Wisdom · Chapter 32 of 42
Job 32
A new voice enters. Elihu, a younger man who has listened in silence, becomes angry: angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and angry at the three friends who condemned Job without answering him. He explains why he held back out of respect for age, and why he can no longer stay quiet. He is full of words and must speak.
What happens in Job 32
The three friends stop arguing because Job seems righteous in his own eyes. Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, has been waiting, and his anger kindles on two fronts. He is angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God, and angry with the friends because they found no answer yet still condemned Job. Elihu explains that he stayed silent because he is young and they are old, expecting that age and long experience would produce wisdom.
But he has concluded that wisdom is not guaranteed by years; rather it is the Spirit in a person and the breath of the Almighty that gives understanding. Great and aged men are not always wise. Having listened carefully and found none of them able to answer Job, Elihu says he is bursting like new wineskins ready to split. He promises to speak plainly, flattering no one, since his Maker would not tolerate empty titles.
Job 32 in context
Elihu appears without warning and is never mentioned again after his speeches, nor rebuked by God at the end. His four chapters bridge the human debate and God's whirlwind answer. He claims a fresh basis for insight: not seniority but the Spirit who inspires understanding.
His youth and his frustration with the failed arguments give his words their heat and their claim to a different approach than the friends took.
Main themes of Job 32
Job 32 (KJV)
1So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. 3Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 4Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. 5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. 6And 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 shew you mine opinion. 7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 10Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion. 11Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. 12Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 13Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 14Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches. 15They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. 16When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;) 17I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion. 18For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. 19Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. 20I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer. 21Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. 22For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
Verses to carry from Job 32
“Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.”Job 32:2
“But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”Job 32:8
“Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.”Job 32:9
Thematic connection
How Job 32 points to Jesus
Elihu's claim that understanding comes from the breath of the Almighty rather than from age looks ahead to the way Jesus confounded the learned elders while a boy in the temple, and to his promise that the Spirit would teach and remind his followers. The gospel announces a wisdom that does not depend on status or years but on the Spirit poured out on old and young alike. Elihu's refusal to flatter and his zeal for God's honor echo the prophetic honesty Jesus embodied, speaking truth without regard for rank.
Yet Elihu still speaks as a man full of himself, and his understanding remains partial. Only in Christ does the Spirit rest fully, and only he speaks God's mind without error. This is a thematic connection between Elihu's appeal to the Spirit and the fuller gift the gospel proclaims.
Questions about Job 32
Why is Elihu angry at both Job and the friends?
He is angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, treating his own vindication as more important than God's righteousness. He is angry at the friends because they condemned Job while never actually answering his arguments. Elihu sees both errors clearly: self-justification on one side, empty accusation on the other, and neither has honored God rightly in the dispute.
What does Elihu mean that the Spirit gives understanding?
He counters the idea that wisdom belongs automatically to the aged. Understanding, he says, comes from the breath of the Almighty placed in a person, so insight is a gift rather than a possession earned by time. This frees him, a young man, to speak, and it warns everyone that knowledge of God depends on God's own enabling, not human seniority.
Reflection
It is easy to assume that wisdom belongs to the credentialed, the old, or the loud. Elihu insists it is breathed by God into whom he chooses. Where have you dismissed truth because of its unexpected source, or trusted a voice only because of its status?
A prayer from Job 32
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