The Message of Job, by Daniel J. Simundson: Chapter 6
Simundson, Daniel J. The Message of Job. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1981.
The Speeches of Elihu (Job 32-37)
OVERVIEW
In this chapter, David Simundson turns his attention to the speeches of Elihu in Job 32–37, a section that feels like a dramatic interruption in the flow of the book. The end of chapter 31 has brought the long dialog between Job and his three friends to a complete standstill, with Job’s final oath of innocence and the narrator’s note that “the words of Job are ended” (31:40). The natural next step would seem to be God’s direct response in chapter 38. Instead, a younger man named Elihu, who has been listening in silence out of deference to his elders, suddenly bursts into speech with four lengthy monologues.
In the story of the book, Elihu presents himself as angry at both Job (for justifying himself rather than God) and the three friends (for failing to answer Job adequately). He claims to speak with fresh insight, empowered by the Spirit rather than mere age, and insists he will be impartial. His speeches defend God’s justice, explain suffering as divine instruction or chastening, and call Job to repent and learn from his affliction. The section ends with Elihu extolling God’s majesty in creation, setting the stage for the Lord’s own speeches. Whether these chapters belong to the original author or were added later remains a major scholarly question, but Simundson treats them as they stand in the canonical text.
Main Points of the Chapter
Simundson organizes his discussion around the question of Elihu’s origin, a detailed review of the four speeches, and a careful evaluation of their theological and pastoral contribution.
The Question of Authorship and Placement
Simundson begins by noting that chapters 32–37 break the obvious flow from Job 31 to God’s speeches in 38. Elihu is never mentioned before or after this section, and he is absent from the epilogue’s evaluation of the three friends (42:7–9). The style, language, and structure are noticeably different: instead of the back-and-forth dialog format, we have a long monolog from one new speaker. There are also more Aramaic influences and references to earlier speeches that sound like a later hand commenting on an existing book. While some argue these chapters prepare Job psychologically or theologically for God’s words, the majority of scholars view them as a later insertion. Simundson does not dismiss them outright but carefully weighs their value.Elihu’s First Speech (Chapters 32–33)
After a prose introduction explaining Elihu’s anger and his reason for waiting, Elihu argues that wisdom comes not from age but from God’s Spirit (32:8). He claims he must speak because he is “full of words” like a new wineskin ready to burst (32:18–20). He invites Job to an open conversation as equals (33:5–7), but quickly moves to confrontation: Job is wrong to claim innocence and to accuse God of acting as an enemy (33:8–12). Elihu insists God does speak to people — through dreams, visions, suffering as chastening, and even through a mediator or angel — to turn them from sin and deliver them (33:13–30). He ends by challenging Job to answer if he can.Elihu’s Second Speech (Chapter 34)
Elihu addresses “wise men” and invites them to judge Job’s words. He accuses Job of being an enemy of true religion because Job has questioned the profitability of serving God (34:5–9). Elihu then delivers a strong defense of God’s justice, impartiality, and power: God cannot do wrong, sees everything, and rewards or punishes according to deeds (34:10–30). He concludes that Job is sinful and rebellious, adding rebellion to his other sins by speaking against God.Elihu’s Third Speech (Chapter 35)
Elihu returns to the question of whether human righteousness or sin affects God. He argues that God is so exalted that our actions do not benefit or harm Him directly, though they do affect other people (35:5–8). He suggests that God may not answer empty or prideful cries, and that Job’s complaints show a lack of true turning to God.Elihu’s Fourth Speech (Chapters 36–37)
Elihu continues “on God’s behalf,” repeating that God is just and uses suffering for instruction and correction (36:8–15). He warns Job to take heed and learn from his affliction rather than turning to evil (36:16–21). The speech concludes with an extended hymn praising God’s majesty in creation — rain, snow, lightning, thunder, and the changing seasons — all of which demonstrate God’s power and purposeful rule (36:22–37:13). Elihu challenges Job: “Do you know how God does this?” (37:15–24), emphasizing human limitation and calling for reverence and awe before the Almighty.Evaluation of Elihu
Simundson concludes with a balanced assessment. On content, Elihu adds little that is genuinely new; his core ideas (retribution, suffering as chastening, God’s justice and power) largely echo Eliphaz and the others. On process, while Elihu claims impartiality and humility, he ultimately fails to minister to Job pastorally. He treats Job’s suffering as an intellectual problem to be solved rather than a tragedy to be entered with compassion. Simundson suggests Elihu may help prepare the reader (and perhaps Job) for God’s speeches, but his overall contribution is limited and sometimes counterproductive.
Analysis and Value to Biblical Theology and the Redemption Arc of Scripture
Chapter 6 is valuable to biblical theology because it highlights the limits and dangers of purely human attempts to defend God or explain suffering. Elihu’s speeches represent the best of traditional wisdom theology — a strong affirmation of God’s justice, power, and purposeful use of suffering — yet they ultimately fall short. By showing that even a sincere, Spirit-claiming voice cannot resolve Job’s crisis, the chapter underscores the necessity of God’s own self-revelation. This prepares the way for the theophany in chapters 38–41, where God does not answer Job’s “why” questions but reveals His sovereign wisdom and power.
In the redemption arc of Scripture, Elihu’s section deepens our understanding of the human condition under the fall. Even the most eloquent theological defense cannot bring comfort or resolution to innocent suffering. The chapter illustrates why humanity desperately needs a Mediator who is both fully God and fully man — one who can enter our suffering and speak with divine authority. Job’s unanswered cries point forward to Christ, the true and greater Job, who suffers not for His own sin but bears the sins of His people and, in the end, receives the vindication that Job longed for.
Relevance to the Essential Elements of Soteriology
The chapter touches several core elements of soteriology. It exposes the insufficiency of works-righteousness and human wisdom (Elihu’s repeated defense of retribution ultimately fails to satisfy). It highlights the need for divine initiative and revelation (only God can speak the final word). It also illustrates the already/not-yet tension of the Christian life: we live in a world where suffering often seems unjust, yet we are called to trust the God who will one day make all things right. Most importantly, it reinforces the necessity of humble, reverent trust (“the fear of the Lord”) and the insufficiency of autonomous understanding — the very posture that receives the grace of God in Christ. In Christ, the wisdom Elihu says is beyond human reach is given to us as a gift (Colossians 2:3), and the Mediator Job longed for has come.
In short, while Elihu’s speeches do not resolve the book’s central crisis, they deepen the biblical portrait of our need for a Redeemer and heighten the impact of God’s eventual self-revelation in Christ.
What Simundson’s Chapter 6 (on Elihu’s Speeches in Job 32–37) Says About the Nature and Origin of Suffering
In this chapter, Simundson focuses on Elihu’s four speeches as a distinct voice that attempts to explain suffering within the ongoing debate. Elihu does not reject the traditional doctrine of retribution that Job and his three friends have been wrestling with throughout the book. Instead, he builds on it and adds a significant new emphasis. Here is what the text says, drawn directly from Simundson’s analysis:
1. Suffering as the Consequence of Sin (Retribution)
Elihu repeatedly affirms the classic retribution principle: suffering is often the direct result of human sin and wrongdoing.
God is perfectly just and impartial, and He rewards or punishes people according to their deeds (34:10–30; 36:6–7).
Humans are sinners by nature, and when they persist in sin, they bring suffering upon themselves (33:8–12; 34:5–9; 35:1–8).
Elihu accuses Job of adding rebellion to his other sins by questioning God’s justice (34:36–37).
In Elihu’s view, the origin of much suffering is human transgression. God is not arbitrary or cruel; He is simply giving people what their actions deserve.
2. Suffering as Divine Instruction and Chastening (Educational Purpose)Elihu’s most distinctive contribution is that suffering is not only punitive; it can also be redemptive and instructive. God uses it to teach, warn, and turn people back to Himself before it is too late.
God speaks to people through suffering itself, opening their ears to instruction and discipline (33:13–30; 36:8–15).
When people are “bound in affliction,” God uses the pain to chasten them, to show them what they have been doing wrong, and to call them to repentance (36:8–10).
If they listen and return to God, they will be delivered and blessed (36:11). If they refuse, they will perish in ignorance (36:12).
Elihu illustrates this with the picture of a person brought near death by illness who is then delivered by a mediator/angel and responds with grateful praise (33:19–28).
Suffering, therefore, has a positive, pedagogical purpose: it is God’s way of correcting and restoring His people.
3. God’s Justice, Power, and Silence Are Not the ProblemElihu insists that God is never unjust, arbitrary, or silent.
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly just; He sees everything and does not need to explain Himself to anyone (34:21–30; 36:22–26; 37:14–24).
The reason people sometimes feel God is silent is not because He is absent or unfair, but because their cries are “empty” or prideful, or because they fail to interpret the suffering as God’s instruction (35:9–16).
God is exalted far above humans, and our inability to understand His ways should lead us to awe and reverence rather than accusation (36:22–26; 37:14–24).
Summary of Elihu’s Overall View (as presented by Simundson)
Elihu holds two complementary ideas in tension:
Suffering is usually the consequence of sin (retribution).
Suffering can also be divine chastening meant to instruct, correct, and ultimately deliver the sufferer if he or she will listen and repent.
Simundson notes that Elihu’s core message is not entirely new (much of it echoes Eliphaz), but he develops the educative, restorative purpose of suffering more fully than the previous speakers. Elihu believes that if Job would stop defending his innocence and accept the corrective message of his suffering, restoration could come.
This is the picture of suffering that emerges from Elihu’s speeches in chapters 32–37, as summarized and evaluated by Simundsonin Chapter 6. It remains within the retribution framework but adds a pastoral, instructional dimension that the earlier counselors had only hinted at.
Elihu’s view of suffering as fundamentally two-fold: (1) retributive and (2) educational/instructive.
According to Simundson’s analysis in Chapter 6:
Retributive: Elihu repeatedly affirms the classic doctrine of retribution. Suffering is the just consequence of sin. God is perfectly righteous, impartial, all-knowing, and all-powerful, so He rewards or punishes people according to their deeds (see especially 34:10–30; 36:6–7). Job’s suffering must therefore have some hidden sin as its root cause.
Educational / Instructive (Chastening): Elihu’s most distinctive contribution is that suffering also has a positive, pedagogical purpose. God uses it to warn, instruct, correct, and turn people back to Himself before greater disaster comes (33:13–30; 36:8–15). Suffering can open ears to instruction, chasten the sinner, and lead to repentance and restoration if the sufferer listens and responds (36:10–11). If ignored, it leads to destruction (36:12).
Elihu therefore holds both ideas together: suffering is usually deserved (retributive), but God can also use it redemptively to teach and restore.
Does God Confirm or Deny Elihu’s Perspective?
God neither explicitly confirms nor directly refutes Elihu’s categories in chapters 38–41.
God does not engage Elihu’s framework at all.
God never says, “Elihu is right — suffering is always retributive or instructive.”
God never says, “Elihu is wrong.”
Instead, God’s speeches simply transcend Elihu’s entire approach. By displaying His sovereign power and unsearchable wisdom in creation (the whirlwind speeches), God shows that the ultimate reasons for suffering in Job’s case lie far beyond the simple retribution/education model. Job’s suffering is never explained in the terms Elihu (or the three friends) proposed. Simundson notes that God’s response is not an answer to the “why” questions but a revelation of the One who is greater than all human explanations.
What Alternative Is Left for the Origin of Suffering?
The book of Job leaves the origin of Job’s suffering ultimately mysterious and sovereign.
It is not fully explained by personal sin (Job is repeatedly called blameless).
It is not presented as a straightforward lesson in chastening for Job’s benefit.
The prologue reveals a cosmic dimension (the heavenly courtroom and Satan’s role), but even that is never explained to Job.
The only “answer” the book ultimately gives is the sovereign wisdom and power of God Himself. Suffering exists within God’s mysterious, all-wise rule over creation. Human beings are not given a complete intellectual explanation; they are called to humble trust in the God who is far greater than they are. Simundson emphasizes that this is the climax of the book: when God speaks, the relationship changes everything. Job moves from demanding answers to trusting the One who gives them (or withholds them) according to His own perfect wisdom.
In short: Elihu offers a retributive + educational view. God does not deny it outright, but He quietly moves past it, leaving the deepest origin of suffering wrapped in divine mystery and calling His people to trust Him anyway. This is one of the most profound pastoral and theological contributions of the book of Job.