Job 32:1

Job had finished his speech. And his friends were silent. But a young man called Elihu wanted to speak.

People have different opinions about Elihu. Some people say that Elihu was foolish. And, they say that his words merely repeat ideas from the speeches of Job’s friends. We do not agree. We think that Elihu was wise. His speech was fair and accurate. And in the end, Elihu introduced God himself.

Elihu’s main idea was that God is fair. Job’s other friends said that they believed this. But they themselves were unfair to Job. However, Job was not always sure that God is fair. If God was always fair, Job could not explain his troubles. But Job felt sure that God would be a fair judge.

Job wanted a friend who would act like a lawyer (Job 9:32-35; Job 16:19-21). Job probably thought that God himself would be this lawyer. And today, we know that Jesus is such a friend. Jesus, of course, is God himself.

In the Book of Job, Elihu acts like this lawyer. It is as if Elihu arranged for Job to meet God. Elihu was just an ordinary young man (Job 33:6). But his words were special because he spoke by the Holy Spirit (Job 32:8; Job 36:4).