Who is Elihu?

[posthuman]

This is why I think Job is depicted by the self righteous man praying.

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

In the beginning we see that Job is going to God on behalf of his children in case they have sinned. No mention that he is repenting of his own sins. Sure sounds like he trusted in himself that he was righteous and despised others.

The story of Job is about God removing the hedge of protection. Then Job learns how quickly he can become dust.

Also this word "justified" indicates that both are appearing before the judge in a trial when they pray. Satan is the accuser and one is justified before the judge, he pleaded to God to be merciful to him, a sinner. God said, I can do that.

The other one exalted himself, look at me, look at how great I am. God said, I can do that and told Satan to look at Job and let's find out how great he is. As a result Job was abased.

But he learned a really valuable lesson, he can pray to God and do great things. He is no match for Leviathan, but God has no problem handling Leviathan. We learn that God loved and valued Job. All Job needed to do was ask God for help in taking down leviathan and God would have been there in an instant. So then, we see once Job has learned this lesson he becomes much richer spiritually than he was before.

if he had fault in the middle of the book, in the midst of his trials, Job certainly came back to the right path, having taken to heart the rebuke of Elihu and of God. when God speaks to him, Job answers in all humility, confessing he had spoken in ignorance ((thread-relevant: agreeing with Elihu's criticism)), despising himself and repenting. Job is justified before God, and perhaps an important aspect of why, is that when he faced God, he did not do so with pride. equally important in this aspect of the narrative, is that pride, that is, self-justification ((in re: Elihu's singular criticism of Job's demeanor)) is the specific thing that God's scathing pronouncements to Job target. who are you to question Me? God asks -- and Job, righteously, answers i am no one, i spoke in error, i clap my hand over my mouth

 

[posthuman]

This is why I think Job is depicted by the self righteous man praying.

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

In the beginning we see that Job is going to God on behalf of his children in case they have sinned. No mention that he is repenting of his own sins. Sure sounds like he trusted in himself that he was righteous and despised others.

The story of Job is about God removing the hedge of protection. Then Job learns how quickly he can become dust.

Also this word "justified" indicates that both are appearing before the judge in a trial when they pray. Satan is the accuser and one is justified before the judge, he pleaded to God to be merciful to him, a sinner. God said, I can do that.

The other one exalted himself, look at me, look at how great I am. God said, I can do that and told Satan to look at Job and let's find out how great he is. As a result Job was abased.

But he learned a really valuable lesson, he can pray to God and do great things. He is no match for Leviathan, but God has no problem handling Leviathan. We learn that God loved and valued Job. All Job needed to do was ask God for help in taking down leviathan and God would have been there in an instant. So then, we see once Job has learned this lesson he becomes much richer spiritually than he was before.

bro these things are what we should be talking about. worldly politics is trash, and the evil one uses it to divide and distract us.
that's all i meant to say in the other thing.

no offense meant and no offense taken, on my part

 

[ZNP]

bro these things are what we should be talking about. worldly politics is trash, and the evil one uses it to divide and distract us.
that's all i meant to say in the other thing.

no offense meant and no offense taken, on my part

Paul said we can use all things to win people.

Politics is people thinking they can lead themselves, pointing out how they are taking a broad way that leads to hell is one way to preach the gospel that Jesus Christ is Lord and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.

 

[ZNP]

bro these things are what we should be talking about. worldly politics is trash, and the evil one uses it to divide and distract us.
that's all i meant to say in the other thing.

no offense meant and no offense taken, on my part

Also I would point out that I have 14,000 posts in my blog about the rapture, so despite discussing things like the Pandemic, the Vaccine Mandate, the assassination attempt on Trump, whether or not Trump is Jehu, and many other topics on these other threads many involving current events, over half of the posts I have made clearly are focused on the Bible.

The others may not be so clear, but they are journaling our step by step progress as the world heads to the Antichrist reign.

The NT says that believers are ambassadors, we are here to warn, to exhort, to encourage, to teach, to preach, to evangelize, etc.

 

[ZNP]

When I was first saved I was told by the elders of the church where I met that they do not give Satan credit for anything. If something happens you don't blame Satan, instead you ask the Lord why it happened, why did He allow it.

This is fundamental to building our faith in Jesus as Lord of all. That is the key to all healing ministry and works of miracles.

It is also what Paul told us in Romans that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to purpose. Paul did not say "all things are good" only that they work together for good. They build your faith, they help you to see clearly, they help you to be sanctified, etc.

 

[christophernyc]

Injecting poetry can easily lead down a rabbit trail. Does your definition of poetry in the bible include poetic license?

The only parallel we see here is in the actual presentation of the two tests.

No, Job did not pass the second test, because he did not bless God after the second test as he did in the first test.

If Job retained his integrity after the second test, could you please explain when he did lose his integrity. It is easy to see that Job had lost his integrity somewhere before he stated that he was vile and abhorred himself. Look at Job's words before this.
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

In your study, have you ever learned about how the bible was written? Have you ever encountered the fact that Hebrew poetry is an integral part of it? This is very common knowledge, and there are many places to learn more about it. And, no, nobody was talking about "poetic license". That is something different entirely.

I would encourage you to look into how the bible was written in Hebrew. It's quite important if you are aiming to understand Scripture as a whole.

 

[tttallison]

In your study, have you ever learned about how the bible was written? Have you ever encountered the fact that Hebrew poetry is an integral part of it? This is very common knowledge, and there are many places to learn more about it. And, no, nobody was talking about "poetic license". That is something different entirely.

I would encourage you to look into how the bible was written in Hebrew. It's quite important if you are aiming to understand Scripture as a whole.

Yes, I learned how the scripture was written. 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

You seem to be avoiding the hard questions, like, when did Job lose his integrity? Or why did God give 6 chapters of this book to Elihu? Elihu said he was standing in the place of God. If that statement was not true, what reason can you possible give for God to assign 6 chapters to a liar?