Podcast 19, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 5”

Podcast 19, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 5”

The power of the Book of Job is in the manner it deals with complexities. When we examine Job Chapter 5, everything Eliphaz says is sound advice if he were talking to a guilty party, but he isn’t. Job is innocent of any wrongdoing before the Lord. Remember what the Lord said of Job in Chapter One.

Job 1:8

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Elephaz’s advice then is misplaced, unkind in its implications, and hurtful. He is essentially telling Job these tragedies came upon him because of his wickedness. The remedy, according to Eliphaz is to repent when Job has nothing to repent of.

Job 5:1-5

1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. 

Those words are like darts aimed at Job’s heart: ‘wrath killeth the foolish man,’ ‘envy slayeth the silly one.’ ‘I have seen the foolish taking root,’ ‘I cursed his habitation.’ ‘His children …are crushed in the gate.’ ‘neither is there any to deliver them.’  Is he calling Job foolish and silly? Is he saying Job’s children are crushed because of his wickedness? 

The irony, of course is that his proverbs are correct in the abstract: “Wrath killeth the foolish man.” “Envy Slayeth the silly one.” The foolish do put their children far from safety. They may lose their inheritance. They may be crushed in the gate. There may be none to deliver them. The foolish man may lose his harvest to scavengers and robbers. But none of those accusations apply to Job. They are not the cause of his suffering. 

Eliphaz does come up with one of the most famous lines in the Book of Job.

Job 5:6-7

6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

That is a proverb that perhaps we can all agree with. The next counsel of Eliphaz is also good except for one thing—he is still calling upon Job to repent. He believes the troubles came because of sin; therefore, his advice is not appropriate. 

Listen carefully to the words of Eliphaz. They are true but in another context.

Job 5:8-11

8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:

11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

If Eliphaz had stopped there, he would have spoken well, but would have said nothing that Job didn’t already know. Eliphaz is on a mission to call his friend—out of love—of course, to repentance.

Job 5: 12-14

12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

He is deliberately planting guilt in Job’s heart. He is of the school that believes God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous; therefore, if bad things happen to you, it must be because you have committed some dreadful sin.