Job 32:1-10, 19-33:1, 19-28

Elihu Rebukes Job’s Friends

32:1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; 3 he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. 5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.

6 Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered:

”I am young in years,

and you are aged;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to declare my opinion to you.

7 I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

8 But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,

the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding.

9 It is not the old that are wise,

nor the aged that understand what is right.

10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my opinion.’ (Job 32:1-10, NRSV)

19 My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent;

like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.

20 I must speak, so that I may find relief;

I must open my lips and answer.

21 I will not show partiality to any person

or use flattery toward anyone.

22 For I do not know how to flatter--

or my Maker would soon put an end to me!

Elihu Rebukes Job

33:1 But now, hear my speech, O Job,

and listen to all my words. (Job 32:19-33:1, NRSV)

19 They are also chastened with pain upon their beds,

and with continual strife in their bones,

20 so that their lives loathe bread,

and their appetites dainty food.

21 Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen;

and their bones, once invisible, now stick out.

22 Their souls draw near the Pit,

and their lives to those who bring death.

23 Then, if there should be for one of them an angel,

a mediator, one of a thousand,

one who declares a person upright,

24 and he is gracious to that person, and says,

’Deliver him from going down into the Pit;

I have found a ransom;

25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

26 then he prays to God, and is accepted by him,

he comes into his presence with joy,

and God repays him for his righteousness.

27 That person sings to others and says,

’I sinned, and perverted what was right,

and it was not paid back to me.

28 He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and my life shall see the light.’ (Job 33:19-28, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from September 11, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year Two):

As noted yesterday, the readings for Tuesday through Friday of this week are taken from Job’s final defense of his integrity in chapters 29-31, which will be followed beginning Saturday with God’s response. But today’s reading passes over Job’s final defense to parts of the speeches of Elihu (chaps. 32-37) before returning to Job tomorrow.

The speeches of Elihu are regarded by some as later additions to Job by a different author. They suggest that Elihu, for the most part, merely repeats the arguments of the three friends, and, since he is not mentioned elsewhere in the book, and since neither Job nor God responds to him, his speeches must be regarded as an interruption of the flow of the dialogues. Mayer Gruber says that “he speaks in a Hebrew that differs from both the prose and the poetry of other parts of the book” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 1546 on Job, chaps. 32-37), but he also notes that, though “he seems to add nothing to what has been said before,” this point “is weakened by the fact that many of the speeches of the others also do not advance the argument in any way, yet they are not regarded as interpolations of a later redactor” (ibid.). Robert L. Alden says of Elihu’s speeches, “The very fact that they are long, repetitive, and eve boring points to the quandary human beings face when confronted by unresolvable propositions. The fact that no one answers Elihu points to the frustrating fact that there are no human answers to the dilemma Job and many subsequent sufferers have faced” (Job, The New American Commentary, vol. 11, 1993, p. 314 on Job 32:1-37:27). Gruber notes that “Elihu is an excellent listener, the only speaker in the entire book who quotes other people’s ideas verbatim. For example, in 33:9 and 34:5 he quotes Job’s protestation of innocence in 16:17. In 33:11 he quotes Job’s statement in 13:27; in 33:12-13 he responds to what Job said in 9:3-4; in 34:3 he quotes what Job had said in 12:11” (Gruber, loc. cit.).

According to the narrator (Job 32:4), and to Elihu himself (vv. 6-7) he has so far deferred to his elders, but now he will speak (v. 10) because “It is not the old that are wise, / nor the aged that understand what is right” (v. 9), but rather, “it is the spirit in a mortal, / the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding” (v. 8). His elaborate poetic introduction continues through chapter 32 (cf. vv. 1-5, the narrator’s prose introduction). He must speak, he says, for “My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent; / like new wineskins, it is ready to burst” (v. 19). He “will not show partiality to any person” (v. 21a), nor use flattery (vv. 21b, 22a) because “my Maker would soon put an end to me!” (v. 22b). What follows is certainly not flattery!

Elihu contradicts Job’s claim of innocence (33:9; cf. 9:20-21 and, as cited above from Gruber, 16:17). He disputes Job’s right to contend against God (33:12-13), mentions two ways that God speaks to people, through dreams (v. 15) and direct warnings (v. 16), so they will “turn . . . aside from their deeds, / and . . . pride” (v. 17). God’s chastening (v. 19a) will perhaps lead them to repentance. Elihu describes “strife in their bones” (v. 19b), loss of appetite (v. 20) and the approach of death (v. 21) as part of this chastening. This should lead to repentance and acceptance by God (vv. 26-28), perhaps through the assistance of “an angel, a mediator (Cyl9m2, mēlîts)” (v. 23). This is the only occurrence of the term “mediator” in the NRSV translation of the Hebrew Bible (Bruce M. Metzger, ed., NRSV Exhaustive Concordance, 1991, s.v. Mediator). The term Cyl9m2 (mēlîts) means “1. official, middleman,” as “a) interpreter (of foreign language) Gen. 42d:23; b) envoy 2 Chron. 32:31; c) intermediary, mediator (i.e. prophet) Isa. 43:27,” but in another sense, “2. subordinate heavenly being, angel-intercessor Job 33:23” (William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. Cyl9m2, mēlîts). The dagger symbol (†) indicates that “all undisputed instances [i.e., these four] have been cited” (cf. p. xx, and see the instance by emendation discussed below). We may note that the Isaiah reference is to false prophets. “Your first ancestor sinned, / and your interpreters (j~yc@yl9m4, m^elîtseykā) transgressed against me” (Isa. 43:27). According to Joseph Blenkinsopp, “perhaps [this] is a denunciation of optimistic prophets during the time of the monarchy who led the people astray” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 43:27).

Alden, on the other hand sees the term Cyl9m2 (mēlîts) here (Job 33:23) as “one of the [four] words in the list of 16:19-20 that describe the person in whom Job hopes” (op. cit., p. 329, on Job 33:23). The basis for this connection is a conjectural emendation followed by the New International Version that Alden uses:

Even now my witness (yd9f2, ‘dî) is in heaven;

my advocate (yd9h3W!, śāh^adî ) is on high.

My intercessor is my friend (yf!r2 yc9yl9m4, for yf9r2 yc1yl9m4 ‘frt’ = ‘perhaps’ BHS apparatus) [text note a: ‘Or My friends treat me with scorn’]

as my eyes pour out tears to God (Job 16:19-20 NIV = TNIV)

The New Revised Standard Version follows the text that the NIV and TNIV relegate to the note:

Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,

and he that vouches for me is on high.

My friends scorn me (Heb. text as indicated above);

my eyes pour out tears to God, (Job 16:19-20 NRSV)

In the present context, Elihu considers the unlikely possibility that the “mediator, one of a thousand, /one who declares a person upright, / and he is gracious to that person, and says, / ‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit; / I have found a ransom” (33:23b, c, 24), would reverse Job’s condition if “he prays to God, and is accepted by him” (v. 26a). According to Elihu, such repentance would lead to blessing, as “God repays him for his righteousness. / That person sings to others and says, / ‘I sinned, and perverted what was right, /and it was not paid back to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and my life shall see the light’ ” (vv. 26b-28).

Gruber says, “If in the end, Elihu contributes anything of substance to the book, it is his elaboration (in 33:16-30; 36:16) upon a thesis presented earlier by Eliphaz in 5:17-26. According to this thesis, suffering is a divine gift comparable to parents disciplining their children. Such discipline enables people to correct their behavior and thereby to secure and not to lose their just reward” (op. cit., pp. 1546-1547, on chaps. 32-37). Job should heed Elihu’s advice (v. 31), because Elihu has his best interest at heart. “I desire to justify you,” he says (v. 32b); Elihu will teach Job wisdom (v. 33).

Acts 13:44-52

44 The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. 46 Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,

so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. 49 Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:44-52, NRSV)

On July 23, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 20, Year One), comments were repeated with some editing and supplement from September 11, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 18, 2005 (Monday of the week of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

When Paul’s sermon in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia (discussed Thursday and Friday of last week, September 5 and 6, 2008) ended, people wanted them to return. “As Paul and Barnabas were going out,” says Luke, “the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath” (Acts 13:42). Paul’s sermon had met with some success. “When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God” (v. 43). But as the report continues, this favorable response of the Jewish congregation seems to dissipate. “The next sabbath,” says Luke, “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (v. 44). The words, “almost the whole city,” would surely imply the the presence of many Gentiles among the crowd. And “when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul” (v. 45). So the missionaries take this rejection by Jews as a sign to turn to the Gentiles–which, by Luke’s account, and that of Paul himself, was Paul’s calling from the beginning (cf. 9:15; Gal. 1:16; 2:8).

In the face of Jewish opposition at Antioch of Pisidia, “both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles’ ” (Acts 13:46). Thus, according to Luke, a pattern was set: Paul would first attempt to preach in the synagogue, but when rejected, would turn to the Gentiles (cf. 14:1-2; 18:5-6; 28:5-28). Here Paul calls this a divine necessity: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you” (v. 46), but his “turning to the Gentiles” is justified by citing Isaiah: “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, / so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (v. 47, citing Isa. 49:6, which, as noted by Christopher R. Matthews, is cited in Lk. 2:32).

This announcement was good news for many Gentiles, for “when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined (tetagmevnoi, tetagmenoi) for eternal life became believers” (v. 48). The first meaning of the verb (perfect passive participle) translated “destined” here is “to bring about an order of things by arranging, arrange, put in place,” and specifically in meaning no. (1) (b), “of a person, put into a specific position [that is to] put someone over or in charge of someone or something.” This meaning is further defined in the passive voice as “belong to, be classed among those possessing [eternal life] o{soi h\san tetagmevvnoi eijV zwh;n aijwvnion [hosoi ēsaqn tetagmenoi eis zōēn aiōnion) Acts13:48” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. tavssw, tassō). The verb proorivzw (proorizō, Rom. 8:29, 30), “decide upon beforehand, predetermine” (BDAG, s.v. proorivzw, proorizō) does not occur in this context. John Wesley explains:

As many as were ordained to eternal life - St. Luke does not say fore - ordained. He is not speaking of what was done from eternity, but of what was then done, through the preaching of the Gospel. He is describing that ordination, and that only, which was at the very time of hearing it. During this sermon those believed, says the apostle, to whom God then gave power to believe. It is as if he had said, "They believed, whose hearts the Lord opened;" as he expresses it in a clearly parallel place, speaking of the same kind of ordination, Acts 16:14, &c. It is observable, the original word is not once used in Scripture to express eternal predestination of any kind. The sum is, all those and those only, who were now ordained, now believed. Not that God rejected the rest: it was his will that they also should have been saved: but they thrust salvation from them. Nor were they who then believed constrained to believe. But grace was then first copiously offered them. And they did not thrust it away, so that a great multitude even of Gentiles were converted. In a word, the expression properly implies, a present operation of Divine grace working faith in the hearers. (“Notes on the Acts of the Apostles,” Wesley Center Online, on the Internet at http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/notes/acts.htm#Chapter+XIII, accessed Sept. 7, 2008).

“Thus,” says Luke, “the word of the Lord spread throughout the region” (Acts 13:49). Matthews calls this verse “a typical summary that makes it clear that Acts claims only to be a partial report of the spread of Christianity” (op. cit., on v. 49). Here Matthews gives a cross-reference to Acts 9:10, where he points out that “Acts does not record how or when Christians first arrived in Damascus” (ibid., on Acts 9:10). Although there was a significant response to the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, opposition also continued, for “ the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region” (v. 50). According to Matthews, “the scene depicted here (see 2 Tim. 3:11 [which refers to it]) is repeated in subsequent accounts (see 14:2, 19; 17:5, 13)” (ibid., on v. 50). So Paul and Barnabas follow the instruction about response to rejection given by Jesus to the Twelve (Lk. 9:5; cf. Mk. 6:11; Mt. 10:14) and to the Seventy (Lk. 10:11). “So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium” (Acts 13:51).

Iconium lay some eighty miles east southeast of Antioch of Pisidia, in the general direction toward Paul’s hometown of Tarsus, some one hundred forty miles further to the southeast (cf. the scale for Map 14, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001). Since the territory is inland and mostly mountainous, the map scale surely underestimates the actual distance traveled. But, in spite of the persecution, they must have traveled with light hearts, for, as Luke says, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (v. 52).

John 10:19-30

19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus Is Rejected by the Jews

22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” (John 10:19-30, NRSV)

The following comments on John 10:19-30 are selected and repeated with editing and supplement from comments on John 10:19-42 from March 29, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), that were repeated from September 11, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year Two):

It was noted yesterday in comments on Jesus’ parable of the Good Shepherd, that the reference to the “hired hand” who “sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and runs away” (v. 12), is “another attack on the leadership of Israel” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 10:12-13). On Friday of last week (Sept. 5, 2008) it was noted that modern translations include John 9:41 through 10:5 within quotation marks as a single speech of Jesus. This implies; that the “thief” and “bandit” of 10:1 refer to the Pharisees of 9:40. Jesus’ speech on that occasion resumes in 10:7 and continues through 10:18, thus including the “thieves” and “bandits” of 10:8, the “thief” of verse 10, and the “hired hand” (vv. 12, 13) as reference to the Pharisees.

The beginning of today’s reading follows the portion in quotation marks, but refers to “these [i.e., Jesus’] words”: “Again,” says John, the Jews were divided because of these words” (v. 19; cf. 7:12). “Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’ ” (v. 20; cf. 7:20; Mk. 3:22; Mt. 12:24; Lk. 11:16). However, “others were saying, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’ ” (Jn. 10:21; cf. 9:1-41).

At verse 22, John’s narrative suggests a new departure. “At that time,” he says, “the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem” (v. 22a). We know this festival as Hanukkah, described as follows at the Internet site, “This Month in Smart History”:

Hanukkah is the annual Jewish festival celebrated on eight successive days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, corresponding, approximately, to December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, and Feast of the Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine. (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1061, accessed September 7, 2008).

On our calendar, “the Gregorian calendar,” Hanukkah falls within our so-called Christmas season (late November to late December). As John’s report of the continued discussion continues, the location is different. “It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon” (vv. 22b, 23). When we are told that Jesus found the healed blind man (9:35) after “they [i.e., the Pharisees, 9:13, the Jews, l9:18] drove him out”–presumably “out of the synagogue” (v23)–it was not likely in the Temple. So, with a new time reference and a new location we have a new beginning.

But the discussion continues with a certain level of acrimony. Jesus is addressed by the Jews in the temple, who “gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (v. 24). Much of the Gospel of John centers on the issue of his identity. Who is this? We are told at the outset that “the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1) and “the Word became flesh” (1:14), but Nicodemus and the others had not read the Prologue. So Jesus’ identity is still an issue for the characters in the narrative. “I have told you, and you do not believe,” says Jesus. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep” (vv. 25-26). The parable of the Good Shepherd, presented earlier in this chapter, is still in view. “My sheep hear my voice,” says Jesus. “I know them, and they follow me” (v 27). According to Obery M. Hendricks, “The religious authorities do not accept Jesus’ oneness with God because their elitism makes them unable to hear him (cf. 7:15)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 10:24-30). “I give them eternal life,” says Jesus, referring to his “sheep,” that is, those who believe in him, “and they will never perish” (v. 28a; cf. 3:16, 36; 6:68, etc.). “No one,” he says, “will snatch them out of my hand” (v. 28b). And Jesus adds, “What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand” (v. 29; cf. 6:35-40).

Jesus’ next claim infuriates the Jews, who attempt to stone him (v. 31; but that is in tomorrow’s reading). “The Father,” he says, “and I are one” (v. 30). This is more than a claim to fellowship with the Father (cf. 1 Jn. 1:3); it’s a claim that he himself is divine, a claim made in several forms throughout John’s Gospel. While noting similar claims in John (e.g. Jn. 10:38; 1:1; 14:10), but adds that, “on the other hand, 14:28; 20:17 suggest the Father’s superiority to Jesus” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jn. 10:30). In the latter text, “the Father’s superiority” is hardly evident. Jesus addresses Mary Magdalene saying “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” (Jn. 20:17). In the other text, the plain statement, “because the Father is greater than I,” does suggest the Father’s superiority, but it may be understood within the context of the incarnation (cf. Phil. 2:6-11), and the crucifixion he was facing, not in absolute terms in relation to our understanding of the Trinity. John Marsh takes note of this text:

Understandably this sentence [i.e. ‘the Father is greater than I’] was much debated in the doctrinal development of the Church, particularly between the Arians and their opponents. But the evangelist is not here concerned with the problems of the relationships of the ‘persons’ of the Godhead, still less with the metaphysical problems about possible distinctions between the ‘essences’ of Father and Son. Innocent of all that, the evangelist is simply making it plain that the departure of Jesus is his resumption of the omnipotence rightly exercised by the Father, instead of his continuing in the impotence rightly exercised by the omnipotent but incarnate Word. (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 516, on Jn. 20:28)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net