Job 32:9 Meaning and Explanation

Elihu states his conclusion plainly. The great are not always wise, and the old do not always grasp what is right. He has watched both proven true in the failed speeches of Job's distinguished friends. Status and seniority are not the measure of understanding.

This is a freeing and sobering word at once. It frees the humble seeker, who need not despair that wisdom belongs only to the powerful or the gray. And it sobers the established, who must not assume their position has made them right. God alone gives the understanding heart, and He gives it to those who ask, whatever their rank or years.