Job 32:18

Young as Elihu was, he could not help feeling a burning desire to reprove what was rash and wrong on man's part, and to defend God's character and glory. He feels forced, against his own wish, to speak in front of men he would gladly have learned from, if only they could have taught him the mind of God. Even so, he is careful to stand only for what comes from God. He learns, as never before, that spiritual wisdom comes from God's Spirit, not from a man's age. This is the very opposite of self-confidence or boasting, though his mouth speaks out of the fullness of his heart.

Now he will speak — even he. He is full, and he has to let out the spirit stirring inside him, which is like new wine looking for a way out. He is constrained; necessity is laid upon him. How different this is from the studied, careful arguments Job has had to listen to so far, or from a heat of feeling with little wisdom or justice in it. We are reminded of the apostle's word, "Necessity is laid upon me" (1 Cor. 9:16).

Job 32:8 and 18 may be taken as typical passages showing that the spirit is the rational part of man.

If any man is to speak with power and practical effect, he must be able, in some measure, to say, "I am full of matter; the spirit within me constrains me." … Elihu's glowing words remind us strongly of that memorable passage in John 7: "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" True, Elihu did not know this glorious truth of our Lord, since it was not made good until fifteen centuries after his time. But he knew the principle — he had the seed of what was afterwards to come out in full flow and rich, mellow fruit. He knew that a man, if he is to speak with point, sharpness and power, must speak by the inspiration of the Almighty. He had listened until he was tired of men talking a quantity of powerless matter.

If the Spirit of God leads someone to speak, God will give him the words that will affect others. He will not need to grope for words, because he will be so full inside that he will feel ready to burst. When someone is sure he has the message of God, the power of the Spirit of God will fully enable him to give that message.

A man may stand up and speak to others for an hour, and from beginning to end of his talk he may not say a single unscriptural sentence. Yet all that time he may not have been speaking for God; he may not have been God's mouthpiece, or the present expression of His mind to the souls in front of him.

When the fullness and blessedness of the Word of God's grace gets into our hearts our mouths must speak, and we shall be like Elihu, who said, "I am full of matter, the Spirit within me constrains me." … We shall not wait until we are sent to some place of service 5,000 miles away to pass on what fills our hearts; we shall find those who need the Word close at hand.