Refining Righteousness: Understanding Suffering Through Elihu

Devotional

Day 1: Suffering as a Divine Refinement

Suffering is often misunderstood as a direct punishment for sin, but it can be a divine tool for refining righteousness. Elihu's perspective in the story of Job challenges the simplistic view of suffering as merely punitive. Instead, he suggests that suffering serves to expose hidden pride and self-reliance, prompting repentance and a deeper faith. This process is a testament to God's love and His desire to protect us from ultimate destruction. By viewing suffering as a refining fire, we can see it as part of God's redemptive plan, aimed at sanctifying and saving us. [12:48]

Job 23:10-11 (ESV): "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside."

Reflection: Think of a recent challenge you faced. How might God be using this experience to refine your character and deepen your faith?

Day 2: God's Dual Communication

God communicates with us not only through His word but also through life's circumstances, including suffering. These experiences are designed to open our ears to His instruction, turning us away from sin and towards a deeper understanding of His nature and our own imperfections. By recognizing the dual ways God speaks, we can become more attuned to His guidance and grow in our relationship with Him. This understanding encourages us to listen more closely to both Scripture and the lessons embedded in our daily lives. [11:10]

1 Kings 19:11-12 (ESV): "And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent event in your life. How might God be using this situation to communicate with you, and what is He trying to say?

Day 3: Suffering as a Curative Process

Suffering serves as a divine mechanism to expose and cleanse the remnants of sin within the righteous. It is not a punitive measure but a curative process, akin to a surgeon's scalpel, intended to save and sanctify. This perspective shifts the understanding of suffering from a simplistic cause-and-effect model to a more nuanced view where suffering is part of God's redemptive plan. By embracing this view, we can see suffering as a means of spiritual growth and purification. [13:07]

Hebrews 12:10-11 (ESV): "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Reflection: Consider an area of your life where you feel God is disciplining you. How can you embrace this process as a means of spiritual growth and purification?

Day 4: Righteousness and Imperfection

The righteous are not sinless but are called to recognize and repent of their shortcomings. Suffering facilitates this process, helping them to hate and renounce their sinfulness. By acknowledging our imperfections, we can turn towards God in humility and seek His guidance and forgiveness. This journey of repentance and growth is essential for deepening our relationship with God and aligning our lives with His will. [17:29]

Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV): "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Reflection: Identify a specific shortcoming or sin in your life. How can you actively seek God's help in overcoming it and growing in righteousness?

Day 5: Suffering as a Testament to God's Mercy

The suffering of the righteous is a refining fire, not one of destruction but of purification and growth. It is a testament to God's mercy and love, aimed at drawing His children closer to Him, enhancing their faith, and glorifying His name. By viewing suffering through this lens, we can find hope and purpose in our trials, knowing that they are part of God's loving plan for our lives. [25:48]

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV): "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."

Reflection: How can you view your current struggles as a testament to God's mercy and an opportunity for spiritual growth? What steps can you take to draw closer to Him during this time?

Sermon Summary

In exploring the profound themes of suffering and righteousness, we delve into the story of Job, particularly focusing on the insights offered by Elihu in Job 32-37. Elihu presents a fresh perspective on suffering, challenging the views of Job and his three friends. Contrary to the belief that suffering is a direct punishment for sin, Elihu posits that it is a tool for refining righteousness and deepening one's relationship with God. He argues that suffering is not indicative of God's enmity but rather a sign of His love and a means to protect the righteous from ultimate destruction.

Elihu's discourse reveals that suffering serves as a divine mechanism to expose and cleanse the remnants of pride and self-reliance within the righteous. It is not a punitive measure but a curative process, akin to a surgeon's scalpel, intended to save and sanctify. This perspective shifts the understanding of suffering from a simplistic cause-and-effect model to a more nuanced view where suffering is a part of God's redemptive plan.

Elihu's insights also highlight the dual ways God communicates with humanity: through His word and through life's circumstances, including suffering. These experiences are designed to open our ears to God's instruction, turning us away from sin and towards a deeper understanding of His nature and our own imperfections. The righteous, though not sinless, are called to recognize and repent of their shortcomings, a process facilitated by the trials they endure.

Ultimately, the suffering of the righteous is portrayed as a refining fire, not one of destruction but of purification and growth. It is a testament to God's mercy and love, aimed at drawing His children closer to Him, enhancing their faith, and glorifying His name.

Key Takeaways

1. reliance, prompting repentance and deeper faith. This process is a testament to God's love and His desire to protect us from ultimate destruction. [12:48]
2. God's Dual Communication: God speaks to us through His word and life's circumstances, including suffering. These experiences are designed to open our ears to His instruction, turning us away from sin and towards a deeper understanding of His nature and our own imperfections.

3. The Role of Suffering in Sanctification: Suffering serves as a divine mechanism to expose and cleanse the remnants of sin within the righteous. It is not punitive but curative, akin to a surgeon's scalpel, intended to save and sanctify.

4. Righteousness and Imperfection: The righteous are not sinless but are called to recognize and repent of their shortcomings. Suffering facilitates this process, helping them to hate and renounce their sinfulness.

5. Suffering as a Testament to God's Mercy: The suffering of the righteous is a refining fire, not one of destruction but of purification and growth. It is a testament to God's mercy and love, aimed at drawing His children closer to Him, enhancing their faith, and glorifying His name.

** [12:48]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:20] - Introduction to Suffering and Righteousness
[01:03] - Elihu's New Perspective
[02:34] - Elihu's Distinction from Job's Friends
[04:06] - Elihu's Unique Contribution
[06:05] - Job's Silence and Agreement
[07:16] - God's Assessment of Elihu
[08:04] - Elihu's Explanation of Suffering
[10:11] - The Sediment of Pride
[11:10] - God's Dual Communication
[13:07] - Suffering as a Curative Process
[15:00] - Righteousness and Imperfection
[18:26] - Suffering Opens the Ear
[19:22] - Refining Fire of Suffering
[21:11] - Elihu's Advancement of Understanding

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Job 32:1-37:24
- Job 42:6
- Psalm 119:71

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Observation Questions:

What new perspective does Elihu offer about the purpose of suffering in the life of the righteous, according to the sermon? [01:25]
How does Elihu's view of suffering differ from that of Job's three friends? [02:01]
In what ways does Elihu suggest God communicates with humanity, and how is suffering a part of this communication? [11:10]
What is the significance of Job's silence in response to Elihu's arguments, and what does it indicate about Job's agreement or disagreement with Elihu? [06:24]

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Interpretation Questions:

How does Elihu's explanation of suffering as a refining process challenge the traditional view of suffering as punishment for sin? [13:07]
In what ways does Elihu's perspective on suffering as a tool for sanctification align with or differ from other biblical teachings on suffering? [19:22]
How does the sermon suggest that suffering can reveal hidden pride and self-reliance in a person's life? [10:11]
What does the sermon imply about the relationship between suffering and spiritual growth or maturity? [25:48]

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Application Questions:

Reflect on a time when you experienced suffering. How did it affect your relationship with God, and did it lead to any personal growth or change in perspective? [12:48]
Elihu suggests that suffering can expose hidden pride. Can you identify areas in your life where pride might be present, and how might you address them? [10:11]
How can you become more attuned to God's communication through life's circumstances, including suffering? What practical steps can you take to listen more closely to God's instruction? [11:10]
Consider the idea that suffering is a testament to God's mercy and love. How does this perspective change the way you view your own or others' suffering? [25:48]
Elihu emphasizes the importance of recognizing and repenting of one's shortcomings. What specific steps can you take to regularly examine your life and seek repentance? [17:29]
How can you support others in your community who are experiencing suffering, helping them to see it as a refining process rather than a punishment? [19:22]
Reflect on the concept of suffering as a refining fire. How can you embrace this idea in your daily life to enhance your faith and glorify God's name? [25:48]

Sermon Clips

According to eliu, the suffering of the righteous is not a token of God's enmity toward them; it's a token of his love. It is not a punishment of their wickedness; it's a refinement of their righteousness. It is not a preparation for Destruction; it's a protection from Ultimate Destruction. [00:01:27]

Elihu thinks that job has been wrong in some of what he has said. He puts his finger on job in chapter 33: 8-12 and we'll read this together and you watch for what he thinks is wrong. Chapter 33: 8 surely you have spoken in my hearing and I have heard the sound of your words. [00:08:31]

Elihu's understanding of why the righteous suffer now has to do with this sediment of Pride evidently at the bottom of job's life lying like sediment at the bottom of a beaker was a remnant of Pride and self-reliance and Independence, and the beaker of his life was clean until it began to be shaken by suffering. [00:10:11]

God speaks to man in two ways by his word and by his Providence or in those days before there was any Scripture you would say in dreams and visions and in things that befall a man like suffering and sickness. Let's read these verses. Verse 14 for God speaks in one way and in two though man does not perceive it. [00:11:00]

God's purpose in the suffering of the righteous is not to punish but to save to save him from contemplated Deeds of sin to save him from Pride to save him ultimately from the death of Destruction. Elihu does not picture God here as an angry judge. [00:12:48]

The pain of job is not the pain of The Executioner's whip; it's the pain of the surgeon's scalpel to save him from his pride, to save him from going into any deeper sin, to bring him back from the pit of Destruction. Elihu explains his view of suffering one other place. [00:13:15]

There is such a thing as a righteous person who sins. This is what we have to get clear when the Bible talks in the Old Testament about righteous people; it does not mean sinless people. There is such a thing as a righteous sinner. Now that's helpful because God had said job was a righteous man. [00:13:47]

Elihu's teaching is that Affliction makes the righteous person sensitive to the remaining sinfulness and helps him hate it and renounce it. Look at verse 10 suffering opens the ear of the righteous. What does that mean? Does it mean something like Psalm 119:71 which says it was good for me that I was afflicted? [00:18:26]

The new slant that Elihu gives is that the suffering of the righteous is not the fire of Destruction but the fire that refines the gold of their goodness because it's not punitive; it's Curative, rehabilitative. Look again at verses 13 to 15 here in this same chapter 36. [00:19:22]

Suffering awakens their ear to New Dimensions of God's reality and new depths of their own need and their own imperfection. Suffering deepens their faith and deepens their godliness and opens their eyes to magnificent truths about God. So the three friends are wrong and job is wrong. [00:21:11]

The central lesson then of the Book of Job today is that the children of God who trust God, these are the people who trust God, who are led by the Holy Spirit, who are covered by the blood of Jesus, who are being Sanctified freely by his grace, suffer and when they suffer it is not punishment. [00:24:34]

Suffering is not dispensed willy-nilly among the people of God. It is a portion to us as individually designed expert therapy by The Loving hand of our great physician and its aim is that our faith might be refined, our Holiness might be enlarged, our soul might be saved, and our God might be glorified. [00:25:48]

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Refining Righteousness: Understanding Suffering Through Elihu

Devotional

Day 1: Suffering as a Divine Refinement

Day 2: God's Dual Communication

Day 3: Suffering as a Curative Process

Day 4: Righteousness and Imperfection

Day 5: Suffering as a Testament to God's Mercy

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Refining Righteousness: Understanding Suffering Through Elihu

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