Job 4:1–5:27 Eliphaz’s Opening Rebuke of Job

 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

³Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the feeble knees;

⁵But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;

It touches you, and you are troubled.

⁶Is not your reverence your confidence?

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

⁸Even as I have seen,

Those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was secretly brought to me,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

¹⁶It stood still,

But I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence;

Then I heard a voice saying:

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸If He puts no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

²⁰They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

²¹Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’

¹“Call out now;

Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

³I have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴His sons are far from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

⁵Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

Taking it even from the thorns,

And a snare snatches their substance.

⁶For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

⁷Yet man is born to trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God,

And to God I would commit my cause—

⁹Who does great things, and unsearchable,

Marvelous things without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth,

And sends waters on the fields.

¹¹He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

¹³He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime,

And grope at noontime as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves the needy from the sword,

From the mouth of the mighty,

And from their hand.

¹⁶So the poor have hope,

And injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;

Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He bruises, but He binds up;

He wounds, but His hands make whole.

¹⁹He shall deliver you in six troubles,

Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

²⁰In famine He shall redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

²¹You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²²You shall laugh at destruction and famine,

And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your tent is in peace;

You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

²⁵You shall also know that your descendants shall be many,

And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

²⁶You shall come to the grave at a full age,

As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

²⁷Behold, this we have searched out;

It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Preamble: Eliphaz is now the first to Job’s friends to speak after their week-long silence and Job’s less than noble outpouring of his great misery and grief in chapter three. Now after reading and considering chapter three, you may have been shocked (or felt quite disturbed) as I did when you read Eliphaz’s response to his deeply wounded friend, the shear coldness and callousness of him. And so let us look at Eliphaz’s less than comforting words to his friend Job to try to understand him.

Commentary

4:1-2 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

Eliphaz’s opening remarks to Job are the words of man who is greatly annoyed and frustrated with Job. For in Eliphaz’s eyes Job has crossed an unwritten boundary in opening his heart and venting all his feelings the way he did. Thus Eliphaz, opening statement to Job is, “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking?” Eliphaz than has not been moved by Job’s great outpouring to any sort of compassion for him, but only frustration and anger at him; and yet even if we don't understand another's venting their feelings, we should at the very least seek to guard our own words and feelings when responding to them, even if the person needs to be rebuked. Eliphaz though has little patience for Job and his "venting" his feelings in such a undignified manner. Indeed Eliphaz describes himself as being weariful from hearing all of Job’s words, words which Eliphaz now feels compelled to rebuke. 

4:3-5 ³Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the feeble knees;

⁵But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;

It touches you, and you are troubled.

Eliphaz thus begins by reminding Job that he was once a wise counselor, a man who taught and instructed others on how to conduct themselves; that by his words Job strengthened weak hands and upheld those who were stumbling, that his words gave strength to feeble knees, all which are metaphors for giving good and uplifting counsel and instruction to others in their troubles. “But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled.” Eliphaz's lack of empathy is clearly revealed by his cold and contemptuous statement to Job. For he could "empathize" with Job when Job was silent but when Job spoke out his true nature came out. Again by saying as much to Job Eliphaz now completely disavows all that Job has lost and is going through, for it is clear the man has little patience for those who “fall apart” and lose their composure, regardless of the things and circumstances that has brought them to that point. And so Eliphaz instead of comforting, Job here only offers him a scornful rebuke.

4:6-8 ⁶Is not your reverence your confidence?

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

⁸Even as I have seen,

Those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

By making that assertion, Eliphaz sees Job’s falling apart as only being born out of Job's own reverence and integrity as having completely fallen apart. That Job had only been trusting in his own reverence and integrity; as if Job was some kind of smug self assured arrogant man who now that trouble has found him has become completely unglued, this though does not recall all of Job’s noble responses to his loses. And so, none of which Eliphaz said is true of Job, and seems more like Eliphaz to me (vs. 6). Eliphaz then points to a “universal truth” that must have been held by Job and his friends that the innocent and upright people are never cut off, or tragically perish as has befallen Job's children. Indeed, Eliphaz is quite sure that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. Which can only be true if you look at people through the arrogant lens that one’s suffering as always being of one’s own making. Thus, Eliphaz’s outlook on life leaves no room for ambiguity, and even less for compassion for those who are visited by unexplained tragedy and evil in their lives; (therefore consider what the Lord Jesus says in Luke 13:1-5 before you get up on your high horse and look down on others in theirs), and yet in his eyes the answer must always be they did something to deserve it. This then will be not just be his own outlook, but also Job’s friends with him, who will also express similar points of view. Now there are clearly sowing and reaping principals which the Bible expounds everywhere in the Word of God (Gal. 6:7), but what Eliphaz and Job’s others friends will continually fail to see is that these are not always at play when one observes another’s sufferings and tragedies. For what did Job do to deserve all of the tragedy and loss and pain and suffering that has now befallen him? And yet they will insist on this, that Job has earned what he has gotten, and so they will all go on condemning Job in the strongest of terms so as to validate their own understandings of his suffering such horrible tragedy and loss. Which itself is deserving of some grave and great punishment. 

4:9 By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

Eliphaz so confident in his outlook that he now makes the great mistake of declaring God’s Judgment upon His righteous servant Job. Now we know that God was not the author of Job’s troubles, Satan was. By saying such things Eliphaz then is only making God out to be completely heartless and always desiring to punish, as if He stands over us all with a hammer waiting to strike us when we falter and fail, for he say’s, “By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.” Now if that were true of God there would be no sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ by Him to save us all who believe in Him (John 3:16). For God always wants to show mercy, always stives to find away to save people from His Judgment just as He did for the people of Nineveh, Israel’s arch enemies, even when Jonah only stubbornly wanted their judgment (see Jonah 3:10-4:11).

4:10-11 ¹⁰The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Now to try to add validity to his claim, (or sound wise and understanding), Eliphaz will use a bunch of metaphors that basically describes God as breaking out the teeth of young strong lions and scattering their young, even causing the old lion to perish for lack of prey. This then is a very cruel slight of Job and his children as all having come under the judgment of God. Now in the Bible lions can be a metaphor for wicked people. And yet Job has done no wrong, so how does his “theology” apply to him?

4:12-21 ¹²“Now a word was secretly brought to me,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

¹⁶It stood still,

But I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence;

Then I heard a voice saying:

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸If He puts no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

²⁰They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

²¹Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’

Eliphaz now reveals a dream (or vision) that he had in the late night when he was visited by an angelic being. Now according to his own words his encounter with it brought about great fear to him, making him tremble and shake as it passed before his face (vs. 12-15). And yet Eliphaz could not discern its form (vs. 16), which for me is the first red flag since all angelic beings sent by God to any of his people were always discernable in their form and appearances. From Daniel in the O.T. and Joseph and Mary in the New, God’s angels always made themselves clearly known to the ones they visited. Having thus appeared to Eliphaz in some undistinguishable form this angelic being (which very well might have been Satan or one of his own), the spirit begins by asking Eliphaz a question; which for me is red flag number two, for this is the same tactic that Satan used to lure Eve into taking of the fruit from the tree of life, by asking a question that was meant to arouse ones pride and thus provoke a response. For again, when God’s angels’ visited people in the Bible, they didn’t ask them for their opinions, they came to them with His Word. Now as to the spirit’s question: It thus asks Eliphaz, “Can a mortal be more righteous than God? (vs. 17) A very subtle and yet arousing question clearly meant to stir up Eliphaz suspicions and anger against his friend Job. For such a question does not need answering, since we all know the answer is no, and yet at no time did Job ever claim to be more righteous than God, or act like he was more righteous than God. Therefore, it is only a question meant to invoke a response from him, to arose Eliphaz’s wrath and awaken his pride against his friend Job. This is so very clear to me when we read Eliphaz’ very bold and blatant condemnation of Job after recalling this encounter. The spirit then goes on to describe God in ways that are not appropriate for Him, which for me is red flag number three, saying of God,

“If He puts no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

²⁰They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

²¹Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’ ^{Vs. 18-21}

Now that view of God is clearly demonic, for it reflects more of Satan’s attitude towards our great God and Lord and Savior than any of God’s angels, or even any of us His saints would ever make. For in it  the Lord God is only made out to be some kind of heartless tyrant who trusts no one and indiscriminately crushes people like moths, and yet only demon could see God in that light. As well it makes the Lord God out to be a Person who does not trust His angels in heaven; but rather it says He dispenses of them with a whim; and so reasons the spirit how much more mortal men who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is dust, who are only crushed like a moth by Him is the implication, thus God has cast Job away is the implication being presented to Eliphaz who himself will shallow it all up. It's so sickening to see the Lord God so mispresented like that by it. But the whole point by it is turn Eliphaz on Job, to awaken and arouse of all of his prideful prejudices and thus unleash him on Job. Now as for God trusting no one, from the beginning He trusted Adam and Eve, and even though they they let Him down, He did not abandon them and crush them like moths, instead He sought out a means for their and our redemption from sin and death, and in this He entrusted His Son and Servant Jesus with all of our salvation. Therefore, if a spirit speaks to you like that one does, don’t listen to it! The spirit then goes onto describe all of us mortals created in God’s Image as only being houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust; to which I say again our foundation is in being created in God’s Image, our form came through dust, not our persons. The spirit then goes onto describe humanity under God’s care and watch as only being crushed like a moth, and broken in pieces from morning till evening, saying we as people perish forever with no one regarding. Again, if our great God and Savior so regarded us like that why would He suffer and die on the Cross for us all. Therefore, that spirits view of God seems more like a demon angel’s outlook on Him and life itself than anything coming from our God and Savior. The spirit’s finial words to Eliphaz then are really provocative, for they will now give Eliphaz’s already jaded outlook, a full justification for his condemning Job, by now describing Job as having lost all of his excellence as the judgment of God on Job; saying that they die, even without wisdom. Meaning Job having lost all his glory; all his preeminence; is now just a fool destined to die as such. Which is the finial red flag for me, because it was God Himself who first pointed out Job to Satan out of all the men on earth as an example of Godly excellence, saying: “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” ^{Job 1:8} And even after Job lost everything, including his own health at the hand of Satan (but not knowing who had done all of this to him), he still refused to curse God and die as his wife counselled him, for he said to her: “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. ^{Job 2:10} Therefore, if nothing else has changed about Job’s person and his integrity how then could God now send a spirit to Eliphaz and declare him as a fool destined to die as such. Therefore, the spirit that appeared to Eliphaz was not sent by God to him, rather it was a demonic spirit, or maybe even Satan himself, who having planted the seed in Eliphaz’s thoughts of Job’s demise and ruin as coming from the hand of God, will now sit back and watch as Eliphaz will now go on a crusade of condemnation against his friend, the blameless and upright Job. Instead, Eliphaz should’ve been on a mission of comfort and consoling and mercy towards Job. Of trying to understand what it is God was doing and going to do. But that is what self-righteous envy and jealous does, it looks for the opportunity to condemn the one, or rejoice in the fall of the one, they are so envious of. Which leads us to chapter five where Eliphaz now emboldened by that spirit that appeared to him, will (along with his friends who will follow him) now go on to callously and continually try to accuse the blameless and upright Job of things which he has never done. 

5:1-2 ¹“Call out now;

Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

Eliphaz’ having recalled his being visited by a spirit; which he believes came from God; but clearly didn’t, and thus with his being “informed” by it that Job is a basically a fool and destined to die as such, (and thus is now reaping all he has sown, or as we will see all that Eliphaz and his friends think that he has sown), Eliphaz cannot contain himself, but now lays into Job with all of the self-righteous zeal that he can muster, saying to him, “Call out now;

Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?”

In Eliphaz’s eyes then Job has been already been condemned, Job then now has no one not even a holy one he can now turn to. Think about the implication of what Eliphaz is saying to Job, for that is the real folly, it is with him, not with Job. And so with one in heaven to appeal to; for Eliphaz’s eyes God has now judged Job and cast him and all that he once had away; Job ’s own person and lot then is only to be cursed. Eliphaz's arrogant and reckless assertion here against Job then says much of him and absolutely nothing of Job. And yet Job never showed any wrath or envy towards his friends, but clearly Eliphaz has issues with Job, with all of Job’s noble standing and stature in the east which had far and away exceeded his. Nonetheless his reckless condemnation of Job will not play out as Eliphaz so confidently asserts here, but rather it will later stand against Eliphaz to mark him as worthy of judgment in the sight of God. But that will all be revealed much later. For now, Eliphaz will continue on in his attack of Job’s person and character; even drawing on Biblical truths to do so.

5:3-4 ³I have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴His sons are far from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

Job’s longstanding blameless and careful legacy is now arrogantly reduced by Eliphaz to being nothing more than that of the fool’s legacy, who has prosperity for a season but who suddenly comes to ruin.  Eliphaz then looks down upon his “friend” Job’s legacy as only being worthy of being completely shunned and cursed. Even saying of Job’s children their sudden demise was assured, that they’re being “crushed in gate” which is his metaphor for their being judged by God; for the gate was the place in city where the ancient judges and elders would sit and give their counsel and verdicts, was assured because of his wrong assumption that Job has only lived like a fool. Thus, with the verdict rendered by God in Eliphaz eyes, there is no deliverer for them either, for they too then suffered their own fate, just like Job has. It’s an incredibly cold and callous thing to say to a man suffering so much incredible and unexplainable loses. But that is what the self-righteous do, for they got an answer for everything, but its never Good News for you.

5:5 ⁵Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

Taking it even from the thorns,

And a snare snatches their substance.

Eliphaz now equates Job’s fields being pillaged and robbed by bandits as coming as some sort of perverse justice for the poor, who now eat up what remains of his harvest. All which is complete nonsense for it was Satan who brought the Sabean and Chaldean bandits and raiders there, not God, and they killed all of Job’s servants and stole all of his livestock. Should that then be attributed as being the Work of God, to do such things to a just and blameless person in His sight. I think not!

5:6-7 For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

⁷Yet man is born to trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

Eliphaz then justifies his understanding by using a metaphor, basically saying that affliction and trouble do not just spring up out of nowhere, for these things then must have come to Job because he deserved, is the implication. Then in the same breath,  Eliphaz offers Job some "consolation", saying, "Yet man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward" Vs. 7  which is basically saying, O well Job don’t take it so harshly for you were just born to all of this. Unfortunately, there are people like Eliphaz in every generation who live by that line of reasoning; that if troubles come to you, then you must have done something to deserve it. And that is what Eliphaz is asserting here that Job has done something, something that must have been pretty horrible to have all that has happened, happen to him,  

5:8-9 ⁸“But as for me, I would seek God,

And to God I would commit my cause—

⁹Who does great things, and unsearchable,

Marvelous things without number.

Eliphaz now turns to Job and tells him that if he were him, he would seek God and commit his cause to Him. It’s so ironic that after condemning Job to having no holy one he can turn to (5:1-2), to now tell him to turn to God, telling him that God does great things, unsearchable and marvelous things without number. All which is true, and which can make Job’s friends reasonings at times palatable, however Job never turned away from God, either before this or after all of this.

5:10-16 ¹⁰He gives rain on the earth,

And sends waters on the fields.

¹¹He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

¹³He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime,

And grope at noontime as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves the needy from the sword,

From the mouth of the mighty,

And from their hand.

¹⁶So the poor have hope,

And injustice shuts her mouth.

Eliphaz continues on rightly assigning to God the Sovereignty which He exercises in all of creation and of course in the affairs of man. Saying of God that He brings rain on the earth and He waters the fields, all which is true, but with a person like Eliphaz saying such things this is not a universal blessing of God in his eyes, as the Lord Jesus says it often is, (see Matt. 4:43-48, vs. 45), rather all the things stated here by him are in his eyes rewards of God given to those who seek and obey Him. And so, though there are some comforting truths in some of these verses; some of which can be confirmed elsewhere in the Scriptures; we need to remember the person who is bringing them forth, and his reasons for doing so. For as we will later see Eliphaz and later his friends will use all their reasoning powers as well only to  try to get Job to admit to some very heinous deeds and crimes which he had never done just so they can keep their own beliefs and “theology” about God intact. A theology which they feel explains all of Job’s looses and suffering.

5:17-27 ¹⁷“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;

Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He bruises, but He binds up;

He wounds, but His hands make whole.

¹⁹He shall deliver you in six troubles,

Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

²⁰In famine He shall redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

²¹You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²²You shall laugh at destruction and famine,

And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your tent is in peace;

You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

²⁵You shall also know that your descendants shall be many,

And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

²⁶You shall come to the grave at a full age,

As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

²⁷Behold, this we have searched out;

It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Eliphaz now begins his own little sermon on the joys and blessings of being corrected by God. Now verse seventeen is widely quoted in Christian circles, for chastening is part and parcel of belonging to God. But honestly, I don’t know anyone, or any passage that declares anyone is ever happy when they are in the midst of being chastised by the Lord, for that is fruit of righteousness that comes through it, on the others side of it, but not while one is in the midst of it (see Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:5-6; Rev. 3:19). I mean do you know any child that is happy when getting a spanking to bring about their correction? And so should Job as a child of God be happy about all that has befallen him as Eliphaz asserts he should be here? Should Job be happy about His loss of his children, his propriety, his wealth, his standing in society etc. And all of it with no explanation, no understandable reason as to why. Now we know that what has happened to Job is not the chastening of the Lord, but a vicious attack by Satan on Job’s person, life, and character, but Job does not know that and neither do his friends, all they know is what they now see, and what they now see is the once mighty and noble man Job brought right down to ash heap. Eliphaz’s words here then, however well meaning he may have intended them, are completely misapplied. For to attribute Satan’s attack on Job as God’s chastening him is only a grave error of judgment, not justice. Now in these verses, vs. 18-27, Eliphaz basically reverse engineers all that has happened to Job to seemingly try to bring Job to a place of repentance and confession, but confession of what? And repentance from what? That he feared God and always shunned evil. Now in his discourse here Eliphaz goes on to make all kinds of promises to Job, stating that he will have a bright and beautiful future if he would get himself right with God. Saying that God will make him whole again (vs. 18), which is true, as the gospel reveals, when we believe In the Lord Jesus Christ we are made new creations In Christ. Nonetheless not until we are in heaven, when we are then clothed with our heavenly bodies will all of our earthly afflictions be taken away from us forever. And so, though Eliphaz words here ring with truth, they must have only left a bitter taste in Job’s mouth after all he had already said of him and to him. Same with his promising Job that he will never see trouble or evil again (vs. 19) which is not true, for even the prophets and certainly the Apostle’s endured ongoing troubles and opposition throughout their sojourns down here (read Hebrews 11). Thus, always assuming one’s grave misfortunes and whatever evil befalls someone is always God’s hand being heavy upon that person is a very naive and arrogant and self-righteous stance to take. Eliphaz then goes on to promise Job that in famine God will redeem him from death, and during times of war he will be spared from the power of the sword. Now these statements can be true in our lives, but they cannot be said to be universally true all the time. For righteous Christians have suffered famine, and righteous men of God have died in wars. For God does not promise anyone that they will not suffer from any of that. Eliphaz then goes onto say that Job will be hidden from the scourge of tongues, which is again ironic given how his tongue has already assailed Job, and we know for the Godly person, and especially now Godly Christians who stand up for Godliness in this morally debased world, being unjustly defamed and reject for doing so is almost certainly guaranteed, but that comes with believing in and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ, just as He said would happen to us (Matt. 5:11-12; Luke 6:26; John 15:19 etc.). I think of Billy Graham now, a stalwart of upright and Godly conduct, who throughout his adult life (and now even in his death) is still the victim of some terribly unjustified attacks on his person and ministry. Eliphaz then is only making a false promise of God in promising Job (or anyone else) exclusion from that.  

Eliphaz now asserts that even when faced with destruction the righteous person will not fear, again promising a deliverance that the Scripture does not guarantee us, for even the Apostle Peter faced his own death with reservations, as Jesus said he would (John 21:18-19). Eliphaz goes on in verse twenty-two telling Job that such will be his boldness and confidence in the Lord that he shall even laugh at destruction and famine, that he shall not even be afraid of the beasts (wild animals) of the earth. Now there is no Biblical person who was ever so confident (or foolish) so as to laugh at destruction when faced with it; as if they were immune from suffering harm. Now think of Elijah in the cave how humbly he acted when God aroused the forces of nature all around him. And especially Moses how humble a man he was, for both Moses and Elijah never presumed upon the Lord’s deliverance of them. Same with famine, famine is nothing to laugh at, and for those who are visited by it, it only brings much pain and misery and loss of life with it. Nonetheless God does promise provisions for those who fear him, (who walk humbly with Him, not self-confidently before him), for He alone provides relief from famine, as He did by keeping many alive through Joseph, including Jacob his father and all his household during the seven-year famine. Nonetheless God does not guarantee any of us that we will not suffer need in this life, but that He will meet those needs in our lives as we follow Him. Therefore, the truly Godly more often than not are on their knees praying, then on their feet boasting and feasting. And as for not fearing wild beasts, this again is completely misleading, for though God does watch over us, and He very often protects us from many things, He does not guarantee us an immunity from harm.

Eliphaz goes on in verse twenty-three and uses some strange allegory there saying to Job that when he gets right with God another benefit will be that he will even have a covenant with the stones of the field? Now don’t be confused by this, for Job’s friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar will often use some strange allegory, metaphors, and imagery in seeking to sound wise and understanding. Unfortunately, the same can also happen in Christian circles were people sometimes say all kinds of wild and strange things in trying to sound like deep people of faith. However God doesn't want profound faith from us just child like faith in us Now as to Eliphaz promising to Job that he will even have a covenant with the stones of field. Does this then mean that Job will never have to pick rocks and stones from his fields again, or that his fields furrows will always be straight and true? That’s my literal take on it, but who knows, for whatever it means to Eliphaz, I can assure you it means nothing to Job, given all of his loses which he has only begun to mourn.

Eliphaz then goes and tells Job that all the beasts of the field will be at peace with him, as if he were taken right back to the garden of Eden. Again, such promises by Eliphaz are not promises of God, for we live in fallen world, were humanity and wild animals often are in a state of fear, hostility, and or aggression towards each other. For angry dogs won’t stop barking and growling at you when you walk by their property just because you now live righteously. Eliphaz then promises Job that his tent will be in peace (vs. 24), meaning those of his household will never be visited with evil, and that nothing will ever go missing from it, as if killers stop killing, and thieves stop stealing, when they see a Godly person’s home. If you think so, just ask Job, for he knows different. Eliphaz’ then goes on to promise Job that in living righteous before God he will be guaranteed many descendants (vs. 25) and that his own life shall be full of days (vs. 26). Now having many children can be God’s blessing in one’s life, same with having a long life; but these two things can also come of unjust and wicked people as well. And so this again is not an absolute black and white situation that absolutely always comes to the righteous, as Eliphaz asserts here. For even the Lord Jesus Christ had to suffer and die before His days were fulfilled. And in this context, it only must have only hurt Job terribly to hear that spoken to him, given he has lost all his children. In closing Eliphaz then confidently asserts to Job,

“Behold, this we have searched out;

It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.” ^{Vs. 27}

Eliphaz’s use of the plural here then indicates that his views are not just his own, but are in fact also the views Eliphaz’ compatriots, and very likely Job’s on some level as well. And given Eliphaz’s boldness in stating them, he as the first and likely most senior speaker no doubt has held these opinions for a long time. Therefore, challenging such long standing ideas and doctrine when it is ingrained in one’s belief system can be a challenge, but that is another thing that will come through Job's suffering, a correction of his and their wrong "theologies." as Job will later find out, as he searches for answers. Therefore wrong theology must always be challenged and corrected when it is found out, especially in the church, in a local assembly, which is to be the pillar and ground of truth, for we must always strive to represent God and His Word and Works well if we are to live justly and rightly with Him and others. And so maybe we now have a basic understanding as to why God would allow such things in Job’s life, to bring about correction, both to him and his friends. For by allowing these terrible things in Job’s life, there is now an unescapable means by which to challenge their longstanding but misguided beliefs about mans sufferings, while also bringing Job to the place of repentance, for even a blameless and upright person is still a person in need of the Lord's Salvation and His Righteousness for them.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.