Job
5 reminds me of the televangelists we see today that tell us we are
only sick or poor because we don’t have enough faith. They tell us
we need to pray harder and claim God’s promises (oh yes, and send
them money to release our faith). In the same way, Eliphaz
misapplied more biblical truth to Job’s life by starting with the
assumption that his affliction is the result of God judging Job’s
sin. Eliphaz continues his unwelcome correction of Job from the
previous chapter. Notice there is an unpleasant holier-than-thou
attitude in everything Eliphaz said. He begins, “Call
if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will
you turn?“.
I believe he is calling himself one of the holy ones. So much for
humility! Next, he pours on the insults, “Resentment
kills a fool… I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly
his house was cursed“.
He even accused Job’s children of being guilty, “His
children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender…
hardship
does not spring from the soil“.
In other words, you are just getting what you deserve. Next he
tells Job, the solution is to confess to God your secret sin. “But
if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before
him“.
There is a great lesson here for anyone that desires to minister to
someone in pain. Even tough love requires an attitude of compassion.
The apostle Paul said it this way, “Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I
have become… a clanging cymbal“.
Without love, we are just a loud noise.
After
exalting the greatness of God, Eliphaz seems to indicate God can’t
wait for us to mess up so He can catch us. “He
thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no
success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of
the wily are swept away“.
Again, Eliphaz seems to be speaking down to Job with an air of moral
superiority, “Blessed
is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the
Almighty“.
This is absolutely true, except God corrects with the hand of a
Loving Father, not a cruel taskmaster. I discipline my children with
a desire to teach and correct, not with a desire to cause pain.
Proverbs 3:12 explains, “For
whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in
whom
he delights“.
When we assume we know a person’s heart attitude, we can become
like Job’s friend. When health and wealth becomes our gage for
spiritual condition we deny the ministry of Christ. Jesus died so we
can have eternal life, not eternal good health. He asked the Jewish
leaders of the day “For
which is easier, to say, ‘Your
sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?”
(Matt 9:5). He explained the purpose for physical healing, “that
you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”.
The
chapter ends with Eliphaz defaulting to his position that Job brought
judgment onto himself through sin. His solution continues to
frustrate many good people today that are in pain. Essentially he
said, you need to pray harder and you need to have more faith. He
says, if you have more faith, “You
will be protected… and need not fear when destruction comes. You
will laugh at destruction and famine … you will take stock of your
property and find nothing missing. You will know that your children
will be many and your descendants like the grass of the earth“.
The sad result of this doctrine is our churches are filled with
hurting people that outwardly look great to those around them.
Remember Jesus was always criticized by the religious leaders of His
day for associating with sinners. “Why
does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus reply is for all of us imperfect people with internal and
external flaws. “Those
who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick”
(Matt 9:12). Don’t let anyone steal your joy by claiming you just
don’t have enough faith. The shortest prayer in the Bible is
“Lord,
please save me”
(Matthew 14:30). Never forget, God is faithful!