Human beings are blessed with great curiosity as a result of their intellect. We are used to asking questions about everything. But we should realize that as God's creation, humans have limitations. We cannot compare ourselves to God, the Creator of the universe. There may be times when our souls will be liberated precisely when our questions do not get answers to our questions as long as God in His Silence remains with us always. This is what Elihu was trying to convey. He concludes his lengthy speech by inviting Job to stop demanding God, and begin to contemplate in silence, about "who are we really in the presence of the Most High God?

To Elihu, the thunderous storms, rolling clouds, and lightning strikes are not just meteorological symptoms. They were "voices" from heaven and divine communications that were not to be interpreted arbitrarily, but to be contemplated in awe and trembling. In verse 24, Elihu ends with a sharp blow: "Everyone who considers himself wise, He does not heed." This sentence is a stern rebuke, not only to Job who was overconfident in his defense, but also to anyone who tries to "understand" God with limited human wisdom.

Friends of the Bible, in today's fast-paced, rational, opinionated world, we often feel the need to explain everything including God. We are used to measuring the meaning of suffering, success, and even morality based on logic and personal experience. Even though Elihu's attitude was not entirely appropriate because of his lack of empathy with Job's suffering, there is still something good that we can reflect on. A realization that there is a space in the life of faith that cannot be penetrated by human calculations and arguments, namely the space for amazement, the space for silence, and the space for the fear of God. Though man is a "questioning" creature, there are times when it is necessary to "be silent", and it is in that holy silence that we learn and find meaning.