Elihu wraps up his discourse in Job chapter 37. It appears a thunderstorm was rolling in, and Elihu used it to teach Job. Elihu felt like Job needed another dose of recognition of God’s greatness, so he continued describing God’s mystery and power using the elements of the storm. He rejected the idea that Job was in a position to question God. Job couldn’t even understand the natural processes of the storm, how could he understand the God who created the storm?

Elihu continues his speech in Job 36. In this chapter, Elihu returned to a principle he spoke about previously, that God’s discipline was meant to be a corrective force. God used discipline and sometimes suffering to get the attention of sinners and call them to repentance. Elihu was certain that God would have restored Job, but the fact that He hadn’t was a clear indication to him that Job refused to repent.

Elihu continues to rebuke Job in chapter 35, calling him entitled and pretentious for demanding answers from the God of the universe. He got some things right, but he got other things wrong. One thing he got wrong was his assessment of Job’s character. He, like Job’s 3 friends, couldn’t resist the assumption that Job was hiding secret sin, which led him to some very wrong conclusions.

Job 34 contains the “wise” words of Elihu as he tried to educate Job on the nature of God. After promising to reveal wisdom to Job and his 3 friends, Elihu essentially just repeated what had already been discussed with only a few small differences. Elihu believed similar to Job’s 3 friends, that Job was being punished for secret unconfessed sin.

In Job 33, Elihu rebuked Job for being self-righteous and for falsely accusing God of not answering him. Elihu argued that God was answering Job, not with words, but with corrective discipline, dreams, and with messengers who called him to repentance. While Elihu’s explanation of Job’s suffering was a little more developed than that of Job’s friends, it ultimately came back to the same erroneous point, that Job was being punished because he refused to repent of sin in his life.

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 chapter 31 is the conclusion of Job’s defense to his friends. He maintained his innocence but also expressed his willingness to accept guilt if sin was revealed in him. The bulk of the chapter is Job listing sins he had not committed. To emphasize his innocence, Job called down curses on himself, curses that would befall him if he was found to be a liar.

In Job 30, Job contrasts his new life of suffering with his previous life (described in chapter 29). He talks about his humiliation amongst the men of his community, and his struggle through sickness and pain. He had called out to God for help, but he felt like God was ignoring him.

In Job 29, Job reminisced about his old life, the life he had before Satan destroyed it. He recalled being respected by his peers, enjoying time with his family, helping the needy, and defending the defenseless against evil men. He never expected his life to change so much.

Job 28 is a unique chapter in which Job contrasted the mining of precious gems to the uncovering of the wisdom of God. Minors go to great lengths to search out riches in the earth, and they uncover hidden treasures. In contrast, God’s wisdom can never be fully uncovered. It is hidden in a place only God knows. God is the author of wisdom, and no human being can every fully comprehend the mind of God.

In Job 26, Job sarcastically responds to Bildad to let him know his words offered no value to the discussion. Then Job made it clear that he believed God’s power wasn’t limited to the observable world of human but extended to the parts of the universe humans can’t see and also into the spiritual world. By this, Job confirmed that he already believed what Bildad said in chapter 25, but then went further and expanded on it.

In Job 26, Job sarcastically responds to Bildad to let him know his words offered no value to the discussion. Then Job made it clear that he believed God’s power wasn’t limited to the observable world of human but extended to the parts of the universe humans can’t see and also into the spiritual world. By this, Job confirmed that he already believed what Bildad said in chapter 25, but then went further and expanded on it.

Job 25 contains Bildad’s final speech, in which he repeats a few sentiments that had already been discussed. He spoke of God’s greatness and purity. He said that men were as worms to God, and implied that Job, in all his unworthiness, had no right to question God.

Job asked his friends why God didn’t distribute justice on a regular basis, and why God’s people often didn’t get to see Him judge the wicked? If his friends were right about the way God judged people, Job expected to see God act against sinners on a regular and timely schedule. He challenged them to prove their view of God’s justice, which he knew they couldn’t do.

In Job 23, Job expresses his wish that God was more accessible. He wanted to walk up to him and have a conversation about his situation. He knew God would answer him and be fair with him. At the end of the day, Job trusted God and made it clear that even if God didn’t give him an answer, he was going to trust God and believe that He would make something good come from his tough circumstances.

Eliphaz starts tossing around specific accusations in Job 22, accusing Job of stealing from the poor, extortion, and a number of other sins. He provides no evidence for his accusations, rather they seem to be based in his own presuppositions about Job. He once again calls Job to repent and to get his life right with God.

In Job 21, Job challenged his friends with the most obvious contradiction to their conclusion that God ALWAYS punishes the wicked on earth. Job pointed out that many wicked men flourish on earth and never receive an obvious punishment for their sins. Job told his friends they didn’t have to take his word for it, those who had travelled the roads would testify to it.  

In Job 20, Zophar speaks up again to describe the way God opposes all wicked men. God brings the elements of the earth to bear on the wicked to curse their existence and humble them for their evil. Zophar implied that Job was such a wicked man, receiving the expected fate of an unrepentant sinner.

In Job 19, Job rebuts the accusations of his friend Bildad. He admits that God’s actions are beyond his understanding. He describes his sadness at having lost much of his family and many of his closest friends. But at the end of the chapter, his faith shines through as he says, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

Bildad previously spoke in Job 8, where he was very critical of Job. He speaks again in Job 18 but offers nothing new to the conversation. As he did in his first discourse, Bildad’s second discourse consists of him accusing Job of being a sinner and blaming his wickedness for his current misery. He thought Job’s state perfectly fit that of a wicked man who was being punished by God.