Job 5:1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
Eliphaz continued his rant against Job in chapter 5. We see that the ungodly go on and on without shame. God is merciful to them and gives them opportunity to repent and do right. He holds them accountable for their rejection of Him. It is very dangerous to make God into someone He is not.
Eliphaz assumed that God had no interest in Job. He continued his assumption that Job was guilty of some secret sin and he just needed to humble himself and confess his sin. He also stated that there were no saints that would be able to help him. Those closest to Job were dead. We are not told of any saints that were close to him. It is true that no saint would be able to help Job get over these boils. True saints would be able to pray with him and remind Job of God’s goodness.
In verse 2 Eliphaz continued to assume that Job was getting what he deserved. Eliphaz did not understand that no one could survive if we received what we deserve. Salvation is a gift of God. God’s blessings beyond salvation are also a gift of God. God does not owe us anything. We cannot demand anything of Him. Job would be guilty of demanding a meeting with God. He did not realize that God was right there with him all the time. He did not understand what was going on and assumed the wrong things. Eliphaz was no help to him.
In verse 3 Eliphaz demonstrated that his judgment was faulty. He did not know who the foolish were. He was foolish. He was accusing Job of being foolish and he was again stating that when a foolish person prospers and then falls, he would curse them. What purpose would there be in cursing the ungodly. They are already under God’s condemnation. What pleasure is there for man to curse the ungodly, assuming that they know who the ungodly are. Eliphaz certainly did not know who the ungodly were. He wrongly assumed Job was foolish and ungodly. He was blowing off hot air.
In verse 4 Eliphaz stated that the children of the foolish are not safe. That is true. Ungodly parents do not have the wisdom to know how to give their children what they need. Many ungodly parents have their children in the public school system. That system is bankrupt of any value. Their obsession with corrupting the morals of children proves they are wicked and should be rejected. Godly parents should understand they need to homeschool their children.
There are many children that are confused and in a dire situation. They are not being taught the Bible properly and they are left in a fog, unable to make wise choices. Parents are responsible to give their children the truth. The most important duty of parents is to raise their children in the fear of the Lord. Making money and acquiring things should not be the primary goal of parents. Parents need to be saved in order to be able to discern what is important for their children. Life has many challenges. Children need to choose whether or not they will follow God. However, if parents do not put the truth in front of their children, they are sinning against God.
In verse 5 Eliphaz continued his foolishness. He stated that all the efforts of the foolish will be lost. The hungry will come and steal the harvest and take it away from them. It is true that the foolish will lose their children to the world most of the time. Eliphaz again accused Job of being one of the foolish ones. His children were dead. It must have been because he had sinned. Eliphaz had such a faulty theology. He had no idea of how God works and what goes on in the spiritual realm.
In verses 6-7 Eliphaz declared that trouble is sure to come to the ungodly. He claimed it is as sure as seeing sparks from a fire go upward. We know that the heat of the fire will carry the sparks upward. We also know that the ungodly do not always face severe troubles in this life. We also know from the Bible that the godly can face more trouble in this world than the ungodly do. As we see with Job, the devil desires to destroy the life of the godly. He already has the ungodly. He wants to keep them lost. He wants to make the life of the godly look bad so that the ungodly will not desire to turn to God.
Eliphaz only focused on this life. Job was in pain. He was suffering. However, Job was a child of God and his suffering, though severe, was only for a short time. He would have better times ahead. Eliphaz, on the other hand, did not have a good life at the present time, and his end was even worse. He did not want to realize this because of his self-righteousness. He would find out in a short while, that he was wrong in his thinking. He was the fool. He was the one who was born unto trouble. His religion was a false religion. His god was not the God of the Bible. His counsel was useless. What a waste of breath.
It is important to know the Lord. It is important to wait patiently on the Lord. When a true child of God cannot understand what is going on, dig deeper into God’s Word and trust Him to do what is right. He will keep His child through this life and bring him safely into His eternal home.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Jesus gave comfort to the disciples at a time they were troubled. They were not suffering as Job was. They were worried about the words of Jesus. Jesus was telling them He was going to be arrested and tried and crucified. What would they do without Him? Jesus showed them they had nothing to worry about. He was going to prepare the way for them to know His peace now and into eternity.
Job would learn this as well. He had some confidence in God, and needed to build on that. We need to do the same today. We need to know the Lord first of all. Then we need to build our lives upon Him on a daily basis. This is the only way to live.
Pastor Bartel