Commentary - Job 32:6-22

Bird's-eye view

After a long and painful silence, the stalemate between Job and his three friends is broken by the arrival of a new voice. Elihu, a much younger man, has been listening to the entire exchange, and he can no longer hold his peace. This passage is the preamble to his lengthy discourse, and in it, he justifies his decision to speak. He begins by acknowledging the propriety of deference to age, but then pivots to the central theme of his introduction: true wisdom is not a natural byproduct of a long life but is a supernatural gift from the Spirit of God. Having patiently listened and found the arguments of the three friends utterly wanting, and seeing them now speechless, Elihu feels a divine compulsion to offer his own knowledge. He is like a new wineskin full of new wine, ready to burst. He promises impartiality, refusing to flatter any man, grounding his courage in the fear of his Maker. Elihu thus presents himself as a fresh start, one who will avoid the errors of the previous counselors and speak a word from God.

Elihu's entrance is a crucial turning point in the book. He rebukes not only the three friends for failing to answer Job, but also Job for justifying himself rather than God. While Elihu is not God, and his own speeches will have their flaws, he serves to elevate the conversation from the horizontal plane of human suffering and retribution to the vertical plane of God's sovereignty and righteousness, thereby preparing the way for the Lord's appearance in the whirlwind.

Outline

Context In Job

Job chapter 32 opens after a profound silence. The three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, have been thoroughly silenced by Job's arguments and steadfast claims of integrity. Job has delivered his final, summary oath of innocence in chapter 31, effectively resting his case and demanding an audience with God. The debate has reached a complete impasse. The friends are "righteous in their own eyes" and have nothing more to say. It is into this vacuum that Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite steps. He is angry with Job for his self-justification and angry with the friends for their impotent and unjust condemnation. His speech, which runs from chapter 32 to 37, is the longest single discourse in the book. It functions as a bridge between the failed wisdom of the friends and the divine revelation of God Himself. Elihu is not a perfect theologian, but he shifts the terms of the debate away from a strict calculus of retribution and toward the majesty, wisdom, and inscrutable sovereignty of God.

Key Issues

The Breath of the Almighty

Elihu's introduction is more than just a young man clearing his throat. He lays down a foundational principle that the other three friends had completely missed. They operated on the assumption that wisdom is accumulated, that it is the result of long observation and adherence to tradition. Their wisdom was a human achievement. Elihu flatly contradicts this. He says, "But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding."

This is a direct echo of the creation account, where God breathed into Adam the breath of life. Elihu is arguing that true understanding is not natural, but supernatural. It is a gift, a divine in-breathing, the work of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is not something you gain simply by not dying for a long time. It is something you receive from God. This is the presupposition that separates Elihu's approach from that of the friends. They saw the world as a closed system of cause and effect that they, the wise, had figured out. Elihu sees that all true knowledge must be revealed from outside the system, by the Creator Himself. This is why he can, as a young man, presume to correct his elders. He is not banking on his own experience, but on the revelation of God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6-7 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you my knowledge. I thought age should speak, And increased years should make wisdom known.

Elihu begins with a proper show of respect. He understands the fifth commandment and the general principle that wisdom ought to accompany gray hairs. He was not eager to jump in. He was shy, even afraid, to challenge his elders. He held the traditional and generally correct view that those who have lived longer should have more to say that is worth hearing. This is not a false humility; it is the correct starting posture. He waited, he listened, and he expected wisdom to flow from these old men. His subsequent intervention is therefore not the result of youthful impudence, but of profound disappointment.

8-9 But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.

Here is the great pivot. Elihu introduces a higher principle that trumps the general rule of deference to age. The ultimate source of wisdom is not experience, but inspiration. The breath of the Almighty, the Spirit of God, is what grants true understanding. Because this is a gift, it is not automatically dispensed with a birth certificate. A long life provides many opportunities to gain wisdom, but it provides just as many to become set in foolishness. Therefore, Elihu concludes, the great are not always wise, and elders do not have a monopoly on justice. This is a radical claim in a traditional society, and it is the foundation for everything he is about to say.

10-12 So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell my knowledge.’ “Behold, I waited for your words, I gave ear to your reasonings, While you searched out what to say. I even carefully considered you; And behold, there was no one who reproved Job, Not one of you who answered his words.

On the basis of this higher principle, Elihu now demands a hearing. He is not just offering another opinion. He is claiming to have the knowledge that they lacked. He justifies this claim by pointing out that he has been a patient and careful listener. He didn't just hear them; he gave ear to their "reasonings" and watched them search for words. His verdict is devastating in its simplicity: for all their talk, not one of them had successfully refuted Job. They had accused him, they had maligned him, they had preached at him, but they had not answered him. Their theological system was shattered by the reality of Job's situation, and they were left speechless.

13-14 Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom; God will drive him away, not man.’ Now he has not arranged his words against me, Nor will I respond to him with your words.

Elihu anticipates a pious-sounding excuse from the friends. They might be tempted to say, "Ah, we see now. Job's case is so hard that no man can refute him. We have found the 'wisdom' to back off and let God handle it." Elihu sees this for the cop-out it is. It is a way of salvaging their pride by pretending their failure was actually a form of spiritual insight. Elihu will have none of it. He declares his independence from their failed arguments. Job has not spoken against him, so he is coming to the debate fresh. And most importantly, he will not use their broken tools. He will not respond to Job with their words, because their words have already been proven to be worthless.

15-17 “They are dismayed; they no longer answer; Words have moved away from them. Shall I wait, because they do not speak, Because they stand still and no longer answer? I myself will also answer my share; I also will tell my knowledge.

Elihu now turns and describes the pathetic scene of the three friends. They are dismayed, shattered, and silent. "Words have moved away from them." Their verbal well has run dry. Elihu's question is rhetorical. Should he join them in their stunned silence? Of course not. Their failure is his cue. Since they have abdicated their responsibility to speak true wisdom, he will now take up the task. He will answer his "share." He will contribute what has been conspicuously missing from the conversation.

18-20 For I am full of words; The spirit within my belly presses me. Behold, my belly is like unvented wine, not opened; Like new wineskins it is about to burst. Let me speak that I may get relief; Let me open my lips and answer.

This is a marvelous description of the divine compulsion to speak truth. This is not the itch of a man who just likes to hear himself talk. This is a man under pressure from within. The spirit inside him is pressing him. He compares himself to a wineskin filled with fermenting wine. The gases are building up, and if there is no vent, it will explode. For Elihu, speaking is not a choice but a necessity. He must speak to find relief. This is the experience of every prophet and every preacher who is given a word from the Lord. It is a fire in the bones that must come out.

21-22 Let me now be partial to no one, Nor flatter any man. For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon carry me away.

Elihu concludes his introduction with a solemn vow of impartiality. He will not be a respecter of persons. He will not show partiality to Job because of his suffering, nor to the three friends because of their age and status. He will not engage in flattery, which is the currency of the courts of men. And the reason for this is profound. He says he does not "know how" to flatter, not because he is socially inept, but because he is governed by a higher reality: the fear of his Maker. He knows that if he were to become a man-pleaser, his God would swiftly judge him. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and it is also the foundation of all courageous and truthful speech.

Application

Elihu's entrance provides a number of pointed applications for us. First, we must learn to distinguish between the authority of age and the authority of truth. We are to honor our elders, absolutely. But tradition and seniority are no guarantee of wisdom. True wisdom is a gift of the Spirit, accessible to the young as well as the old, and we must have ears to hear it, regardless of the vessel God uses to deliver it. The church must never become a place where we say, "We have always done it this way," as a substitute for asking, "What does the Word of God say?"

Second, we see the importance of patient listening before speaking. Elihu earned his right to speak by first carefully considering all the arguments. Too often we are like the three friends, loaded with pre-packaged answers that we apply before we even understand the situation. We must do the hard work of listening before we presume to offer counsel.

Finally, all our speech must be grounded in the fear of God. Elihu was compelled to speak, not by a desire for self-expression, but by a spirit within him. And he was constrained to speak impartially, not by his own integrity, but by the knowledge that his Maker was listening. This is the antidote to the fear of man. When we are more concerned with God's verdict on our words than with men's, we will be free to speak the truth in love, without flattery and without fear. We will speak not to win arguments, but to find relief for a soul burdened with the truth.