Job 32

So, Job’s three friends finally gave up trying to convince him that he was wrong. Their minds were unchanged, but they saw the futility of arguing any longer. This, however, didn’t sit well with Elihu, a young person who was apparently observing the debate. The narrator of the story tells us that it was Elihu’s age that kept him silent until now: "Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused." (vs 4-5)

Elihu claims that he stands alone—that both Job and his friends are wrong in their arguments. So, he prepares to lay out his case. In so doing, he spoke this truth about wisdom: "It is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right." (vs 8-9)

This made me think of what Paul wrote to Timothy: "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Tim 4:12)

Elihu is right: God is no respecter of age. His Spirit reveals wisdom, truth, and understanding to people of all ages. And people of all ages (as we will probably discover with Elihu) are free to resist God’s wisdom. Neither young nor old have the market cornered on wisdom. As commentator John Trapp said, "Age is no just measure of wisdom. There are beardless sages and greyheaded children."

So, don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young... or old. God is no respecter of age, and we really shouldn’t be either. That is not to say that we shouldn’t respect our elders, but we shouldn’t swallow what they have to say just because they’re old. And neither should we be eager to run after the latest trends just because the young people endorse them. Let God’s Spirit speak to you. He will guide you into all truth.