There are times when a person chooses to be silent not because they don't care, but because they are acting. A mother, for example, can appear silent when her child complains of hunger. But in the kitchen, she is busy preparing food or picking up her phone to order food online. She hears, understands and acts without needing to respond with words. Similarly, Elihu in the context of today's reading, offers a perspective that when God is silent (Hebrew: yashqit), it doesn't mean He doesn't care. Instead, His silence can be a sign that He has heard the cries of the oppressed and is now acting to save. Divine justice is not always expressed through thunderous voices or visible actions, but also through saving silence.

Dramatically, Elihu reminds us that no human has the right to judge God. He is beyond the human court system. When God "hides His face", it is not weakness, but a declaration of wrath and rebuke against evil. In His silence, there is rebuke. In His silence, there is punishment. God's justice, then, is not only action, but also meaningful absence. Elihu also urged Job to repent and be humble. In Elihu's logic, the first step towards understanding God's justice is confession of sin and openness to be taught by His wisdom.

Unfortunately, Elihu's rigid, black-and-white, and lack of empathy reflects how easily a theologically correct person can slip into ignoring the complexity of another person's personal hurt and suffering. This is where we learn that even if our theological understanding is correct, our approach is not necessarily wise. The truth of a just God should not be a tool to judge those who suffer, but rather a beacon that leads us to compassion.

Friends of the Bible, let us reflect, when God seems silent, can we still believe that He is acting? When justice seems delayed, are we able to wait with hope? We are called to learn to distinguish between painful silence and saving silence. Elihu may not understand the whole mystery of suffering, but he reminds us that God's justice is real, even if it works in ways that go beyond our logic. Let us learn to trust, then, not because we understand everything, but because we know the One who governs all things wisely.