October 6
Reading: Job 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
and fill his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he argue in unprofitable talk,
or in words with which he can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God
and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
older than your father.
11 Are the comforts of God too small for you,
or the word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God
and bring such words out of your mouth?
14 What is man, that he can be pure?
Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15 Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not pure in his sight;
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
a man who drinks injustice like water!
17 “I will show you; hear me,
and what I have seen I will declare
18 what wise men have told,
without hiding it from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
and he is marked for the sword.
23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him,
like a king ready for battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
and defies the Almighty,
26 running stubbornly against him
with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because he has covered his face with his fat
and gathered fat upon his waist
28 and has lived in desolate cities,
in houses that none should inhabit,
which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the earth;
30 he will not depart from darkness;
the flame will dry up his shoots,
and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
for emptiness will be his payment.
32 It will be paid in full before his time,
and his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil,
and their womb prepares deceit.”
Job 15 begins round two of this discussion about God in which Job’s friends are raising objections to Job’s lament. Refer to the chart of chapter 4. They will now become more severe and confrontational.
It is Eliphaz’s turn again and his concern seems to be that a person should not question the righteousness and justice of God but just trust Him. This would seem like good advice until you are wondering about God’s righteousness and justice. Is the right path then to just shut your mouth and trust God?
In Job 15:1-6 Eliphaz rebukes Job for speaking his irreverent words. Eliphaz is sure that Job is only trying to cover his guilt. (vs. 5)
Eliphaz is attacking Job’s motives. You can see this develop in verse 7 and following. He is describing Job as arrogant (vss. 7-10), of listening to his heart rather than God (vss. 11-12), of opposing God (vs. 13), and of thinking himself pure enough to understand God (vss. 14-16). Eliphaz is seeking to humiliate Job into repentance. This is not a wise approach. It never works. Paul writes in Romans 2:4, “The kindness of God leads you to repentance.”
In verses 17-35 Eliphaz shares with Job his wisdom that he has learned about life. You could sum it all up like this: The wicked man ruins his own life, receives judgment from God, and comes to a bad end. This is all true in an ultimate sense. However, it is demonstrably not true in the here and now. How often does David ask in the Psalms, “Why do the wicked prosper?”
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
And the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
His ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
As for all his foes, he snorts at them. Psalm 10:3-5
What Eliphaz is saying to Job is inexcusable. He does not know Job’s motives, and yet he feels free to say the worst about them. He does not know what God is actually doing with Job, and yet he feels free to insist that God is judging Job as a wicked person because God judges wicked people. Yes, God judges wicked people, but this truth has nothing to do with Job’s situation or struggle.
I remember the words of good friend of mine who serves as a pastor, “As soon as you think you know what is going on in someone’s life, be prepared to learn that you don’t know the half of it.” Be careful how you think about others.