Elihu

If I had lived in Bible days, my very best friend would've been Elihu.

You're probably thinking, "That's great!"

"...who's Elihu?"

The book of Job is a real downer for thirty-one chapters, but the depressing read is totally worth it once you get to chapter thirty-two.

You see, Job and all of his pals have been having a pity party for a really, really long time. I've always imagined them all sitting around a campfire chatting about death and dying and sores. And this goes on for what feels like forever. Job complains, his friends try to console him, they have no clue what to say so that doesn't go so well, etc., etc., etc.

Then, finally, we arrive at chapter thirty-two and find out that there has been someone else sitting there all along- Elihu. He was absolutely silent for twenty-nine whole chapters, listening to men much older than him ramble on and on about things they didn't understand.

Then, finally, he can't take it anymore.

"But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused. So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: 'I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’"

I imagine that right now the others are all staring at dear Elihu, who is bursting out with all that he's been burning to say, with their mouths agape. He continues:

"But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right."

For the rest of the chapter, Elihu explains what he's about to say to the older, "wiser" men around him. And then comes my favorite part: he lets them have it.

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Answer me then, if you can; stand up and argue your case before me. I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you. But you have said in my hearing— I heard the very words— ‘I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin. Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.’ But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal."

Music to my hears. Notice how young Elihu speaks with incredible articulation and confidence, knowing that it is the Spirit of God at work within Him and nothing else. He is not speaking his own words.

For several chapters, my dear friend continues on until God comes. There is no pause between Elihu's final word and God's first. Elihu was a prologue into the beautiful clarity that God brings to Job when He finally speaks.

Elihu and I are best buds. Every single time I read his story I am inspired to pursue his wise outlook on life: listen first, let God advise you, then speak. Don't be worried about your age, your class, your experience, your knowledge- God is the one at work within you, which means that you lack nothing.