Job 5:1-27

Eliphaz continues his speech to Job in an effort to convince Job to recognize and confess his sin and see the error of his way.  There is much that he says that is very true and is sound teaching that all of us should know and understand.  The problem with what Eliphaz is saying is that he is implying through his speech that Job is in some way not doing or believing these truths.  His statements are true; but they are being misapplied to the life of Job in these circumstances.  He has made presumptions about Job based, not on observation of sin in Job’s life, but based on the circumstances that Job is facing.  We are a results oriented people and so it is easy for us to presume the unfavorable results are due to poor character and that favorable results are due to poor character.  We must stop judging one another based on circumstance or results but on the character that we observe in one another’s lives.

ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF IDOLATRY: Eliphaz is very correct in asserting that there is no other deity upon which man can call.  No other god answers prayer for there are no gods besides our God.  Those who place their trust and hope in other gods are sure to be disappointed.  They are foolish in their ways and they face great suffering.  Their families suffer and their basic needs of food and water are not met.  In short, idolatry brings affliction.  Eliphaz seeks to prove this truth and then he implies that since Job is afflicted he must be practicing some sort of idolatry in his heart.  His assumption that all who are afflicted must be guilty of the sin of idolatry is not true.  Affliction should be a time of evaluation but should not automatically bring about condemnation.  We must be careful not to make these presumptions.

ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF INDIFFERENCE: Now Eliphaz instruct Job to call upon the Lord and to commit his ways to the Lord.  His statements about God in this section are true and very well formed.  He is great and above our ability to comprehend.  He is gracious and meets the needs of those who are poor.  He is just in revealing the pride of those who are wise in their own eyes.  The rich may seek to oppress the poor, but the Lord is faithful to deliver.  These are all very true statements about God.  However, what Eliphaz is somehow implying in this message is that Job has been indifferent to God, has not called on God or trusted God so now he is experiencing this judgment from God.  So even though his doctrine of God is good; his application of that doctrine to Job is not accurate.  We must be careful to have sound doctrine but also seek to apply that doctrine correctly.

ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF INDISCIPLINE: Finally Eliphaz expounds upon the discipline and the deliverance of the Lord.  He instructs Job not to despise the Lord’s discipline but to learn from it and enjoy the results of that discipline which Eliphaz describes as peace and prosperity.  Once again, his statements are true about God and His discipline.  God does use discipline in our lives to form our character and put us in a spiritual position where we can be greatly blessed by the Lord.  However, it is completely wrong to presume that all prosperity comes from a correct response to God’s discipline or that poverty and suffering are signs of God’s discipline.  God judges our hearts and He will judge us upon His return.  We must not be lulled into security by prosperity and we must not be discouraged by poverty.  These are not always signs of God’s judgment of our lives.  Job is suffering because it is God’s will to show His glory through this suffering not because Job laced character.  We must be very careful to not fall into the trap of results oriented theology.