Job 28
Job speaks of things that people know to do – advancements that people have made in science. In verse 5 he says how the earth is melted by fire. I find it amazing that in 2000-1800 BC, they already knew that the earth had a fiery core.
What I find even more interesting is verse 3: “They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore.” This verse stood out to me because I was just discussing with a friend how coming back to church a year ago was like someone flipped a light switch on in a dark room for me. In this chapter, Job speaks of the knowledge of people, but wisdom is hard to find. He says in verse 23, “God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found.” While I may have been knowledgeable in my life, by coming to Spirit of God Fellowship, God will guide me towards wisdom.
Job ends this chapter with a proverbial saying: “The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.”
Job 29
It sounds like in this chapter Job wants to have the power to take matters into his own hands, like times in the past that he came to the aid of others. He says, “I long for the years gone by when God took care of me” (Job 29:2). He talks about how he went to the city gates and gave wise counsel to others. He says when he spoke they had nothing to add. He feels disregarded and ignored at this point by other people. Moreover, he feels that this is God’s care over him. I get a good sense of the despair and loss of connection that Job may be experiencing in this chapter.
Job 30
In Job 30, after describing how others mock, reject, and mistreat him, Job says something deeply honest in verse 20: “I cry to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand before you, but you don’t even look.” After all the loss, Job doesn’t just feel abandoned by people—he feels unheard by God. This verse captures one of the rawest human emotions: praying and hearing only silence. Job doesn’t stop believing; he brings his pain to God even when God feels distant.
Job 31
Job goes through a long list of “if” statements—if I have looked with lust, if I have denied justice, if I have trusted in wealth, and so on. It’s as though he’s searching his heart for any wrongdoing, asking over and over again if he’s guilty of these sins. These aren’t casual questions; they sound like the very thoughts that have haunted him—sins he has worked hard to avoid committing.
What’s striking is that Job also prescribes the exact punishment he believes he would deserve if any of these things were true. It’s as if he’s placing himself on trial before God, setting the verdict and sentence in advance. In doing so, Job speaks from logic and fairness, not from faith—he’s trying to make sense of his suffering by reasoning with God instead of resting in trust.
Job’s words remind us how easy it is, when life feels unjust, to rely on our own moral record and reasoning instead of God’s mysterious wisdom. Yet even in this, we see a heart still seeking truth—because Job’s honesty before God is itself a form of faith.
Job 32
A new voice enters the conversation—Elihu. Unlike Job’s other friends, Elihu doesn’t speak from accusation or assumption but from inspiration. He says, “But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent” (Job 32:8). Here, Elihu acknowledges the Holy Spirit—the breath of God—as the true source of wisdom and insight.
Elihu reminds us that wisdom isn’t found in age, experience, or status, but in the Spirit of God working within us. When human reasoning runs out, divine revelation steps in. Job’s friends had argued endlessly from their own understanding, but Elihu recognizes that true discernment comes from the One who breathes life into our words and thoughts.
This moment shifts the tone of the book—God is preparing to speak. And before He does, the Spirit stirs through Elihu to realign the conversation, showing that even in confusion and suffering, God’s Spirit is present, guiding hearts back to truth.
Job 33
Elihu reminds Job of how he keeps saying that he is without sin and accuses God. He says that Job says, “God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy” (Job 33:10). Elihu challenges this idea, with the Holy Spirit, showing that Job’s suffering isn’t proof that God is against him.
Elihu’s message is that God does not act out of hostility but out of purpose. Sometimes God uses hardship to speak, to redirect, or to refine—not to destroy. Job’s pain had made him believe that God was silent, but Elihu insists that God communicates in many ways: through dreams, correction, and even suffering itself.
Elihu’s words remind us that in our hardest seasons, when we feel targeted or forgotten, God may actually be drawing us closer. What feels like a quarrel may be a conversation—a holy confrontation meant to awaken, not to wound.
