Today in God's Word—June 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
June 27, Job 32
"I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion, For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer,"
-Elihu, Job 32:17-20
After a grueling freshman year of high school or college, do you remember how good it felt to trade in your freshman label and become a sophomore? I suspect most of us knew very well that a sophomore was a second-year student. But I doubt many of us knew the etymology of our new classification when we were so glad to get it. Had we known, we might not have been so happy to answer people who asked us about school with the phrase, "I am a sophomore now!"
Our English word sophomore comes from two ancient roots than mean "wise" and "foolish," Yes, when we were happy to call ourselves sophomores, we were advertising that we were wise fools. We had learned some things. Our worldview had grown. We now outranked those lowly freshmen in the incoming class. But we didn't know as much as we thought we did after a couple of semesters of school.
Elihu reminds me of a sophomore in the classical sense of the word's meaning. By his own admission, he was younger than the other men present. To his credit, he was respectful to let the older men speak first. He was not impressed with what any of them said. He thought his opinions were as good as theirs. He was determined, having waited his turn, to let them hear what he thought.
Elihu made some big claims for what he was about to say. He said that the spirit in him gave him better understanding than the years of experience and learning had given the others. He said they had failed to refute Job, and he would not use their words in his speech. He said his spirit compelled him to let all the words
inside him pour out. He promised that he would be impartial and would not flatter anyone. We will learn some more things about being a sophomore from Elihu in the chapters to come.
Elihu will speak much longer than the others, but his content will be no better. He will accuse and condemn Job just as the other three men had done. He will make grand speeches about God's justice, greatness and majesty. But Elihu's self-perceived wisdom was no better than what he had criticized about the others. He was no better than they were at forcing Job to confess the sins he imagined poor Job had committed. God's first words to Job would be quite applicable to Elihu's elongated performance: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?"
Our time and place in the world is marked by disrespect. The high incidence of crime shows that far too many people have no respect for life or property. It's sad to see young folks who show no respect for older people. Many of us were raised long enough ago to be taught that "no, sir" and “yes, ma'am" are expressions of respect.
We should learn from Elihu's example that respect for our elders is a good thing. But let's also remember how easy it is to be critical of others and confident that we are smarter and can do better. You may in fact be smarter. You might be able to easily do what you see an older person struggling to do. But passing time and accumulated experience should teach us that no one has all the answers, and we are probably not as wise as we imagine ourselves to be.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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