What is the meaning of Job 32:7? I thought - Elihu begins with a personal confession: “I thought…” (Job 32:7). - His opening words show humility; he assumed the established order in which younger believers wait for elders to speak, similar to Joseph waiting on his brothers in Genesis 37 or David honoring Saul in 1 Samuel 24. - Scripture often commends this posture of deference (Leviticus 19:32; 1 Peter 5:5), reminding us that honoring others precedes any claim to be heard. that age should speak - Elihu expected the gray–haired to open their mouths first (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29). - God designed family and community life so that seasoned saints pass on truth (Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Psalm 78:4). - In Israel’s history, elders regularly offered counsel—Moses’ seventy (Numbers 11:16–17) and the wise men who served Solomon (1 Kings 12:6). - Elihu’s assumption reflects a biblical norm: with years come accumulated observations of God’s faithfulness and human frailty (Job 12:12). and many years - Length of days provides a storehouse of experience (Psalm 90:10). - By living through valleys and mountaintops, older believers gain perspective that textbooks cannot supply (Psalm 37:25). - Scripture encourages the young to “remember the days of old” and ask their fathers and elders (Deuteronomy 32:7). - Yet time alone is no guarantee of insight; it only offers opportunity (Ecclesiastes 4:13). should teach wisdom - Elihu assumed the elders would dispense godly counsel drawn from Scripture and life (Proverbs 1:5; Titus 2:2–3). - True wisdom begins with “the fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 9:10), so the aged who fear God ought naturally to instruct. - Sadly, Job’s three friends—though older—had failed to apply wisdom accurately; their words resembled “wind” (Job 16:3). - Elihu’s disappointment highlights a key truth: wisdom is a gift from God’s Spirit, not an automatic by-product of age (James 1:5; Job 32:8). summary Job 32:7 captures Elihu’s respectful expectation that elders would offer seasoned, God-fearing insight. Scripture affirms that age and longevity should produce wisdom, yet it also warns that wisdom ultimately flows from the Lord, not merely from accumulated years. |
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