The words of Job are ended.” (Job 31:40)
32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although 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 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger. (Job 32:1-5)
Through the Bible: Job 32-34
Am I the only person who felt relieved when I read the last line of Job 31:
The words of Job are ended.
Thirty-one chapters in, I found myself thinking, Finally. Job is done talking. And not just Job—his three friends are done too. Job 32:1 says, “So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.”
Job is finished. The friends are finished. Now we get to hear from God, right?
Wrong.
Enter Elihu.
It’s like going to a concert with three opening acts. Then, just as you are on your feet and screaming for the headliner, an unannounced fourth band takes the stage, and plays the longest set so far.
Elihu steps to the mic. Younger. Uninvited. And sounding, at times, both tone deaf and out of tune.
He talks a lot. Longer than any of the others. He’s angry—angry at Job, angry at the friends. And while he says some things that are truer and gentler than what we’ve heard so far, he’s still not God.
And we all grit our teeth and settle back in our seats, wondering if we are ever going to hear from the one we’ve paid to see.
I think that’s the point.
Elihu exists in the story to remind us how often life works this way. Just when we think the answers are finally coming, they don’t. Just when we believe the silence is about to break, it stretches on.
I have a friend at church who has been caught in a brutal custody battle for his daughters for years now. Every time there’s a new court date on the calendar, we tell ourselves, This will be it. This is where it gets resolved. And every time, there are delays. Continuances. More waiting. More unanswered questions.
And the hardest part isn’t the conflict—it’s the hope that keeps getting postponed.
Job knows that feeling. So do we.
Elihu reminds us that even when all the human words are spent, God is not obligated to speak on our timetable. Silence doesn’t mean absence. Delay doesn’t mean indifference. And unanswered questions are not the same thing as unanswered prayers.
God will speak in Job—but not yet.
What to Do While We Wait
So what do we do in the waiting?
Job doesn’t get instructions yet. He doesn’t get closure. He doesn’t even get reassurance. What he gets—before he gets answers—is more time.
And maybe that’s the invitation for us too.
When the answers are delayed, we can:
- Keep telling the truth, even when it feels repetitive
- Keep praying, even when the prayers sound unfinished
- Keep showing up, even when nothing seems to be moving
Waiting doesn’t mean we’ve said the wrong things or asked the wrong questions. Sometimes it simply means God is doing a deeper work than explanation can accomplish.
The silence is not the end of the story.
It’s the space before God speaks.
The words of Job are ended.
The answers are not here yet.
But God is closer than the silence suggests. He’s backstage, right now, warming up.
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