Elihu's Wisdom

Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? “Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. (Job 36:22-24 ESV). Elihu's final word to Job is an incredible recitation of the glory of God in language that staggers the reader. First, he reminds us that God is beyond human instruction. Notice how he begins: God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him? Second, he reminds us that God is beyond human understanding. Third, he reminds us that God acts beyond the rigid categories and reasons of humans. This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance. God uses His natural powers for both blessing and judgment alike. And then (cf. Job 37), we have such a marvelous description of a great electric storm that many of the commentators feel that this was an actual occurrence, that a storm began to break out at this moment, and Elihu used it as a vivid example of what he had been saying about God. In parts of Texas you can see for a long way. There aren’t many hills or trees to get in the way! When a thunderstorm begins to form on the horizon, you can see the building of the clouds in a perspective I have not seen in any other place. It is both a terrifying and awe-inspiring experience, with the lightning crackling and splitting the sky and the roaring of the thunder. This is what Elihu begins to describe in these verses. Then he speaks of how God sends the snow and the rain; he sends tornadoes, the whirlwinds, and the frost; he controls the cycles of the weather. Next time you are watching a weather report on television, and the broadcast shows a satellite picture, notice how it appears in spirals. This is what Elihu refers to. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. Then he tells us why: He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love (cf. Job 37:13). God has many reasons for doing things; we are not always certain what they are. God's wisdom is inscrutable. Job can do none of these things. All the way through the Bible, from beginning to end, the only man or woman who ever receives anything from God is the one who comes with a humble and contrite heart. If you think you have something to offer Him or that you have achievements that nobody else can equal, you cut yourself off from the wisdom and knowledge of God. But those who come humbly, contrite, waiting upon God, asking Him to teach them, will find that God will pick them up in grace and power and glory and restore them. How are you coming to Him? Elihu was wise, regardless of his age!