Job 36 explained: Elihu Says Suffering Can Teach

Elihu asks for more time (vv. 1-4)

Elihu says he still has more to say on God's side, drawn from a wide view of God's works rather than tired slogans. When he says someone with complete knowledge is there with Job, he most likely means himself as an honest speaker, a bold claim that sets him apart from Job's other friends.

God is fair to everyone (vv. 5-7)

Elihu insists that God's great power does not make him look down on anyone, and that he stands up for people who are crushed. This answers Job's complaint that God ignores the innocent and lets the wicked prosper.

Suffering as a warning (vv. 8-15)

Elihu argues that when good people are trapped in trouble, God may be using it to show them their pride and call them back, with good days ahead if they listen. Those who stay bitter die young and in shame (a phrase linked to men who served at pagan shrines), while those who listen are rescued through their very suffering.

A direct warning to Job (vv. 16-21)

Elihu says God wants to lead Job out of his tight spot into open space and a full table. He warns Job not to let anger, money or a longing for death turn him toward wrongdoing, though the Hebrew here is very hard and translations differ a lot.

God is beyond our grasp (vv. 22-26)

No one can give God orders or tell him he has done wrong, Elihu says, so the fitting response is to praise what he has made. People see God's works, but only from a distance, and his years cannot be counted.

Rain, cloud and storm (vv. 27-33)

Elihu describes water rising and falling as rain, clouds spreading, thunder and lightning, all as God's work that both judges nations and feeds them. Even the cattle sense the storm coming, and many readers see this as setting the scene for God speaking to Job out of a storm a few chapters later.

Key verse: Job 36:15

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether Elihu speaks real wisdom that prepares for God's own answer, or whether he is one more confident friend who misjudges Job, since God never responds to him directly.

Something to think about

Have you ever come out of a hard time having learned something you could not have learned any other way, or does the idea that suffering teaches us feel wrong to you?