Conceited

 Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit."
Job 37:24 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/job.37.24.ESV

Elihu seems to be having a not so subtle dig at Job here. Talk about kicking a man when he's down! Elihu has been accusing Job of speaking empty words, when he has simply been trying to express his anguish of heart to his miserable 'comforters'.

As it turns out, God abruptly interrupts Elihu's outburst by condemning him with the very words he accused Job of- 'who is this who darkens my counsel with words without understanding'. Elihu has been to the theology school of Job's comforters, but God judiciously disqualifies them. It seems in this book that exactly what Elihu insinuated of Job here was true of him.

God doesn't seem to have much regard for Elihu. It's almost like He can't bear to be misrepresented by him, so feels compelled to interrupt his rant. If we're honest, we the readers are in all likelihood grateful for God's intervention and the ensuing resolution of the story!

I think one of the main morals of the story of Job is not to judge. I know there is sometimes a place for judgement, but Job gets really rough justice from his 'comforters' and the young upstart Elihu. Before passing judgement, we should search the Scriptures and church history to see if we can make sense of whatever we're pontificating about.

'Sovereign Father in heaven, forgive us for often jumping to conclusions. Please give us compassion for the suffering, in Christ's name we pray, amen'

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