Job 33

Elihu, the younger man who has waited while the three friends spoke, now addresses Job directly. He says Job has claimed to be pure and has complained that God is silent. Elihu answers that God does speak, through dreams, through pain, and through a mediator, to turn people back from the Pit and give them life.

Job 33:1-3

Elihu turns from the friends and speaks to Job by name. He asks to be heard in full and claims he speaks honestly, from an upright heart. He is not trying to trick Job. He offers what he truly believes he knows.

BSA: upright (“morally straight, doing what is right”): Elihu claims his words come from a heart that is straight, not crooked or hiding something.

Job 33:4

Elihu bases his standing on creation. The same Spirit and breath of God that made Job also made him. Every life is a gift from God and is held up by Him each moment, so neither man can speak as though he were God.

BSA: breath (“spirit”): The word for life-breath and for spirit is the same, so life itself is shown as God’s gift in us.

See also: Genesis 2:7; Job 34:14-15.

Job 33:5-7

Elihu invites Job to answer him if he can. He promises not to crush him, as Job had feared God would do. He stands beside Job as an equal, a creature made of clay, so Job need not be afraid of him.

BSA: clay (“the earth, a humble material”): Elihu reminds Job that both of them are made from earth, which removes any claim to superiority.

See also: Genesis 2:7.

Job 33:8-11

Elihu quotes what he says he heard Job claim. Job said he was pure and clean, that God treats him as an enemy, and that God has locked his feet in the stocks and watches his every step. Job did speak in this way, though in his own words.

BSA: stocks (“wooden blocks, restraints”): The picture is a prisoner whose feet are fastened so he cannot move or escape.

See also: Job 13:24-27.

Job 33:12-13

Elihu says Job is wrong here. Job has no right to demand that God explain Himself, because God is greater than any man. Elihu asks why Job argues that God gives no answer to what people ask.

BSA: complain (“strive, contend”): Job is seen as taking God to court and quarrelling with Him.

See also: Isaiah 55:8-9.

Job 33:14-16

God does speak, Elihu says, but people often fail to notice. One way is a dream or night vision, when a person is in deep sleep and the mind is quiet. God opens the ear and gives a warning so serious that it frightens.

BSA: notices (“perceives, pays attention to, sees”): The failure lies in our attention. God is speaking, but people do not perceive it. opens (“unveils, reveals”): God removes whatever blocks the ear so the warning can be heard.

Hebrew: גָּלָה (gālāh, H1540) — “to uncover, to open.” The Hebrew word for opening the ears means uncovering them. God takes away the covering that keeps a person from hearing.

See also: Job 4:12-16.

Job 33:17-18

The purpose of these warnings is merciful. God wants to turn a person from wrongdoing and from pride, and so rescue him from the Pit and from a violent death. His warning is meant to save.

BSA: Pit (“underworld, corruption”): The Pit stands for the grave and the destruction that sin leads toward.

See also: Psalm 16:10.

Job 33:19-22

God may also speak through pain. A man lies sick in bed and aches in his bones. He cannot eat, even his favorite food. He wastes away until his bones show, and he seems near the grave. Elihu sees suffering as a possible tool of correction.

BSA: chastened (“reproved, corrected”): The pain is presented as God’s loving correction, not only as punishment.

See also: Hebrews 12:5-11.

Job 33:23-24

Then comes hope. If a messenger stands with him, one in a thousand who can explain what is right, God is gracious. He says to spare the man, for a ransom has been found. Christians have seen here a faint picture of Christ our mediator and ransom.

BSA: mediator (“interpreter, advocate”): This person speaks on the sufferer’s behalf and explains God’s ways to him. ransom (“redemption price, payment for his life”): A price is paid so that the man goes free, and he does not earn his release.

Hebrew: כֹּפֶר (kōfer, H3724) — “ransom, covering price.” The word names the payment that buys a life back from death. It is the same idea as atonement, a price that covers the debt.

See also: 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Mark 10:45.

Job 33:25-26

Restoration follows quickly. The sick man’s body is renewed like a child’s, and he prays and finds favor. He sees God’s face with joy and is put right with God again. His health is renewed, and so is his place before God.

BSA: restores (“to return, turn back”): God gives back what was lost, bringing the man back into right standing.

See also: Psalm 103:3-5.

Job 33:27-28

The saved man sings before others. He admits he sinned and twisted what was right, yet did not get what he deserved. God redeemed his soul from the Pit, so he will live and see the light. This is a testimony of grace.

BSA: redeemed (“saved, ransomed”): His rescue is described as a purchase, an act of costly deliverance.

See also: Psalm 40:1-3.

Job 33:29-30

Elihu says God often does these things, two or even three times with the same person. His aim is to bring a soul back from the Pit and let him be lit by the light of life. God’s patience gives repeated chances.

BSA: enlightened (“given spiritual light”): The goal is more than staying alive. It is to live in the light of God.

See also: John 8:12.

Job 33:31-33

Elihu closes by asking Job to listen, though he also invites him to answer if he has anything to say. He truly wants to vindicate Job. If Job has no reply, he should stay quiet and learn wisdom.

BSA: vindicate (“justify, declare righteous”): Elihu says he would gladly clear Job if Job could be shown to be right.