~ Job Chapter 5 - Eliphaz continues his first speech/The end of an evil man who was successful Verse 1 Eliphaz heard when Job complained (in Job chapter 3). But Eliphaz thought that Job’s words achieved nothing. An angel (servant of God from heaven) would not help Job. Eliphaz’s words were partly correct. God does not listen if we merely complain to him (Job 35:14-16). Nobody should complain about God (Job 34:29). God is good! God is fair! We must respect God. But God’s servants will help a man (Job 33:23-24). In fact, the angels (God’s servants in heaven) are always helping Christians (Hebrews 1:14). Daily, the angels work to protect us (Psalm 91:11-12). Verse 2 This is a clever verse. An evil man is angry because he hates God. So, God punishes the evil man for his behavior. This is why the evil man dies. A stupid man might not hate God. This man does not really know about God. And this man has not learned to do the right things. But the stupid man is jealous of other people. So, he copies their evil behavior. Then God punishes the stupid man for his evil behavior. This is why the stupid man dies. Verses 3-5 Eliphaz saw these events. So, Eliphaz thought, ‘God is punishing this man.’ And Eliphaz thought that this was fair. Eliphaz was sure that this evil man deserved these troubles. Perhaps Eliphaz was right about this particular man. But perhaps Eliphaz was wrong. Some people, like Job, suffer although they are not evil. Even if the man was evil, God does not always punish evil men immediately. Eliphaz thought that every evil person would suffer like this man. The idea was wrong. Some evil people are successful for their whole lives. But God will punish them when they die. - People cannot avoid troubles Verses 6-7 Here, Eliphaz linked his dream (Job 4:12-21) with his story (Job 5:1-5). If nobody is innocent, then everybody deserves troubles! So, Job could not be an innocent man. And Job deserved his troubles. Eliphaz thought his reply explained Job’s troubles. So Eliphaz felt ready to advise Job. Eliphaz’s mistake was that his speech was too simple. He thought that God punishes every error immediately. So, Eliphaz thought that God was punishing Job for some evil deed. But God is not cruel. God does not watch us so that he can punish us. God wants to forgive us. God loves us. God is great. Verses 8-11 This is true. These words are wonderful words. Verse 11 is like James 4:10 and Luke 1:46-55. Verses 12-14 These words are also true. But we can see Eliphaz’s mistake again. Eliphaz did not realise that some evil plans succeed. And Eliphaz thought that God would punish these evil people immediately. Verses 15-16 God cares about poor people. Rich people might be cruel to poor people. But God defends poor people. And Christians should help poor people too (Proverbs 22:22-23; Galatians 2:10; Matthew 11:5). - Eliphaz’s advice to Job Verse 17 Eliphaz thought that God was teaching Job about Job’s errors. So, Eliphaz urged Job to learn discipline from God. Sometimes we might have problems for this reason (Hebrews 12:5-11). But this was not the reason for Job’s troubles. Job was a good man (Job 1:8). Job suffered because the devil opposed him. Verse 18 God did not cause Job to suffer. The devil caused these problems. Verse 19 This verse is right. God cares for the people who trust him. He will rescue them, even if they suffer many terrible troubles (Psalm 40:1-3; Psalm 46:1-3; Proverbs 24:16). Verses 20-24 Eliphaz promised many good things if Job would trust God. And Eliphaz was right. God cares about his people. See Deuteronomy 28:1-14. God promises us many wonderful things. But we may not receive all these things until we arrive in heaven (Revelation 21:1-5). In our lives on this earth, we may suffer many troubles (Mark 8:34-38). God will provide for us (Matthew 6:28-34). But we should not imagine that we must be wealthy to be successful (Luke 12:15; Proverbs 3:13-15; James 2:1-5). Verse 25 This is like God’s promise to Abraham. See Genesis 12:2; Genesis 15:2-5; Hebrews 11:11-12. Verse 26 A farmer must collect his grain at the right time. Then the grain will be useful and valuable. But grain is not useful if the farmer collects it too early. Eliphaz wanted Job to live until he was old. Job would achieve many good things. And Job would have a large family. So Job would be like the harvest. Eliphaz was not careful with his words in verses 25-26. Job was probably already an old man. And all Job’s children were dead (Job 1:19). Eliphaz wanted to encourage Job. But Eliphaz’s words could only upset Job. Before these troubles, Job had a good life. But now Job’s life was terrible. Verse 27 Eliphaz thought that his advice was good. Job’s other friends agreed with Eliphaz. But Eliphaz’s advice was too simple. He made many mistakes. He upset Job. So Job was very sad. He even wanted to die. And Job was sure that his friends could not help him.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 09:21:22 +0000
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