But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
Elihu is the youngest man in the debate, and the older men have already had their say. Now he speaks, and he gives his reason. What lets a person speak about God is not his years, but something God has put inside him.
Age is not the qualification
The argument so far had turned on age and experience. Then Elihu brings in a factor that changes the whole basis of the discussion. The writer quotes the verse from an older translation.
C. H. Mackintosh"But," Elihu continues, "there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding." This introduces another element altogether. The moment the Spirit of God enters the scene, it ceases to be a question of youth or old age, since He can speak by old or young. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." This holds good always. It was true for the patriarchs; true for the prophets; true for apostles; true for us; true for all.
What the spirit in man is
Elihu is not describing a rare gift given to a few. He is talking about something in every person, and one writer traces it back to the moment God formed man.
William KellyAnd so then we can understand that there is a spirit in man. Spirit means spiritual capacity, and experience is not the measure of it. A man might have much more spiritual capacity who was young. That was the case with Elihu. And he says, "The inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding." It was God who breathed into man the breath of life. That breath of life held not only the soul but the spirit. That is why man alone has an immortal soul. God never breathed into a horse or a dog, or any other animal on the earth, but only into man.
The line between man and the animals
So what marks a human off from an animal? One writer points not to thinking alone, but to thought that can turn back on itself — and on God.
The Bible TreasuryBeing conscious of "I" belongs to the soul, and personal identity hangs on that soul really existing. But the power to reflect and reason on that consciousness, as on everything else, is in the spirit of man... Reflective self-consciousness sets man apart; being conscious of God sets him apart still more. "There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding" (Job 32:8).
Why the three friends had failed
Each of Job's older friends had leaned on a different human resource, and all three had come up empty. Elihu's opening line quietly explains why.
Leslie M. Grant"There is a spirit in man, and the breath (or Spirit) of the Almighty gives him understanding" (v.8). Eliphaz had appealed to his own observation (ch.4:8). Bildad had appealed to tradition (ch.8:8-9). Zophar was still more ignorant in appealing to his own intuition (ch.11:5,6). 1 Corinthians 2:9 refers to all three — what no eye has seen (observation), nor ear heard (tradition), nor the heart of man imagined (intuition). Then it adds, "these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (v.10). Elihu recognised this: if man is to know the truth, God Himself must reveal it by His Spirit. As Elihu said, "there is a spirit in man." God has given man a spirit. And God's Spirit can speak to man's spirit, if only man's spirit is subject to God.
A caution about the word "inspiration"
Older translations read "the inspiration of the Almighty." That word carries a much heavier meaning elsewhere in the Bible, and one writer warns against reading it back into Elihu's claim.
William KellyWe must not be misled by the word "inspiration" here. Elihu does not claim it in the same sense in which the apostle Paul applies it to all Scripture. He uses it only for the source of the understanding God gives to man. He makes no claim to the unfailing, absolute, perfectly delivered word of God... Does Elihu claim any such thing here? Would he talk about his opinion if it were so?
The secret of Elihu's power
So where does a young man's power to speak come from?
C. H. MackintoshHere lay the deep secret of Elihu's quiet power. He was filled with the Spirit. So we forget his youth as we listen to the words of spiritual weight and heavenly wisdom that come out of his mouth... There is a striking difference between a man who speaks as an oracle of God and one who speaks in mere official routine. One speaks from the heart, by the Spirit's holy anointing. The other speaks from the intellect, by human authority.
Summary
- Breathed — God breathed into man alone, and in that breath came both soul and spirit; no animal received it.
- Capacity — the spirit is spiritual capacity, and years do not measure capacity. A young man may have more of it than an old one.
- Understanding — that same breath lets a person reflect, reason, and be conscious of God, not just of himself.
- Revelation — observation, tradition and intuition all failed Job's friends. Understanding comes when God's Spirit speaks to a spirit that is subject to Him.
- Limit — the "inspiration" Elihu claims is the source of human understanding, not the perfect inspiration of Scripture. He still calls what follows his opinion.