Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Discussion Begins
But what Satan could not do with all his Sabeans, and all his Chaldeans, and all his winds from the wilderness to help him, that he soon did with the debating approaches and the controversial assaults of Eliphaz, and Zophar, and Bildad, and Elihu. Oh, the unmitigable curse of controversy!
—ALEXANDER WHYTE
The three friends were silent for seven days (Job 2:13), and Job later wished they had stayed that way (13:5). “Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered [Job].” But what did he answer? The pain in Job’s heart? No, he answered the words from Job’s lips; and this was a mistake. A wise counselor and comforter must listen with the heart and respond to feelings as well as to words. You do not heal a broken heart with logic; you heal a broken heart with love. Yes, you must speak the truth; but be sure to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).
His approach (Job 4:1–4). Eliphaz’s approach seems to start out positive enough, even gentle; but it was only honey to prepare Job for the bitterness that would follow. “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?” he asked (v. 2 NIV).
“Don’t get upset, Job!” is what he was saying. “In the past, your words have been a help to many people; and we want our words to be a help to you.”
Never underestimate the power of words to encourage people in the battles of life. James Moffatt translates Job 4:4, “Your words have kept men on their feet.” The right words, spoken at the right time, and with the right motive, can make a tremendous difference in the lives of others. Your words can nourish those who are weak and encourage those who are defeated. But your words can also hurt those who are broken and only add to their burdens, so be careful what you say and how you say it.
His accusation (Job 4:5–11). Eliphaz then moved into his accusation. Job could give it, but he couldn’t take it! He could tell others how to handle their trials; but when trials came to his life, he didn’t practice what he preached. “Is not your reverence your confidence?” asked Eliphaz. “And the integrity of your ways your hope?” (v. 6 NKJV). If Job is living a godly life, Eliphaz argues, then he has nothing to fear; because God always blesses the righteous and judges the wicked.
This is the basic premise of all three friends: Do what is right and things will go well for you; do what is wrong and God will send judgment. That judgment may sometimes be gradual, like the growing of a crop for harvest (v. 8); or it may be sudden, like the coming of a storm or the attack of a lion (vv. 9–11). But you can be sure that judgment will come; for God is a righteous Judge.
Most people will agree that ultimately God blesses the righteous, His own people, and judges the wicked; but that is not the question discussed in Job. It is not the ultimate but the immediate about which Job and his three friends are concerned, and not only they but also David (Ps. 37), Asaph (Ps. 73), and even the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 12:1–6).
His arguments (Job 4:12—5:7). Eliphaz presented two arguments to prove his point: experience (4:12–21) and observation (5:1–7). The first argument is based on an eerie experience he had one night when he saw a “vision” and heard a voice. Two questions must be answered: What was the content of the message, and was the message a direct revelation from God?
Since there are no punctuation marks in the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament, we are not always certain where quotations begin and end. Most English translations make 4:17–21 the complete statement of the “spirit”; but some students feel the statement is limited to verse 17, and the rest is commentary by Eliphaz. Either way, it’s the same message: Man’s life is brief and frail, and he can never be righteous enough in himself to please God.
But was this statement a direct revelation from God? Probably not; the whole experience doesn’t seem to fit God’s pattern for revealing truth. For one thing, it lacks the authority of “The word of the Lord came to me saying” or “Thus says the Lord.” And God doesn’t usually sneak up on people and scare them. We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that Eliphaz had a dream, meditated on it, and gradually transformed it into a vision.
One thing is sure: Eliphaz was not telling the whole story about God and man. Yes, man lives in a house of clay that eventually turns to dust; and man’s life can be snuffed out like swatting a moth or pulling down a tent. But man is also made in the image of God, and the God who made him is a God of grace and mercy as well as a God of justice.
Eliphaz’s second argument is based on his own personal observations of life (5:1–7). He has seen sinners prosper and take root, only to be destroyed and lose everything. This was a not-so-subtle description of Job’s situation. It must have hurt Job deeply to hear that it was his sin that killed his children. But in Psalm 73, Asaph takes a wholly different view. He concludes that God allows the wicked to prosper in this life because it’s the only “heaven” they will know. God will adjust things in the next life and see to it that His people are rewarded and the wicked are punished.
The problem with arguing from observation is that our observations are severely limited. Furthermore, we can’t see the human heart as God can and determine who is righteous in His sight. Some sinners suffer judgment almost immediately, while others spend their lives in prosperity and die in peace (Eccl. 8:10–14).
Trouble doesn’t grow out of the ground, like weeds; it’s a part of man’s birth, because man is born a sinner (Job 5:6–7). If Job is in trouble, concludes Eliphaz, he caused it himself because he sinned against God. Therefore, Job must repent of his sins and ask for God’s forgiveness.
His appeal (Job 5:8–17). This led to an appeal from Eliphaz that Job seek God and commit himself to Him. The God who does wonders and cares for His creation will surely help Job if he humbles himself and confesses his sins. Job should see his trials as discipline from God to make him a better man (vv. 17–18), a theme that will later be taken up by Elihu. Job must have been in bad shape for God to have to take away his wealth, his family, and his health in order to straighten him out! And isn’t discipline a tool of God’s love (Prov. 3:11–12; Heb. 12:1–11)?
His assurance (Job 5:17–27). Eliphaz closes his speech with words of assurance. The same God who wounds will also heal (Deut. 32:39; Hos. 6:1–2). He will deliver you from trouble, save you from your enemies, and give you a long and happy life and a peaceful death. “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself” (Job 5:27 NIV).
But this is Satan’s philosophy said in different words! “Does Job fear God for nothing? … Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life” (1:9; 2:4 NKJV). Eliphaz was asking Job to make a bargain with God: Confess your sins, and God will restore all that you have lost. If Job had done that, it would have disgraced Jehovah and vindicated Satan; and Job was not about to do it.
JOB’S RESPONSE (6—7)
Job responded with two passionate appeals. First, he appealed to his three friends that they might show more understanding and sympathy (Job 6). Then he appealed to God, that He would consider his plight and lighten his sufferings before he died (Job 7).
(1) Job’s appeal to his friends (Job 6). Only Eliphaz had spoken so far, but Job could tell that Bildad and Zophar agreed with him. Not one of his friends identified with what Job was going through physically and emotionally. It was one thing for them to sit where he sat and quite something else for them to feel what he felt (Ezek. 3:15). The child who defined “sympathy” as “your pain in my heart” knew more about giving comfort than did these three.
To begin with, they didn’t feel the heaviness of his suffering (Job 6:1–3). No wonder Job had spoken so impetuously! His friends would have done the same thing if they carried the load that he carried. Job didn’t have the full revelation of heaven that believers have today, so his future was dim. We can read 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 and take heart.
Nor did his friends understand the bitterness of his suffering (Job 6:4–7). Job felt like a target at which God was shooting poisoned arrows, and the poison was making Job’s spirit bitter. God had His army in array, shooting at one weak man, and Job’s friends were adding to the poison. What Job needed were words of encouragement that would feed his spirit and give him strength, but all his friends fed him were words that were useless and tasteless. If his complaint sounded like the braying of a donkey or the lowing of an ox, it was because, like a starving animal, he was hungry for love and understanding.
Job tried to get them to feel the hopelessness of his situation (vv. 8–13). Prolonged and intense suffering can make a person feel powerless to handle life, and this can lead to hopelessness. If you can’t control some of the elements that make up life, how can you plan for the future? Job asked, “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?” (v. 11 NIV). In other words, “What am I waiting for? Life is only getting worse!”
Hopelessness can lead to a feeling of uselessness; and when you feel useless, you don’t want to live. This explains why Job wanted God to take his life (3:20–23; 6:8–9; 7:15–16; 10:18–19; 14:13). Job didn’t attempt this himself, for he knew that suicide was wrong, but he prayed that God might take him out of his misery. Job’s friends were healthy and comfortable and didn’t know the burden of waking up each morning to another day of suffering. Job’s strength was gone, and he felt useless (6:12–13).
Courageously, Job pointed out the ineffectiveness of their ministry to him (vv. 14–30). They didn’t pity him or try to meet his needs. They were like a dry brook in the desert that disappoints thirsty travelers. They were his “friends” as long as he was prosperous; but when trouble came, they turned against him.
Job made two requests of his friends: “Teach me” (v. 24) and “Look upon me” (v. 28). He didn’t need accusation; he needed illumination! But they wouldn’t even look him in the face and behold his plight. Physically, the three men were sitting with Job on the ash heap; but emotionally, they were like the priest and Levite, passing by “on the other side” (Luke 10:30–37).
In my pastoral ministry, I can recall visiting hospital patients who were difficult to look at because of disease, accident, or surgery; and sometimes they were difficult to listen to because they had become bitter. From my eye contact and my responses to their words, they could detect whether or not I really cared. It did little good for me to quote Scripture and pray unless we had first built a bridge between our hearts. Then we could minister to each other.
Job closed his address to his friends with a passionate appeal for them to reconsider his situation and take a more loving approach. “Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake” (Job 6:29 NIV). The three men were so intent on defending themselves that they forgot to comfort their friend!
(2) Job’s appeal to the Lord (Job 7). Job used several vivid pictures to describe the futility of life. He felt like a man who had been conscripted into the army against his will (v. 1a, “appointed time”), and like a laborer (v. 1b) or a hired man waiting for sunset and his daily wages (v. 2). At least these men had something to look forward to, but Job’s future was hopeless. His nights were sleepless, his days were futile (Deut. 28:67), and the Lord didn’t seem to care.
He then focused on the brevity of life. Time was passing swiftly; so, if God were going to do anything, He had better hurry! Job’s life was like the weaver’s shuttle (Job 7:6), moving swiftly with the thread running out. (The phrase cut me off in 6:9 means “to cut a weaving from the loom.” See Isa. 38:12.) Life is like a weaving, and only God can see the total pattern and when the work is finished.
Job also saw his life as a breath or a cloud, here for a brief time and then gone forever, never to return (Job 7:7–10; James 4:14). God was treating him like a dangerous monster that had to be watched every minute (Job 7:11–12). No wonder Job was bitter against God for guarding him constantly. The fact that Job referred to Yam (“the sea”) and Tammin (“a whale”), two mythological characters, didn’t mean he was giving his approval to the teachings of Eastern myths. He used these well-known characters only to illustrate his point.
There was no way Job could escape God, the “watcher of men” (v. 20 NIV, NKJV). If Job went to sleep, God frightened him in his dreams. If he was awake, he knew God’s eye was upon him (10:14; 13:27; 31:4). He couldn’t even swallow his spittle without God knowing about it! Why would God pay so much attention to one man (7:17–18; Ps. 8:4)?
Job closed his appeal with a request for forgiveness (Job 7:20–21). “If I have sinned, then forgive me. Why should I be a burden to You and to myself? Time is flying by swiftly, so let’s settle things as soon as possible!” It was not a confession of sin, for Job still maintained his integrity; but it was an opportunity for God to deal with areas in Job’s life that he knew nothing about (Ps. 19:12–14).
Then Job was silent. He had vented his pain and frustration and appealed to his friends for understanding and encouragement. Would he receive it?
Let’s listen next to Bildad the Shuhite who gives a brief theological lecture on the justice of God.
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. If someone were going to confront you with a difficult truth, how would you like him or her to approach you with it?
2. How do you reconcile Job’s suffering to the truth that obedience brings blessing?
3. What events in your life have brought you face-to-face with Eliphaz’s point that life is short and frail at best?
4. In what ways, if any, have you come out of a time of struggle as a stronger, better person?
5. What comfort can we offer to someone who, as in Job’s case, is experiencing a kind of suffering we have never faced?
6. Job had sat in silence with his friends for seven days. What was he asking for when he asked them to look at him?
7. What could Job’s friends have done to bring him some actual comfort in his situation?
8. Was it a sin for Job to wish he had never been born? Give your reasoning.
9. Job was convinced that God knew every detail of his life. In what way would this be a comfort to Job?