinned and falsified what is right,
but I was not punished according to what I deserved.
[[#Verse 28.]]Â He redeemed my life
from going down to the place of corruption,
and my life sees the light!â
## Elihuâs Appeal to Job
[[#Verse 29.]]Â âIndeed, God does all these things,
twice, three times, in his dealings with a person,
[[#Verse 30.]]Â to turn back his life from the place of corruption,
that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
[[#Verse 31.]]Â Pay attention, Jobâlisten to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
[[#Verse 32.]] If you have any words, reply to me;
speak, for I want to justify you.
[[#Verse 33.]]Â If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Elihu addresses Job by name (33:1), something the three friends never do in their speeches.
2. Elihu says he was formed from the clay (33:6), echoing God forming man from the dust (Genesis 2:7).
3. Dreams and night visions (33:15) were a recognized way God spoke in the ancient world, and Eliphaz claimed such a vision (4:12-16).
4. Elihu sees suffering as possible discipline meant to rescue, not only punishment for past sin.
5. The pit, a picture of death and the grave, is mentioned repeatedly in this chapter (33:18, 22, 24, 28, 30).
6. The mediator in 33:23 is described as one out of a thousand.
7. The word for "ransom" (33:24), *kopher*, is the same word used for the atonement price in Exodus 30:12.
8. Flesh restored like a child's (33:25) recalls Naaman's healing (2 Kings 5:14).
9. The restored person confesses, "I have sinned and perverted what was right" (33:27).
10. Elihu tells Job he would like to see him justified (33:32), a softer tone than the three friends.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Mediator, the one in a thousand, who provides the ransom that saves us from the pit (33:23-24). There is one Mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Elihu says God speaks in different ways, even when people do not notice (33:14-16). How has God gotten your attention in the past?
2. Elihu says pain can be God's way of turning a person back from pride and the pit (33:17-22). How can suffering become a tool of grace?
3. Elihu longs for a mediator who will say, "I have found a ransom" (33:23-24). How does Jesus fulfill that longing?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 4: The Spirit of God made Elihu, and the breath of the Almighty gives him life.
- đ verse 14: God speaks again and again, though people do not notice.
- đ verse 24: Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[1 Timothy 02#Verse 05.|1 Timothy 2:5-6]] - One Mediator who gave Himself as a ransom.
- đ [[Mark 10#Verse 45.|Mark 10:45]] - The Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom.
- đ [[Hebrews 12#Verse 05.|Hebrews 12:5-11]] - The Lord disciplines those He loves.
- đ [[Psalm 103#Verse 02.|Psalm 103:2-4]] - He redeems your life from the pit.
- đ [[2 Kings 05#Verse 14.|2 Kings 5:14]] - Naaman's flesh was restored like a child's.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Job 33 - SOAP|The Purpose of Life]]
## đ Internal Notes