4 Speaks: Job Must Have Sinned Greatly

Introduction : In this chapter, Eliphaz, the first of Job’s three friends begins to speak. After having kept silent for seven days and nights with the rest, the first words out of his mouth are not very encouraging to Job. Eliphaz basically assumes that Job must have done something very terrible to experience the extreme affliction and distress he’s going through. Eliphaz appears to be offended by Job’s reaction. This is typical of the oriental or Middle Eastern view of the tragedies and blessings of life—they are in direct proportion to what one does. But it is not necessarily consistent with ’s viewpoint or dealings with man. Therefore Eliphaz’ counsel to Job will not be very helpful at all. To give more authority to what he says, Eliphaz actually mocks Job’s integrity to make himself look like a wise counselor. In the end though, injustice is settled and the folly of Eliphaz and the other two “friends” of Job, and , is exposed: And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has ”.—Job 42:7-8 This chapter serves as a reminder to us not to get too prideful in our own position because it is the Lord who justifies and is sovereign. As the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 10:12 : “ Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall ”. See also Prov. 16:118; 1 Cor. 4:7; Gal. 6:1-5.

vv. 1-6 ELIPHAZ BEGINS TO SPEAK : HE MOCKS JOB ’S WISDOM & INTEGRITY [1 Then 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? 3 Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees ; 5 But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled. 6 Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope ?”] The fact that Eliphaz 1 speaks first is an indication that he was oldest and perceived as “wiser”. We know this because, eventually, a fourth friend, 2, speaks last and his words give us great insight into the “rest of the story”. He makes it clear that Job, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were inadequate to come to terms with Job’s affliction because he says: Now because they [Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar ] were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused. So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite 3, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, and dared not declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom’. But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice .— Job 32:4-9

1 Meaning “God of purified gold”. 2 Meaning “my God is He”. 3 Buz ; one of three tribes of northern Arabia descended from one of the three sons of Nahor [Abraham’s brother; Gen. 22:20-21 ] and ninth generation cousin of Uz [ Gen. 10:22-23 }; the land Job lived in; Job 1:1 ]. In Jer. 25:23 the following are mentioned: “Dedan, Tema, Buz , and all who are in the farthest corners.”

1 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 Having read to the “rest of the story”, Elihu gives us an vital clue as to how we need to view the counsel and advice of Job’s three friends’—with a big grain of salt! Although Job’s three friends had been patiently and silently waiting for seven days and nights, now that they begin to speak it will become evident that their patience is “thrown to the wind”. After Job is through bemoaning his plight, wishing he’d died at childbirth or never been born, Eliphaz queries Job by sheepishly asking him a ‘loaded’ question. He asks that if we speak with you honestly will you become weary with the counsel we give you? But at the risk of offending you, your situation is so terrible that we cannot help speaking to you about what’s happened to you. Eliphaz begins to mock Job’s strengths, most notably his wisdom : “ Surely you have instructed many and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees ; And Job’s integrity : “ But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; it touches you, and you are troubled. Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope ?” Immediately, we see that Eliphaz is somewhat cynical of Job and really not very sympathetic with his predicament. He is not very helpful at all. He could be considered typical of those who are more concerned about the “ letter of the law ” while ignoring the “ spirit of the law ”. Perhaps you know someone like this. puts it this way in condemning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees: “For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin 4 and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith”.— Matt. 23:23 Although the Law was not officially given to Moses until about 200 years after this, Eliphaz, in his discourse with Job, will effectively neglect what would be the weightier matters of God’s law—in other words in his counsel to Job he ignores the importance of (a) true justice , (b) mercy and (c) personal faith in God . Eliphaz is basically saying, “Hey Job, you were so good at helping others, but now all this physical pain and mental distress has come upon you and you can’t help yourself”. “Where’s your wisdom and strength now—that you need it the most?” See especially Job 29:7-17 . This is reminiscent of what those who were at the crucifixion of Jesus’ were saying to him: And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! You are the Son of God, come down from the cross”. Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God’.” Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.— Matt. 27:39-44 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself”…….Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us”.— Luke 23:36-37, 39 No wonder Job will later exclaim, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all !” {Job 16:2 }.

4 These are all spices; the smallest of offerings.

2 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 vv. 7-11 ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF GETTING WHAT HE DESERVED [7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed . 10 The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11 The old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered .”] Note that Eliphaz tells Job to remember two things; (1) that no one who was innocent ever perished [lit. “was lost”] , and (2) or when were the righteous ever “cut off ” [lit. “destroyed”] , which is what he apparently thinks is happening to Job 5. We see here that Eliphaz’ answer to Job is based on the “principle of experience” or “observations of life”. Solomon referred to this as things “ done under the sun ” [a phrase he uses 29 times throughout Ecclesiastes] as contrasted 6 with things “done in Heaven ”. It should be obvious that the former cannot always be trusted—things are not always as they seem and man is fallible when trying to discern things. We will come to see that not only Eliphaz, but also the two other friends of Job, accepted the traditional oriental or Middle Eastern view that the ‘law of sin and suffering’ governs the ebb- and-flow of life. [This is the motivating idea behind the false belief of reincarnation and karma of most Far Eastern religions]. This view is based on ‘observational evidence’ that seems to show, for example, that extreme calamity and affliction result from extreme wickedness and sin; and that prosperity and blessing result from living a righteous life7. Because of this, Eliphaz [and eventually the other two friends] begins to rebuke and argue with Job on the premise that if you are suffering terribly you must have done something terribly wicked. In other words, they are applying the Middle Eastern philosophy that one’s level of blessing or suffering is directly proportional to the level of one’s righteousness or wickedness . Eliphaz goes on to say that Job is reaping what he’s plowed and sown —he ACCUSES Job of having (a) plowed ‘ iniquity ’ [lit. “mental toil”] , that is, laid the groundwork for his anxiety and distress by having an unrighteous attitude and then (b) sown “ trouble ” [lit. “to pant”], that is, planted the seed for his current pain and affliction in the vanity of pursuing material wealth. But are these conclusions really valid? It depends on what they’re based upon……. Understanding this will help us keep Eliphaz’, Bildad’s and Zophar’s counsel to Job in the proper perspective. Job’s three friends speak authoritatively , but they don’t necessarily speak spiritually .

5 Of course this general idea is falsified by Biblical examples to the contrary. For example, Abel was innocent and by faith brought an acceptable sacrifice yet he was slain by his brother Cain { Gen. 4:3- 8}. Abraham had his nephew, Lot, and his family kidnapped and possessions stolen by the nine kings of the plain { Gen. 14:8-16 }. King Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard and when he wouldn’t sell, he was slain through an conspiracy hatched by the wicked Queen Jezebel { 1 Ki. 21:1-16 }. Although the latter occurred much later in history it still demonstrates that the innocent and righteous sometimes perish. 6 The contrast is between “earthly wisdom”, the wisdom which is “under the sun”, versus “Heavenly wisdom” which comes from God [e.g., “ Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven ”.] 7 Such a viewpoint of life explains the issue of, “Why do bad things happen to ‘good’ people?”, by saying that if something bad happens to you, then you were really a bad person at heart and not really ‘good’. Thus associating “good” and “bad”, righteousness and evil, with purely outward appearances.

3 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 On the contrary, as even Job points out later, Eliphaz' observations and “ circumstantial justice ” are inaccurate and flawed { Job 12:5-6; 21:1-16 }. Why? Because by the same measure of human reasoning one can argue to the contrary that the wicked are observed to prosper and live a life of luxury and ease. Thus one could falsely conclude that unrighteousness pays. See also Psalms 73:2- 12 , Jer. 12:1-2; Eccl. 7:15 8. Unfortunately for Job [and his three friends], constructing a DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE [i.e., system of theology] based on human observation and experience is unreliable and leads to all sorts of mischievous and harmful conclusions. Such a philosophy of life also will have no spiritual benefit because theology built on false doctrine will lead to confusion, frustration and “every evil work”—as we see it does in the life of Job. A perfect example of this is found in the New Testament. Note that according to the Lord, quite the contrary can be [and more often then not is] true. Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”— John 9:1-4 Correct theology is built upon the authority of divine revelation, not on limited human observation and fallible speculation. That is why it is so important to prayerfully study God’s Word knowing and trusting that it’s the Holy Spirit that teaches us. Note the following: 9 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD ’s anointed is before Him!” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”—1 Sam. 16:6-7 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”, says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts…….So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”—Isa. 55:8-9, 11 The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the inner man [lit. ‘kidneys’] , even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”—Jer. 17:9-10 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”—2 Tim. 3:16-17 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” —Heb. 4:11-13 The conclusion is that one cannot always trust what one observes; circumstantial evidence can be deceptive, but one can always trust the Word of God. From God’s perspective the righteous suffer so that the “ works of God should be revealed ”; in other words so that the God receives the glory—A GREAT INSIGHT & COMFORT to those who have been living a life of faith in Christ but who are still suffering and wondering why.

8 Eccl. 7:15 : “ I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness ”. 9 Eliab : Jesse’s eldest son and King David’s eldest brother.

4 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 vv. 12-16a ELIPHAZ ’ MYSTERIOUS & FRIGHTENING VISION [12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13 In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. 16a It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence ...... ”] At this point in Eliphaz’ discourse he recounts a mysterious vision he saw in the ‘dead of night’. Such a night vision was not common but neither was it unusual as we see from Job 20:8; 33:15; Isa. 29:7; Dan. 2:19; 7:2 . Note what Job himself says: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it . In a dream, in a vision of the night , when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.”—Job 33:14-18 Such visions therefore can come from God for the benefit of instructing a man while he is in a deep sleep, attentive and receptive, when God has a “captive audience”. Visions can occur either in falling down with eyes open {e.g., Num. 24:4, 16; Acts 10:10; 11:5; 22:17 } or deep sleep {e.g., Dan. 8:18; 10:9 }; as evidently was the case for Eliphaz. By recounting this as a ‘vision of the night ’, Eliphaz is emphasizing the source of this information is shrouded in secrecy and mystery and implying “you better listen up”! The information “was secretly brought ” to him in a vision which came in the form of a vivid dream or perhaps, more appropriately, a nightmare. The Hebrew word used here literally means “ to steal or to thieve ” [and it is usually translated that way 10 ; e.g., Job 21:18; 27:20 ]. In other words, the information was ‘stolen away’ to be ‘brought to’ or ‘revealed ’ to Eliphaz. The meaning 11 was that the word spoken to Eliphaz by this spirit was going to disclose some supernatural knowledge! The Hebrew word translated “ whisper ” in v.12 literally means “ to emit a small sound ” and is used only here and in Job 26:14 . Eliphaz heard what was spoken in a hushed tone. The idea here is of someone coming up closely next to you and whispering something in your ear so as to give more credence to it being profound ; something no one else knows and is supposed to be secret. The vision took place at night, when one goes into deep sleep [today this referred to as REM 12 sleep]. It took place when things can get a little ‘spooky’ and one begins to think scary [‘ disquieting ’] thoughts. Whether deliberately or not, Eliphaz’ vision would add impact to his counsel to Job and cast a prophetic element upon what he shares with Job [v.12 “ a word ”], Eliphaz describes the vision and its effects—he says the experience frightened him and he was trembling , and all his bones began to shake .

10 This is the only place in the Old Testament where the word is translated “ was secretly brought ”. 11 NOTE : Although a person could challenge another’s limited, and oftentimes flawed, observations of life, challenging or disproving a personal experience was another matter—who could prove his experience didn’t happen?. 12 REM : “Rapid Eye Movement”.

5 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 Then a presence, a spirit 13 [lit. “wind”] , passed before his face and the hair on his body stood up and then it stopped right in front of him. This was literally a “hair-raising” experience! Eliphaz stared at the form directly in front of him, but couldn’t make out its appearance—he couldn’t really tell what or who it was. The presence remained silent…………… After this, Job was told that there was “ silence ”. The Hebrew word used here is used only two other places in the Old Testament; 1 Ki. 9:12 and Ps. 107:29 , where it is translated “still/gentle ” [i.e., small voice; whisper] or “calm ” [i.e., storm], respectively. In other words, as the spirit stood face-to-face with Eliphaz there was a calm or stillness prior to the spirit speaking. The vision that Eliphaz saw was frightening , bone-rattling, hair-raising and mysterious . There is an aura of the supernatural cast upon his vision and Job and the other two friends must have been “on the edge of their seats”. The anticipation is that the information so ‘secreted’ to Eliphaz will be something totally amazing that no one’s heard before. This had definitely been a supernatural visitation and it had gotten everyone’s attention. But what did the spirit’s voice say? Will the answer live up to the build-up?

vv. 16b-21 THE SPIRIT REVEALS ITS MESSAGE [16b “Then I heard a voice saying: 17 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker ? 18 If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error, 19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth? 20 They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding. 21 Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom’.”] This mysterious, frightening, hair-raising and bone-rattling spirit breaks his silence and starts off by asking two questions: “Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker ?” Really? That’s it?! One would have almost expected to hear something that would have caused a similar reaction to seeing the spirit. These words are somewhat anti-climactic compared to the experience leading up to them. But these are good questions and the information that is being imparted is Biblically sound. The answers to both these questions should be obvious and answered equally with an emphatic “No!” Job does imply that God made a mistake in making him and letting him be born alive—thus he comes across as being ‘more righteous than God ’ and ‘purer than his Maker ’. But that is not what Job is thinking at all and so Eliphaz’ counsel is not going to be very helpful at all.

13 Heb. ruwach : Literally meaning “wind” and is often translated “wind”, “breath” [of life], “spirit” [of man], and even to refer to the “Spirit” [of God]. It is the Old Testament equivalent to the New Testament Greek word for “spirit”, [4151: ‘ pneuma ’], also meaning “wind”. Note this is the analogy that the Lord Himself uses to describe being “born of the Spirit” to Nicodemus in John 3:1-8: “ The wind [pneuma] blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit [Pneumatos] ” { v.8 }.

6 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 A man cannot be more righteous nor can he be more pure than his Creator. We find this truth scattered throughout scripture. “God is not a man , that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent . Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”—Num. 23:19 “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me’? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?”—Isa. 29:16 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting’? Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth’?”—Isa. 45:9-10 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”, says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”.—Isa. 55:8-9 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”—Jer. 18:5-7 Even Job recognizes this truth for later he says, “For He is not a man , as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together.” { Job 9:32 } If God puts no trust in His angelic servants ; and if He charges His [fallen and ] angels [who are a ‘higher creation ’ than man] with error, then one would logically expect God will not put his trust in mortal man . He will also charge those mortal bodies of “clay14 ” with error. And so He does! The spirit further reminds us that man’s foundation is but “dust” and our bodies are easily crushed and broken. They perish without anyone regarding it and even any status or claim of achievement passes away—they die without fulfilling their desires. Man is frail and sometimes dies even before a short-lived moth; whose wings are like dust. No matter how strong or beautiful our bodies may be or how they live, they are still of only brief duration. They are “ broken into pieces from morning until the evening ”; i.e., they die— 24/7. They “perish forever with no one regarding ”, that is, they die and don’t come back and no one pays attention. These words are reminiscent of those spoken by Solomon: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” —Eccl. 12:7 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!”—Eccl 2:16 See also Job 7:8-10 ; 14:10-12 ; 16:22 ; 2 Sam. 12:23 and Heb. 9:27 . This is the meaningless, hopeless and pessimistic view of life for those who trust in the “arm 15 of flesh” and have not trusted the LORD for their salvation . But is there yet some word of comfort, some word of hope? Yes! The Psalmist [King David] also declares this about man:

14 Note the implied reference to the creation of man from the dust, that is, the clay of the earth {see Gen. 2:7 }. 15 It is interesting to note that a popular 1970’s American rock group, Kansas , had a song on their 1977 album, Point of Know Return , entitled, “Dust in the Wind”. The refrain of the song’s lyrics say: “Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind”.

7 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet”.— Psalms 8:3-6 The questions asked by this spirit probably reflect Eliphaz’ conclusions about Job’s reaction to his affliction and could be one of the reasons he shares the vision. Perhaps he thinks that Job, by his ranting about wishing he was never born, is setting himself up in God’s place. If so, he obviously thought that Job was not very wise. The words that the spirit speaks reinforce the statements Eliphaz makes in vv.7-11 and supports the common Middle Eastern concept of suffering: He believed Job was suffering because he must have done something very wicked; he is guilty of some grievous sin. But that was wrong { Job 42:7 }. Although the words the spirit speaks in the night vision are true, they don’t really change Job’s attitude: “Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me! I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort, before I go to the place from which I shall not return, to the land of darkness and the of death, a land as dark as darkness itself, as the shadow of death, without any order, where even the light is like darkness.”—Job 10:18-22 And they communicate truths that Job already understood: “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!— Job 15:14-16 Being reminded of this only magnified the anguish and distress that Job was already experiencing and made his trouble even more difficult to understand and endure. For example: “Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me ; though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse . I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life . It is all one thing. Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked’.'”—Job 9:20-22 By recounting his night vision, Eliphaz states some truths that are notable, but they are not helpful to Job—they don’t meet his needs at that moment in time. At this point a question could be asked. “Was the vision that Eliphaz recounted a revelation from God or Satan? ” We could also ask another question: “ If the vision was from Satan then why did it not contain questions that were deceptive and would put doubt in Job’s heart? ”; since Satan likes to ask misleading questions and speak lies {ref. Gen. 3:1, 4-5; Matt. 4:3, 6, 9}. It is true that when God speaks directly to man the Bible usually uses a phrase like; “ This is what the Lord says ” or “ The word of the Lord ”. It is also true that God usually speaks His Word in the open. However, God has spoken to men through visions and dreams in other places and a wonderful “secret”, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, was revealed to Daniel in a “ night vision ” { Dan 2:19 }. It is probably safe to say that this was one of God’s spirits, perhaps an angel sent to Eliphaz to given to him to reinforce these truths.

8 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014 Eliphaz dialog is interesting because it describes man’s mortality in several ways: Man ‘dwells’ in mere perishable houses made of clay, made from dust like a clay vessel Man is crushed more easily than a moth Man can be broken to pieces like a clay vessel 24/7 The words of Job’s friend-turned-antagonist are a not-so-subtle personal attack on Job: Job’s own “house” perishable for all his children perished [seven sons and three daughters] Job’s wealth was gone like a moth crushed between one's fingers Job’s life was disrupted and unsettled like the broken piece of pottery he was using to clean his wounds day 7 night. What Eliphaz apparently failed to consider is the fact that if all people, being unjust and impure, suffer, he would be included too! Why hadn’t he or why wasn’t he suffering as well? The point is that it’s easy to give out truth that is not relevant, that does not speak to the issue at hand. We don’t need just any truth, but the truth that is relevant to our situation and meets our need . And the biggest need a person has is reconciliation and peace with the God who made him, which only comes through repentance and the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ’ atoning sacrifice and resurrection from the dead {see Acts 10:26 ; Rom. 10:8- 13 ; Col. 1:20 ; Eph. 5:2 ; Heb. 10:12-14 }. If Eliphaz’ counsel to Job is any indication of what’s to come from the other two “friends”, then at this point one almost feels compelled to stop these men and tell them, “Don’t talk any further because you’re ‘barking up the wrong tree’. What you’re saying is not going to help meet the needs of this man.” But since we can’t and Job doesn’t—let’s see what happens……………………..

Bibliography (1) New Unger's Bible Dictionary , Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. © 1988. (2) Nelson’s Bible Dictionary ; Thomas Nelson Publishers, © 1986. (3) Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament , Cook Communications Ministries; Copyright © 1983, 2000. (4) Barnes Notes , (5) Thru the Bible Commentary: Poetry (Job) , Vol. 16 ; J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson; Nashville. ©1991. (6) Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament , Hendrickson Publishers, Copyright © 1886. (7) Wycliffe Bible Commentary , edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer, Everett F. Harrison, Moody Publishers, Copyright ©1962.

9 Job Chapter 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © February 2014