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not the voice of God

Job 33:1-33 (JDV)

Job 33:1 But now, Job, pay attention to my speech, and listen to all my words.
Job 33:2 I am going to open my mouth; my tongue will form words on my palate.
Job 33:3 My words come from my upright heart, and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.
Job 33:4 The Breath of God has made me, and the breathing of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:5 Refute me if you can. Prepare your case against me; take your stand.
Job 33:6 I am just like you before God; I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.
Job 33:7 Fear of me should not terrify you; no pressure from me should weigh you down.
Job 33:8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:
Job 33:9 “I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.
Job 33:10 But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy.
Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”
Job 33:12 But I tell you that you not right since God is greater than a mortal.
Job 33:13 Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks?
Job 33:14 Because God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.
Job 33:15 In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds,
Job 33:16 he unstops their ears and terrifies them with warnings,
Job 33:17 to turn Adam from his actions and suppress the pride of a healthy man.
Job 33:18 God spares his throat from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.
Job 33:19 A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,
Job 33:20 so that his life detests bread, and his throat despises his favorite food.
Job 33:21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out.
Job 33:22 He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners.
Job 33:23 If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him
Job 33:24 and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,”
Job 33:25 then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.
Job 33:26 He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. He will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore to that mortal his righteousness.
Job 33:27 He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right, yet I did not get what I deserved.
Job 33:28 He redeemed my throat from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”
Job 33:29 God certainly does all these things two or three times to a healthy man
Job 33:30 to turn his throat back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life.
Job 33:31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak.
Job 33:32 But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, because I would like to justify you.
Job 33:33 If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

not the voice of God

Elihu spoke calming words in spite of the fact that he was angry at everyone. He wanted Job to see his calamity as God’s attempt to rescue him. God speaks through many means, and sometimes he uses misfortune to get our attention. But Elihu was wrong. Job’s suffering was not the voice of God.

LORD, forgive us for assuming that you are trying to speak to us in every misfortune.