Job 32 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Job 32 Short Summary:

In Job 32, we are introduced to a new character, Elihu. He was younger than Job and his friends and had refrained from speaking out of respect for his elders. But when Job’s friends fell silent, he took his chance to share his opinions. Job 32 consists of Elihu announcing that he is going to speak and informing Job and his three friends that he disagrees with all of them and thinks all of them lack wisdom.

Job 32 Bible Study

SHORT OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF JOB

• Job 1-2 – Job is Persecuted by Satan

• Job 3-37 – Job and His Friends Discuss the Reason He is Experiencing Persecution

• Job 38-41 – God Speaks with Job and Reveals His Greatness to Him.

• Job 42 – God Restores What Job Lost

WHEN:

• The date of the writing of Job is unknown and still debated. Some believe it was written during the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) or even earlier, while others suspect it was written during the time of Judah’s Babylonian captivity (607-537 B.C.).

• I take the earlier date. The description of Job as the “greatest of all the people of the east” (1:3) and an absence of references to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple suggests to me that this book was written early.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Job – A blameless and upright man who Satan persecuted in an attempt to turn his heart away from God.

• Elihu – Elihu had been listening to the conversation between Job and his friends. He speaks and shares his opinions for the first time in Job 32. He was the youngest of the group. His father was Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram (32:2).

WHERE:

• Job lived in the land of Uz. Most scholars surmise the land of Uz was in northern Saudi Arabia, either immediately south of the Dead Sea, I the land that would become known as Edom, or immediately east of the Dead Sea, which is today the country of Jordan.

OUTLINE:

• ELIHU SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME (32:1-22):

  • After Job concluded his case, his three friends had nothing else to say because they determined him to be “righteous in his own eyes.”

  • At this point, a new figure stepped into the picture, Elihu, who was evidently significantly younger than the other 4 men.

  • Elihu had been listening to the conversation but hadn’t said anything because he wanted to respect his elders.

  • But when they finished speaking, he had the opportunity to share his thoughts, which span the next several chapters.

  • He was mad at Job because he felt Job was more interested in justifying himself than in declaring God’s righteousness.

  • He was mad at Job’s friends because they had failed to handle the discussion in a way he found satisfactory. They had accused Job but had been unable to make a compelling case against him.

  • Elihu, although having acknowledged he was younger, felt he had something to offer, because, as he said, wisdom did not exclusively belong to the old.

  • He felt compelled to speak now that Job’s friends had given up. He said, “For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer” (32:18-20).

  • Elihu was ready to explode if he didn’t get to share his thoughts on the matter.

  • In summary, Job 32 is essentially Elihu announcing that he is going to speak and explaining to the other 4 men why he hadn’t spoken up to this point. Elihu wasn’t lying when he said he was “full of words,” he was preparing to launch into the longest uninterrupted speech in the whole book.  

APPLICATION

• We won’t find out if Elihu possessed wisdom beyond that of Job’s 3 friends until we read his words in the upcoming chapters, but it’s worth taking note of some wisdom observable in his behavior in this chapter.

• Elihu recognized the general rule that older people often have greater wisdom than younger people.

• He wasn’t hasty to speak. He waited to hear what his elders had to say first.

• That takes a great deal of self-discipline and shows maturity.

• But he also recognized that there were exceptions to that general rule.

• Older people don’t have a monopoly on wisdom, and being old doesn’t necessarily make you wise.

• There are times when younger people have something to offer.

• Elihu’s behavior offers applicable lessons to both young and old alike.

• Young people should recognize that it is generally wise to listen to your elders and give their words weight.

• Older people should recognize that there will be times when they have something to learn from a younger person.