Chapters 32—37
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Scripture Reading: Job 36; Job 37
In this message we will consider chapters thirty-six and thirty-seven, which are Elihu's final word to Job. Once again, there was no prayer or exercise of the spirit in fellowship.
In 36:1-4 Elihu claimed that he had more to say for God. He said, "I will bring my knowledge from afar/And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker./For truly my words are not false;/One perfect in knowledge is with you" (vv. 3-4). I do not believe that Elihu was speaking for God at all; he was speaking absolutely for himself, making a display of his knowledge. Actually, he had less knowledge than Job and the three friends. Although Elihu said that he ascribed righteousness to God, he in fact ascribed everything to himself, going so far as to refer to himself as "one perfect in knowledge."
In verses 5 through 16 Elihu showed Job that God takes care of the righteous and that He allured Job from the jaws of distress into a spacious place. Here Elihu skipped from one subject to another, and it is difficult to know what he was talking about.
Elihu said that God "does not preserve the wicked man alive" (v. 6a). This is not true, for many wicked people are still living. Elihu also said that those who hear God and serve Him "will spend their days in prosperity/And their years in pleasantness" (v. 11). Such a concept is altogether according to the principle of good and evil. In verse 16 he went on to say, "Indeed He allures you from the jaws of distress/Into a spacious place, where there is no constraint;/And what is upon your table would be full of fatness."
Next, Elihu warned Job that he was filled with the judgment of the wicked, telling him that judgment and justice had taken hold of him (v. 17). Here Elihu seemed to be saying that Job was not enjoying a table full of fatness because he was occupied with the judgment of the wicked, continually thinking that God should exercise His judgment upon the wicked, with justice being the verdict of judgment. Thus, judgment and justice had taken hold of Job.
In verses 18 through 23 Elihu admonished Job not to let wrath allure him into scoffing toward God, not to long for the night, and not to turn toward iniquity. In verses 22 and 23 he said, "Behold, God is exalted in His power:/Who is a teacher like Him?/Who has appointed His way for Him?/And who says, You have done wrong?"
Elihu went on to remind Job to magnify God's work in the universe and exalt His greatness (36:24—37:13). In 36:26 Elihu declared, "Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;/The number of His years we also cannot search out." In 37:5 he said, "God thunders wondrously with His voice;/He does great things that we cannot comprehend." Elihu's speaking here is a display of his ability and capacity to compose poetry. If we speak in such a way in the vital groups, the groups will be killed.
Elihu then charged Job to consider God's wondrous acts in the skies and on the earth (vv. 14-23). He concluded his charge by saying, "The Almighty — we cannot find Him out;/He is excellent in power,/And justice and the abundance of righteousness/He will not damage" (v. 23).
Finally, in his last word to Job, Elihu instructed Job to fear God, who does not look upon any who are wise of heart (v. 24).
Concerning the purpose of God in dealing with Job, even in the highlight of his final word to Job, Elihu did not have the capacity to afford Job a divine revelation that is up to the New Testament level, namely, that God's purpose in allowing the believers to suffer the loss of all things is that they may gain God as their eternal portion for them to inherit and enjoy as the eternal life unto eternity, as the Lord revealed to His disciples in Matthew 19:27-29.
Job was suffering, and his three friends came to comfort him. Elihu was also there to help the situation. However, these godly people did not pray for Job nor did they fellowship with one another by exercising their spirit that all of them might receive a certain amount of spiritual supply. That would have helped them find out the real purpose of God's dealing with Job. They talked about God, and they also referred to their spirit, but in all their debates there is no hint that they were exercising their spirit. Rather, they were exercising their mind, searching for words from the heavens, from the air, from the birds in the air, from the beasts on the earth, and from the fish in the sea, to compose their poetry.
If we would have vital groups today, we need to be warned by these talks. The group we see in the book of Job affords us a negative example, an example of the kind of group meeting we should not have in the church life today.
When we come together in the vital groups, the first thing we must do is to pray. The vital groups are groups of vital prayer. In the vital groups, learn not to pray old prayers with old terms, prayers according to your tradition. Learn always to pray new and fresh prayers. Try to exercise your spirit, because the very God, our present God, our God today, is right in our spirit with all His bountiful supply. Thus, when you come to the vital groups, you should remain in your spirit and exercise your spirit. In your spirit you will pick up some new terms and new expressions. You can do this because you have the Triune God as the consummated Spirit in your spirit.
The groups are vital in these two spirits: vital in our human spirit and vital in God's divine Spirit. The last part of the Bible — from Acts through Revelation — covers the matter of the divine Spirit who is now in our spirit to become one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). The content of this portion of the Word is a life of these two spirits. God moves in man and man moves in God in these two spirits. Therefore, when you come to the vital groups, you should turn to the spirit, remain in the spirit, and exercise the spirit.
Do not come to the vital groups to talk naturally yet quite intimately. That kills the groups. Instead, exercise your spirit to praise God or to sing a stanza or a few lines of a hymn. This kind of praising and singing stirs up the spirits of those in the vital group. Then everyone will follow to pray.
The second thing we should do in the vital groups is to fellowship. After the prayer, we should fellowship, perhaps about the home affairs or the troubles of the saints, yet we should fellowship in our spirit by exercising our spirit. Our speaking concerning a saint who is sick should not be in ordinary words but in words from the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit. When you speak out, try to bring the group into the two spirits. This will make a great difference, and this will help to lay the foundation for the vital group to move in the two spirits. Furthermore, when you visit others, at your home, in their home, or in the meeting hall, exercise your spirit.
The move of the Triune God today is altogether in the two spirits, in Himself as the consummated Spirit dwelling in our regenerated spirit. These two spirits — the divine Spirit and the human spirit — have become one spirit. To be a Christian is simply to take care of these two spirits for God's move. Learn to live a Christian life in this way. Do not try to learn so many teachings, but try to study and read the Bible for the nourishment and stirring up of your spirit that your spirit may be exercised to contact the divine Spirit in your spirit.
Learn to touch the divine Spirit in your spirit. This is the Christian life, and this should also be the Christian work. This is the move of God in man and the move of man in God to fulfill God's economy, His plan concerning Christ with His Body. We are here on earth for this, and for this we should live by the two spirits, follow the two spirits, and do everything according to the two spirits.
