What does the Bible say about gray hair?

It is folly and blindness to set young against old, instead of helping them to profit by an experience of great value which they lack. Let the old admire the energy of the young, and the young fail not to own the beauty of the grey head.

Nor must one be deceived by age, though it claims reverence. But how deplorable if it help on evil! "The hoary head is a crown of glory; it is (or, if it be) found in the way of righteousness."

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory" (v. 31), but only on condition that it is found in the way of righteousness. Otherwise it is only a sign of approaching death and decay. How tragic is the case if this is so! The years of experience evidenced by silver hair should certainly make one slow to anger (v. 32), though some unsaved men never learn to control their temper in spite of the assurance that in doing so, they are "better than the mighty." One who rules his spirit is wiser than a warrior who captures a city. For the latter seeks to control others when he has not learned to control himself.

"The glory of young men is their strength" (v. 29). This is particularly true spiritually, as 1 John 2:14 confirms, "I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you." These young men are those who have developed by faith in taking in the Word of God, showing the vigor of youth in standing for that Word. The grey head of older men ideally indicates splendor in maturity, though not all old men show evidence of natural wisdom, for not all know the Lord.

Reverence is everywhere enjoined in Scripture. Children are commanded to honor, their parents (Eph. 6:1-3). Wives are charged that they reverence their husbands (Eph. 5:33); and as to old age, it is commanded, "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am Jehovah" (Lev. 19:32). Reverence to rulers is also required, as it is written, "Render therefore to all their dues … fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:7).

Reverence is everywhere enjoined in Scripture. Children are commanded to honour their parents (Eph. 6:1-3). Wives are charged that they reverence their husbands (Eph. 5:33); and as to old age, it is commended, 'Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: 'I am Jehovah' (Lev. 19:32). Reverence is also required, as it is written, 'Render therefore to all their dues . fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour' (Rom. 13:7).

"And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old: wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom." This is the natural order. We expect hoary heads to contain wisdom; and, hence, it is but right and comely for young men to be swift to hear, slow to speak, in the presence of their elders. We may set it down as an almost fixed principle, that a forward young man is not led by the Spirit of God — that he has never measured himself in the Divine presence — that he has never been thoroughly broken down before God.

No doubt, it may often happen, as in the case of Job and his friends, that old men give utterance to very foolish things. Grey hairs and wisdom do not always go together; and it not infrequently happens that aged men, relying upon the mere fact of their years, assume a place for which they have no sort of power, either moral, intellectual, or spiritual. All this is perfectly true, and it has to be considered by those whom it may concern. But it leaves wholly untouched the fine moral sentiment contained in Elihu's opening address: "I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion." This is always right. It is always comely for a young man to be afraid to show his opinion. We may rest assured that a man who possesses inward moral power — who, as we say, has it in him — is never in haste to push himself forward; but yet, when he does come forward, he is sure to be heard with respect and attention. The union of modesty and moral power imparts an irresistible charm to the character; but the most splendid abilities are marred by a self-confident style.

The great sin of Israel was that decay existed, but they knew it not. God had already years before addressed them by another prophet, Hosea, saying, "Ephraim, he has mixed himself among the people. Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knows it not; yea, grey hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knows not" (Hosea 7:8-9). When a man sees grey hairs in his head, he is conscious that old age in that sense is betting in. Israel, i.e., the ten tribes (called in the prophets Ephraim) had already grievously declined, but knew it not.

1914 182 Many figures are employed in this chapter to describe the sad moral state of Israel at that time; not the least striking and suggestive is that in verse 9 — "Grey hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not." Is this applicable to Israel only, or does it apply in principle to any of us?

The tendency of all things here, whether physical, moral or spiritual, is to decline, to decay, and to death. The histories of man, of Israel, of the church, and of ourselves, collectively and individually, alike testify to this universal fact. But in verse 9 there is something more solemn than the signs Of decline and decay which Jehovah discovered in His people — it is that they were utterly insensible to them. "Grey hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not." The natural consequence of this decline and departure from God is that the soul becomes unconscious of its state.

The seducer of the man of God out of Judah was himself a prophet of Jehovah. The Holy Spirit calls him "an old prophet" (1 Kings 13:11). The adjective arrests our attention. In 1 John 2: the family of God is divided into three grades; "babes," "Young men," and "fathers." "Fathers" are saints in the highest condition of spiritual development; old men (in the spiritual sense) suggest decay. It is written of Ephraim in Hosea 7:9: "Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knows it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he knows it not." It is deplorable when this has to be said of a believer in the Lord Jesus, but it appears to have been really true of the old prophet. Like Lot before him, he lived in bad surroundings and "evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Cor. 15:33). Large numbers of pious people had forsaken their all in the Northern Kingdom in order to get away from Jeroboam's idolatries. They went South into Judah and Jerusalem where there was still some regard for the law of Jehovah (2 Chron. 11:13-17). But the old prophet remained in Bethel! As Hosea. 7:9 expresses it, strangers had devoured his strength, and gray hairs were upon him. He was not the type of man whom God could use to publicly denounce the devilries of Jeroboam and his followers; hence the special mission of the man of God out of Judah, whose work the backsliding old prophet cruelly marred.