*PERCEPTIONS*
ЁЯФн
*YOUNG ELIHU*
ЁЯСиЁЯП╗
ЁЯднDuring 29 chapters of argument a young man named Elihu had been sitting by quietly listening to Job and his three aged comforters.
ЁЯТеWhen Job finishes defending himself and the three comforters finish defending God, Elihu explodes.
*Elihu's speech reflects five characteristics of a person who speaks not in reliance on his age or his youth, but on the spirit of God.*
1⃣ *HE IS SLOW TO SPEAK* ЁЯЧг
_Chapter 32, verse 4: Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he._
*Also verses 6,7,& 11*
The Spirit of God does not make a person hasty or impulsive or impetuous. The Spirit makes us conscious of our frailness, our human fallibility, our need to listen and learn.
It is so easy, when we feel we have a message from the Lord, to become presumptuous and and lose the meekness and gentleness of a learner. But those whose burden is from the Spirit will be slow to speak, quick to listen and learn and grow.
2⃣ *ANGERED WHEN GOD WAS BELITTLED* ЁЯШб
32:2 _But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram,_ _became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God._
Most human anger is bad. Most of it arises from proud, self-asserting hearts which feel like their rights have been denied. And most of it aims at revenge.
But there is a rare holy anger that comes from and aims at the righteousness of God. The mark of righteous anger is that it is triggered by the belittling of God, not the belittling of ourselves. Elihu was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God.
3⃣ *BURDENED TO SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD* ЁЯУЦ
32:18 _For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me;_
32:19 _Inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst._
32:20 _I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply._
The person stirred by the Spirit of God is passionate for the truth of God.
The person who is burdened with a word from the Spirit of God can find no relief until he speaks it.
How we need in the church today spiritual leaders with passion for the truth of Christ! We need logic on fire, truth aflame with zeal, the light of sound reason and the heat of strong love for God's glory. Where are the people—young and old—in whom the gospel of the glory of Christ burns like a fire in bones?
4⃣ *DOES NOT FLATTER*ЁЯе░
32:21 _I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man;_
32:22 _for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away._
The saint who is moved to speak by the Spirit of God does not flatter or show partiality. He is at rest in the promises of God and speaks the truth to all people, old or young, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, famous or unknown, white or black or red or brown or yellow.
We fear that a straight-forward, impartial statement of the truth will make life miserable. And so we show that we don't trust God to fulfill his promise that he will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly
5⃣ *INCREASES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WAYS* ЁЯШЗ
_CH 33&34_
When a man is driven to speak by the Spirit of God (rather than by his age), he brings forth genuine theological insight and increases our understanding of God's ways. Elihu did not merely criticize Job and his comforters; he taught them. He disagreed with Job, that he was clean and without transgression. He rejected the idea shared by Job and his comforters that God had become Job's enemy. And the answer he gives instead is that the suffering which God has unleashed on Job is not a punishment but a cure and a purification.
God's purpose in suffering is always gracious and kind. Though the therapy is painful, the final condition will be so much more glorious that all the pain will seem as but a light and momentary affliction.
*POINTS TO PONDER* ЁЯдФ
❓Are we good listeners?
❓Do we feel burdened to share the word of God?
❓Are we all honey & sugar , just to be on the good side of people?
Bless youЁЯЩПЁЯП╝
Jenny Reuben
Baroda
ЁЯФн
*YOUNG ELIHU*
ЁЯСиЁЯП╗
ЁЯднDuring 29 chapters of argument a young man named Elihu had been sitting by quietly listening to Job and his three aged comforters.
ЁЯТеWhen Job finishes defending himself and the three comforters finish defending God, Elihu explodes.
*Elihu's speech reflects five characteristics of a person who speaks not in reliance on his age or his youth, but on the spirit of God.*
1⃣ *HE IS SLOW TO SPEAK* ЁЯЧг
_Chapter 32, verse 4: Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he._
*Also verses 6,7,& 11*
The Spirit of God does not make a person hasty or impulsive or impetuous. The Spirit makes us conscious of our frailness, our human fallibility, our need to listen and learn.
It is so easy, when we feel we have a message from the Lord, to become presumptuous and and lose the meekness and gentleness of a learner. But those whose burden is from the Spirit will be slow to speak, quick to listen and learn and grow.
2⃣ *ANGERED WHEN GOD WAS BELITTLED* ЁЯШб
32:2 _But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram,_ _became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God._
Most human anger is bad. Most of it arises from proud, self-asserting hearts which feel like their rights have been denied. And most of it aims at revenge.
But there is a rare holy anger that comes from and aims at the righteousness of God. The mark of righteous anger is that it is triggered by the belittling of God, not the belittling of ourselves. Elihu was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God.
3⃣ *BURDENED TO SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD* ЁЯУЦ
32:18 _For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me;_
32:19 _Inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst._
32:20 _I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply._
The person stirred by the Spirit of God is passionate for the truth of God.
The person who is burdened with a word from the Spirit of God can find no relief until he speaks it.
How we need in the church today spiritual leaders with passion for the truth of Christ! We need logic on fire, truth aflame with zeal, the light of sound reason and the heat of strong love for God's glory. Where are the people—young and old—in whom the gospel of the glory of Christ burns like a fire in bones?
4⃣ *DOES NOT FLATTER*ЁЯе░
32:21 _I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man;_
32:22 _for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away._
The saint who is moved to speak by the Spirit of God does not flatter or show partiality. He is at rest in the promises of God and speaks the truth to all people, old or young, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, famous or unknown, white or black or red or brown or yellow.
We fear that a straight-forward, impartial statement of the truth will make life miserable. And so we show that we don't trust God to fulfill his promise that he will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly
5⃣ *INCREASES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WAYS* ЁЯШЗ
_CH 33&34_
When a man is driven to speak by the Spirit of God (rather than by his age), he brings forth genuine theological insight and increases our understanding of God's ways. Elihu did not merely criticize Job and his comforters; he taught them. He disagreed with Job, that he was clean and without transgression. He rejected the idea shared by Job and his comforters that God had become Job's enemy. And the answer he gives instead is that the suffering which God has unleashed on Job is not a punishment but a cure and a purification.
God's purpose in suffering is always gracious and kind. Though the therapy is painful, the final condition will be so much more glorious that all the pain will seem as but a light and momentary affliction.
*POINTS TO PONDER* ЁЯдФ
❓Are we good listeners?
❓Do we feel burdened to share the word of God?
❓Are we all honey & sugar , just to be on the good side of people?
Bless youЁЯЩПЁЯП╝
Jenny Reuben
Baroda
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