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The Bible Breakdown
Job 32: The Young Man Speaks Up
Can youthful enthusiasm offer profound wisdom in times of suffering? Join us as we unravel the dynamic interplay between youth and experience through the lens of Elihu, the young man who finally speaks up in Job, chapter 32. Drawing from personal anecdotes, we reflect on the dual roles of being an eager young voice and a seasoned listener. Elihu’s insights, though valuable, often miss the mark due to his lack of experience, leading us to explore how Job and his friends might perceive his fervent input. This episode delves into the tension between knowledge and wisdom, examining the complexities of youthful enthusiasm amidst profound suffering.
In the subsequent discussion, we spotlight Elihu’s bold critique of Job and his friends, challenging the conventional belief that wisdom always accompanies age. By aligning advice with God's word, we emphasize the need for discernment and the pivotal role of the Spirit in guiding our actions. The episode concludes with a powerful discourse on intercession, stressing the importance of prayer and seeking divine wisdom and timing before speaking. Through reflections on Elihu’s story and personal experiences, we underscore the balance between speaking up and waiting on divine direction, concluding with a heartfelt prayer and a reflection on Job 1:21. Listen in to gain a deeper understanding of the profound implications of youthful fervor in the face of life’s trials.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, job, chapter 32, and today's title is the Young man Speaks Up. The Young man Speaks Up Now. Listen, I am so young. I mean, I know if you're watching YouTube channel, you're probably sitting there saying, man, that guy can't be over 20 years old. I know you're saying that. If you're listening on the podcast, you're probably thinking that the voice sounds like he's 22, 23, maybe right, I'm so young. However, I am old enough to have both sat in the seat of the young man that we're going to talk about today, and I have sat in the seat of maybe the slightly older crowd that looks down at that young man and kind of rolls my eyes just a tiny little bit. We're going to get into that today because today we're going to introduce to a new person in the story of Job, and he's kind of an odd character in that. Wow, I mean, you know you're going to get it when I say it, but also he's got some good stuff to say too. We're going to get into it in just a second. Get ready for it. There's about to be a crazy twist happen to the book of Job. But before we do that.
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Speaker 1:So if you have Job, chapter 32, get it open with me to New Living Translation. Here's the catch Now. Up until now, job and his three friends have been going back and forth, right, and it's been sad. It's been a little funny because it's so relatable that when they first start, job's three friends are trying to help him, right, but then, as it goes, you can tell that they're now responding in anger. They're a little mad because Job's a little salty, and he should be. It's okay, he's salty, he's going through a really hard time and remember, the overall theme of Job is trusting God's wisdom and suffering and he's trying, but, man, he's lost his health, he's lost his kids, he's lost his family, he's lost everything. All he has left is a mean wife. Go back and read it. It's true. And now his friends come and it's just an argument. Well, by the end of chapter 31 yesterday, job is just done and now his three friends are done.
Speaker 1:And now what we find out is there is a fourth person who has been there the whole time and he's the youngest. And what many scholars believe actually happened is that there are some scholars who believe that Elihu actually may have been the one to write down a lot of this, because many times back then what would happen is the younger person in the crowd first of all, as a sign of respect, would go and speak last, so he was the youngest in the room. But also they would be trying to commit to memory what everyone else was saying so that they could write it down later, and so that's why a lot of people think that Elihu might have been the one who wrote a lot of this down, even though it was about Job, so Job got the title on it but he had memorized a lot of what they had to say and wrote it down. And he's the young guy, and what we're going to see is is he is going to be the very common young guy. And I want to tell you I have been this guy.
Speaker 1:I remember and now, with a little bit of age, I look back on it very embarrassed, but I remember being in a group of men, being in my early twenties and being in a group of men of forties, fifties, sixties, and speaking up and trying to tell all of them some really good ideas on how to parent children even though I didn't have any children. That's so embarrassing to think about or telling them how they could run their business or how they could treat their wives and I didn't have a business and my wife and I had been married for like two or three years, but yet I acted like I knew what I was doing. And on one side, now that I'm a little older, I look at that and I go, oh bless them, god love him, just let him go. He's going to be so embarrassed. But then on the other side I'm like all right, young man, all right, young fella, let's see what you got right. And so I wonder if Job and his three friends are going to look back, or looking at Elihu and going you know what, let's see what you got, my friend, what you got. And here's the thing Elihu, other than having a weird name, it's kind of funny to say he's got some good things to say, but knowledge without wisdom is just a noise. Let me say that again Knowledge without wisdom is just noise. And so what he's going to do is he's going to drop a lot of knowledge, but because there's no wisdom attached to it, it's just noise. So let's read this and let's actually enjoy some of the things that Elihu says. But maybe we can pull out a lesson from this as well. You ready?
Speaker 1:Job, chapter 32, verse 1, says this Job's three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence, of course. Right Then Elihu, son of Barakel of Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. He was also angry with Job's three friends, for they made God to appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job's arguments. Elihu waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he, but when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily. Elihu, son of Barakel of the Buzite, said now pause one more time. Remember, this is old, ancient Hebrew poetry, and so he's going to be speaking in a poetic way. So when he says things that you're like, dude, that was way too many words. Well, it's because it's trying to be poetic. Right, here we go.
Speaker 1:I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think. I thought those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age, but there is a spirit within people and the breath of the almighty is within them, and that makes them intelligent. Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice. So listen to me and let me tell you what I think.
Speaker 1:I have waited all this time, listening very careful to your arguments, listening to you grope for words. I have listened, but not one of you has refuted Job or answered his arguments. And don't tell me he is too wise for us, because only God can convince him. If God had been arguing with me, I would not answer with your kind of logic. You sit there baffled with nothing more to say.
Speaker 1:Should I continue to wait now that you are silent? Must I also refrain silent? No, I will say my piece. I will speak my mind, for I am full of pent up words and the spirit within me urges me on. I am like a cask of wine without a vent and like a new wine scan ready to burst. I must speak to find relief. So let me give my answers. I won't play favorites. I won't try to flatter anyone, for if I tried, flattery, my creator would soon destroy me. Oh Lord, I want to just sit back in this chair and talk a while, because I have been on both sides of this conversation. I have been on that place, in that place where I'm so frustrated, or sometimes passionate and excited about. Hey, I think I can help, or sometimes less nicely. I think I know where you're wrong, that I feel so passionate that I think it's God that's making me passionate. He even says there's a spirit in me. The spirit urges me on. Well, here's the challenge. The spirit's going to urge him on, according to him, and he's going to say a bunch of mess. So now, was it the Spirit or was it his excitement? That's an interesting question, right?
Speaker 1:And we all have these friends. We have friends who they want to tell us exactly how we should live our life, exactly what to do, whether or not they have any experience. And there's other people who always want to give us a air quotes word from God, no-transcript. So here's the thing what do you do with that? How do you know when it's real and when it's not? And that is always, always, always, always. Make sure that whatever they say lines up with God's word. That is your measuring rod, that is how you know. And so when someone comes to you and they want to tell you how it is okay, can you show me in God's word? Now, if it's just your opinion, then that's great, but if you're telling me it's from the Lord, then it is never going to contradict the Lord's word, and so you have this measuring stick that you have.
Speaker 1:The second thing is, I want to say that if you're that person, you are that person that's just so excited to help people. Can I tell you, one of the number one ministries of the local body is to intercede for one another. I remember one time a precious, precious man of God told me. He said you know one of the great things about the gifts of the Spirit. As he said, the gifts of the Spirit help me to sometimes know what's going on in someone else's life, like the Lord will reveal to me the gift of knowledge and wisdom. Someone else's life, like the Lord, will reveal to me like the gift of knowledge and wisdom. And he told me he said not always does God give you knowledge on what God is doing in someone's life so that you can go tell them, so they can be impressed and so you can intercede for them more effectively. Can I tell you what if and I don't know, but what if for every 10 times that you feel the Lord urging you to tell someone what's what? What if he wasn't urging you to tell them, but he was urging you to intercede for them?
Speaker 1:One of the things I would encourage you to do is, for every one thing you say to someone, intercede for them 10 times and see if the Lord would have you do that. Well, what if I need to tell them right now? Maybe, or maybe, if you intercede for them, the Lord will help you to frame it even better, because if it's a word from the Lord, it's not going to go anywhere. And that's hard, isn't it? It's hard. And there's also the other side of that, where someone says, okay, great, I'd love to pray for him. I don't want to go talk to him. The Lord may do that, but that's where you have to trust the Lord to give you wisdom, and that's one of the lessons we can take from good old Elihu here. And that is that.
Speaker 1:Just because you can doesn't always mean you should. That's where we trust God's wisdom in suffering, and so we intercede for our friends, we pray for them, and then, if God is continuing to push us in that, then with great confidence, we go and we share God's word with them. Because now we know. I remember one time somebody came up to a group of us and this guy said listen, I don't know if this is from God or not. I just got to obey the Lord and he went and he said something and it was the most random, most weird thing and it hurt my heart for him because I knew he was being so sincere, like I wasn't mad at him, no one was making fun of him, we honored his sincerity and we kind of got what we thought he was trying to say and what we thought he was trying to say was right on. But it was. It was disjointed and all this kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:And I learned an experience from that that if I don't know, then maybe I should go pray and maybe God has given me wisdom on how to intercede. Or as I go and I pray, god will give me a better revelation of how I need to encourage that person and then, with confidence, I can say this is what I feel like the Lord put on my heart to share with you, because we're supposed to do this thing called suffering together, not because misery loves company, but because joy comes in the morning, especially when we lock arms and we don't give up together. Let's pray together, god, thank you so much that you are with us and you're for us in every way. Lord, you lead us in paths of righteousness. Lord, I will admit to you, for everyone who's listening and watching, life's hard. Relationships are hard. We do the best we can, and we still get it messed up so bad, but I'm so thankful that you don't give up on us. You continue to walk with us. I pray, though, that you will do that today. You'll walk with us and you'll help us, lord, to find your wisdom in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen, Amen.
Speaker 1:God's word says in Job, chapter 1, verse 21,. After losing everything he had, god said that. Job said I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. But praise the name of the Lord. Oh, to trust the Lord like that. No-transcript.
