Job 32:6-22: a reflection

6Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old. Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion. 7I said, ‘Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ 8But there is a spirit in man, and the Spirit of the Almighty gives them understanding. 9It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice. 10Therefore I said, ‘Listen to me; I also will show my opinion.’ 11“Behold, I waited for your words, and I listened for your reasoning, while you searched out what to say. 12Yes, I gave you my full attention, but there was no one who convinced Job, or who answered his words, among you. 13Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom. God may refute him, not man;’ 14for he has not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches. 15“They are amazed. They answer no more. They don’t have a word to say. 16Shall I wait, because they don’t speak, because they stand still, and answer no more? 17I also will answer my part, and I also will show my opinion. 18For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me. 19Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst. 20I will speak, that I may be refreshed. I will open my lips and answer. 21Please don’t let me respect any man’s person, neither will I give flattering titles to any man. 22For I don’t know how to give flattering titles, or else my Maker would soon take me away.

For most of the book of Job, the older men have spoken, while a young man named Elihu has held his peace, deferring to their age. But now Elihu speaks, and he explains why he had waited, and why he now feels free to speak. I am young, he says, and you are old; therefore I held back. I thought age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom. But then he says something worth noting: It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice; there is a spirit in a person, and the breath of the Almighty gives understanding.

Notice Elihu's insight: wisdom is not automatic with age or status. He had assumed, reasonably, that the old and the great would be the wise ones; but he came to see that true understanding comes not simply from years or rank, but from God, who gives understanding by his Spirit as he wills. Age and status are not the same as wisdom; God can give understanding to the young as well as the old, and withhold it from the great.

That is a truth worth holding in both directions. It humbles the old and the prominent: age and status do not make us wise, and we should not assume our years or rank give us understanding others lack. And it encourages the young and the lowly: God can give wisdom and understanding to anyone, regardless of age or standing, for it comes from his Spirit, not from years. Do not assume that wisdom belongs automatically to the aged and the great, or that the young and lowly have nothing to offer; God gives understanding as he wills, by his Spirit. Seek wisdom humbly from God, whatever your age or standing, and be willing to receive it through whomever he chooses to give it, young or old, great or small.

Lord, young Elihu, having deferred to his elders, came to see that it is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice, but that there is a spirit in a person, and your breath gives understanding; wisdom is not automatic with age or status, but comes from you. Help me hold that truth in both directions. Humble me if I am tempted to assume that my years or standing make me wise, or give me understanding others lack. And encourage me that you can give wisdom to anyone, regardless of age or standing, for it comes from your Spirit, not from years. Keep me from assuming that wisdom belongs automatically to the aged and the great, or that the young and lowly have nothing to offer; you give understanding as you will. Help me seek wisdom humbly from you, whatever my age or standing, and be willing to receive it through whomever you choose to give it, young or old, great or small. True wisdom is your gift; help me seek it from you.