It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.
Elihu is the youngest man in the room. He has kept quiet while Job's older friends argued, and now he challenges what they all assumed: that a long life is the same thing as insight into what is right.
Respect for age comes first
Elihu held back because the men in front of him were older. One writer admits that old age often does fail — and says Elihu's caution was still right.
C. H. MackintoshNo doubt, it may often happen, as in the case of Job and his friends, that old men say very foolish things. Grey hairs and wisdom do not always go together. It often happens that aged men, relying on the mere fact of their years, take a place for which they have no power at all, whether moral, intellectual, or spiritual. All this is completely true... But none of it touches the fine moral feeling in Elihu's opening address: "I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and did not dare to show you my opinion." This is always right.
The verse cuts both ways. If age is no guarantee, neither is youth, and one writer points to a king who thought he knew better than his father.
A. J. PollockHe thought that he knew better than his father and made a fool of himself, and wrecked his kingdom... Neither are the young always wise, as in Rehoboam's case.
What "great" means here
Commentators differ on the word "great." One reads it as greatness in years, so that both halves of the verse say the same thing:
William KellySurely the spirit it is in mortal man, and the breath of Shaddai gives them wit. Not the great [in years] are wise, nor do the aged understand judgment.
(Shaddai is another name for the Almighty. The ESV reads "the old" here rather than "the great.")
Another writer takes it as greatness in the world, and points to where knowledge of God must come from:
Leslie M. GrantA man may attain greatness in the world, and yet be ignorant of his Creator, or one may have years of experience in the world and still be without the knowledge of God. "The flesh profits nothing." If God is to be understood, this can only be by God revealing Himself.
Where understanding comes from
The verse before gives the reason: there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives understanding. So understanding is not something a person piles up over time.
William KellySpirit means spiritual capacity, and experience is not the measure of it. A young man might have far more spiritual capacity. That was the case with Elihu. And he says, "The breath of the Almighty gives them understanding." It was God who breathed the breath of life into man. That breath of life carried not only the soul but the spirit.
The three failed methods
One writer lines up the three friends and names what each of them relied on.
Leslie M. GrantEliphaz 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 covers all three: "What no eye has seen (observation), nor ear heard (tradition), nor the heart of man imagined (intuition), what God has prepared for those who love Him." Then it adds, "these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (v. 10). Elihu recognised this — that God Himself must reveal the truth by His Spirit if man is to know it.
Why the question of age drops out
Once the Spirit is the source, the argument about who is older loses its ground.
C. H. MackintoshThe 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.
Summary
- Rule — Elihu stayed quiet because the men in front of him were older. One writer calls that caution always right, even though those older men had spoken foolishly.
- Exception — Grey hairs and wisdom do not always go together. A man can gain greatness or long experience and still not know his Creator.
- Source — Understanding is breathed, not stored up. There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives it understanding.
- Reach — Because the source is the Spirit, He can speak by old or young; the age question drops out.
- Result — Observation, tradition and intuition all fall short. Only God can reveal Himself, and He does it by His Spirit.