Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
As Elihu began his speech challenging Job’s complaints, he speaks the line we see in 33:6 above. The point that Elihu was making was a simple one. He wanted Job to understand that he did not consider himself worth more or less than Job. He too was of the same stuff, the same substance as Job.
Elihu’s terminology, however, is fascinating. He says that he was pinched off from a piece of clay. Remembering that God created man from the dust of the earth, Elihu sees that both he and Job are made of the same common material.
If we grasped that we all are of the same stuff, pinched from the same clay if you will, perhaps we would be better at being loving and kind to one another. Perhaps we would realize that, whether we have accomplished much or little in life, we all come from the same place. We all have the same background. All of us, whether greatest or least, are dust that God has breathed life into.
Being a pinched off piece of clay should both humble you and give you great hope. It humbles us, as we realize that we bring nothing special into the world that is from ourselves. It also should give us great hope, as we realize that the only way we live is by the breath of God; however, we live because the breath and Spirit of God has enlivened us.
Pastor Travis Peterson 