What We Don't Think About In Affliction

Elihu heads into the final stretch of his speech to Job in Job 36. I love how he has defended God every step of the way. While Job has only concerned himself with his plight, Elihu is setting the stage for the dramatic entrance of God. 

Job 36:5 (ESV) “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.

Job has been concerned primarily with one thing, what he's done to deserve this punishment. As with most people, Job has dwelt only on the personal realities of his experiences. He's questioned why God is punishing him while letting the wicked "go free." I don't judge him at all, I would have fared far worse. But Elihu introduces something interesting to Job in verse 16. 

Job 36:16 (ESV) He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

In the New Living Translation:

Job 36:16–17 (NLT) “God is leading you away from danger, Job, to a place free from distress. He is setting your table with the best food. 17 But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged. Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.

The idea is simple: God is leading you away from something worse. No you look at Job's suffering and think, "What could possibly be worse?" And the answer is simple. Any place where God is not ready to save and deliver.

Elihu continues with a series of warnings to Job:

Job 36:18 (ESV) Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing, and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

In the NIV:

Job 36:20–21 (NIV) Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes. 21 Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.

The last line in verse 21 is very interesting indeed. Job was blameless before his trouble. But now in his distress he has often wondered what was the use of being good. The subtle implication being that perhaps evil is just as fine to do since he is suffering. And it forces us to ask a question. When things go poorly for us, do we find an outlet of evil to passify ourselves? Do we reject walking faithfully through trouble because the trouble is hard to take? Wondering what good righteous living is could be compared to desiring evil in that case. 

In the end, Job is reminded to trust God for His wisdom in dark times. 

Job 36:22–23 (ESV) Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? 23 Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?

Even when we suffer trials and trouble, we must learn to trust the teaching of God through it all. The quick solutions to abandoning Him or His ways are NEVER the answer. Something positive is always in the end for those who walk through the school of God's plan.