The literary purpose of Elihu’s final words here open the door to what God intends to say when He speaks about this whole thing. To see the whole point of all this, we take a moment to review how we got here. Was Job such a terrible man among men that his sin called for such a brutal experience? That is the wrong question. Elihu has already showed us that God speaks loudest to those most likely to listen. In the paradox of divine logic, those most pure receive the greatest suffering because they should already understand this life is at best shadow and deception. The righteous are the only ones who profit from sorrow. God brings sorrow not to punish, but to purify. The wrath that falls on evil souls begins with making it seem so completely random, but for the righteous it always has a clear purpose that they could know if they would climb out of the cesspool. Moral purity is also moral clarity of vision; the two are inseparable.
From the beginning we are told Job did not sin in his words. His error was tactical, not strategic. The mistake didn’t change the outcome, it simply made things harder for Job. It is entirely human to become absorbed in suffering when it visits. It brings a sense of confinement, characterized by our awareness of time and space constraints. These are critical elements of the Fall, and Job wallowed in them. The other issue was slipping into the mistake of taking his own parable too literally. Talking about having a meeting with God should be parabolic, and the symbolism of taking one’s complaint before God is rather obvious. Job made the mistake of pressing the symbol too hard, so that anyone listening would be unsure it was mere parable. It had the effect of giving listeners an excuse to blaspheme because Job allowed the trio to pull him off his high moral ground.
The final remedy offered by Elihu is the reminder just who it is we are talking about: Our Creator. And quite literally, we see Elihu referring to an approaching storm system sweeping across the land. It makes his heart leap to think that the gathering rumble is like the voice of God. By His merest whim, whole weather patterns and seasons shift completely outside of our expectations, disrupting human plans. Take a break, folks, while God shows you something about real work. Whatever God wants to make of it, so it will be.
Could Job even get involved in such work? Job can’t even cool off his own clothing should a faint breeze blow up the heat from the south, so how could he pretend to assist in placing the storm clouds? The lyric poetry here shames Job’s attempt to speak too much as if God would even pay attention to a legal case humans brought before Him. Who would dare complain at how God did His business? Certainly not someone like Job who should know better. What God decides to do is not up for any human review. Of all people on the earth, the righteous should know better than to suggest anything God does to them might be in any way unjust.
