Job 32:9
“Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.”
A wise but very troubling statement is made in the verse above when it says, “Great men are not always wise…” Job had three friends who were supposed to be great men in their day, but in their greatness they did not have the wisdom to help Job in his condition. Elihu, a younger man, was troubled that these great men lacked the wisdom to help Job in this troubled time of his life. This is why he said, “Great men are not always wise…”
Yet, Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 5:5, “I will get me unto the great men…” After Jeremiah looked at the condition of the people and wondered how they could not see the judgment of God, he said that he would go to the great men. He declared that the great men knew “the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God.” He understood that the great men had something to offer him.
The older I get, the more I realize how much I want the wisdom of the great men. We live in times when people go back through history to base their actions and beliefs upon statements of “great men” from the past. There is nothing wrong with this as long as we allow some principles to guide us with the wisdom of great men. Let me give you some suggestions that will help you with the wisdom of great men.
First, “Great men are not always wise.” Just because a person from the past has made a great statement doesn’t always mean their doctrine is right. We have a way of looking at great men of the past as sinless people without realizing they are still sinners capable of having wrong positions. Just because someone we respect in history says something, that doesn’t make it right. What any person says must still be based upon the truths of God’s Word. Great men are still sinners who are capable of making unwise statements. Just because something is old doesn’t make it right. Right and wrong are determined by God’s Word and not by antiquity.
Second, “I will get me unto the great men.” You need great men in your life. I want to caution you not to let the humanity of great men cause you to throw away all that they did that was right. If we treated the apostles the same way we treat some great men of God from the past, then we would never follow any of their examples. We don’t throw away all the Paul taught us because he foolishly took a Jewish vow. We don’t throw away all the Peter taught us because he denied the Saviour. I am in no way justifying wrong, but we must be careful that we don’t throw away all the good of great men because we discovered their humanity. The methods of men whom God used greatly still work today if we will be wise enough to follow their examples. Don’t throw away the principles and methods of great men of the past for the unproven methods of modern day Balaam’s just because you perceived the humanity of these great men.
Simply put, great men are human, but don’t throw away their good contributions because you discovered their humanity. Moreover, be careful that you always use God’s Word as your basis for all doctrine and direction. Great men are only great when they follow God’s Word. You will never fail if you let God’s Word be the guide to approve the actions and beliefs of great men.