Bible Besties | Elihu
Today’s Bible Besties devotion is about Elihu.
Bear with me a little, and I will show you for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.
Job 36:2
Devotion for Today
It’s so easy to read the book of Job and relate to him. Not to the extent that he suffered, but we’ve all suffered with something. We’ve all had friends that let us down. However, I oftentimes find myself relating more to Elihu.
Did you know Job had four friends? The three that God rebukes, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, were accompanied by a young man named Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite. (Say that five times fast.)
Elihu was Job’s youngest friend, because of this, he stayed quiet for most of the book of Job to let his elders speak. But when he was ready to vent, he let it all out. He rebuked his friends for what they said, and he rebuked Job for what he said. He was full of righteous indignation.
Have you ever been there? You look around at your family or church family and can’t get over how they have dropped the ball. And maybe you’re right. Elihu was. God never rebuked him, just the other three. But being right doesn’t always mean we’re handling ourselves well.
Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “Be angry and do not sin.” From what we know about Elihu, it sounds like he handled his anger well. He gave it full vent, but he doesn’t sit there for long. He moves on to extol God’s goodness, His justice, His majesty. Elihu takes the focus off Job and moves it back to Jesus.
In general, I don’t handle anger well. I usually call my husband and vent to him and he’s able to calm me down before I do something stupid. Not always, but usually. But Elihu got it 100% right. The answer to our anger is to put our eyes back on Jesus.
Elihu penned one of my all-time favorite passages, Job 36:22-37. “Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? … Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung” (vv. 22, 24). Elihu is captivated by how great our God is and that’s what he chose to focus on in the midst of everything going on around him.
He reminded Job to look to Jesus because God is worthy, and He is good no matter what we’re facing.
That’s why my Bible bestie for today is Elihu, and I hope you can make him yours, too. Whenever you get upset or see those around you dropping the ball, I encourage you to remember Elihu and take your eyes off life’s failures and put them back on God’s goodness.
* You can read more about Elihu in Job 32-37
