Missing the Mark (Job 4:1–5:27)

It has been said that Job’s three friends were wonderful counsellors, until they opened their mouths. How true. Chapters 4–27 contain three cycles of dialogue between these three friends and Job. Eliphaz and Zophar each speak three times, while Bildad speaks twice. Job replies each time.

Though the particular words used by the three friends vary, they share a common theme: Job was experiencing calamity because he had sinned. If he would simply repent and ask forgiveness, all would be well with him. God would restore his health, property, and prestige in the community. In other words, his life was a mess and it was all his fault. What they seemed to miss is that their counsel was in line with the accuser’s slander: Job served God for his secondary blessings. These three men had no category for a righteous sufferer (Alden).

In the exchanges there is confusion on both sides. As Anderson says, “The friends must infer from Job’s suffering that he has sinned; Job must infer from his innocence that God is unjust.” Both are wrong. God will, in the end, rebuke the three friends (laying the heaviest blame on Eliphaz [42:7]) and he will reveal himself and encourage Job.

We can summarise that the three friends held to a retribution theology built on the idea that one always reaps what they sow, and only what they sow. They had no category for God’s higher purposes and therefore they seemingly had no category of grace.

As we begin, let me say, again, that a major purpose of our studies in Job is to pastorally equip us to faithfully respond in our own sufferings as well as to equip us for helpful engagement with Christians who are suffering. As I have laboured to point out, the book of Job is not a book dealing with the general theme of the problem of suffering. Neither is it, per se, a theodicy in defence of God’s character and conduct. Rather, the book is the account of a believer suffering despite living righteously. And therein lies the mystery of suffering, both for the one’s suffering and by those observing the righteous who are suffering.

We will briefly cover the content of these chapters under several six broad and then conclude with important principles of application. I trust that we will learn some things that will help us to help others rather than missing that mark.

A Sincere Introduction

We find a sincere introduction in 4:1–6:

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?”

(Job 4:1–6)

We might be correct to assume that Eliphaz, the first speaker, was the oldest of the three friends, and perhaps also the wisest, given his identity as a Temanite (cf. Jeremiah 49:7). He spoke more than the other friends. His words in the first speak lay the foundation for what the others would say: “Job, you are suffering because you have been foolish, even trying to hide some particular sin. Repent and all will be well.” You’ve heard the saying, “Silence is golden.” That would have applied well here!

Eliphaz, it seems, spoke sincerely as he opened his mouth. Having heard Job’s cry of despair in chapter 3, he could no longer remain silent. He opened his mouth in an attempt to help his friend. He was somewhat sympathetic, but not wise.

I think Longman is correct when he observes, “Job’s words threaten Eliphaz’s fundamental understanding of who God is and how he acts in the world. Thus he cannot keep himself form speaking.” Eliphaz’s response was sincere, but wrong.

Eliphaz attempted politeness, but the more he spoke, the less polite and helpful he became. In fact, as the dialogue between the three friends and Job progressed so did the tension. But he at least began respectfully.

The word translated “impatient” can mean vexatious or weary. Both could apply to Job’s words of chapter 3, but I lean towards “weary.” Job was weary from his suffering and had become so weary of each new day that he wished he had never been born, or at least that, having been born, he would now die. Eliphaz’s speech responds to this.

Eliphaz acknowledged that, in the past, Job was known for his assistance to others who suffered. But then, with what seems to be a twisting of the knife, he rebuked Job for his response now that he was suffering. It is hard to tell if Eliphaz was commending Job’s reverence and reputation (v. 6) and hence telling him to be hopeful, or whether he was implying that perhaps he was not as reverent and blameless as others viewed him to be. If the latter, then we see how sincerely wrong Eliphaz was. After all, God himself had commended Job as reverent and blameless (1:1, 8; 2:3)! It is pretty clear from these opening words that the interaction was not going to go well.

A Simplistic Observation

Eliphaz transitions from his sincere introduction to a very simplistic observation in 4:7–11.

Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plough iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken. The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

(Job 4:7–11)

Undergirding Eliphaz’s concern and counsel is the simplistic and erroneous worldview that people suffer because they sin and avoid suffering by righteous living. This “wisdom” arises from his superficial observations (4:8–9) and his experience of the animal kingdom where the lion—a picture of the wicked—eventually will come to their deserved end. “Eliphaz is simply appealing to Job to be consistent with the worldview they both know and accept”—that is, “retribution theology” (Ash).

This simplistic conclusion continues in our day, yet we have less excuse than Eliphaz for we have 66 books of the Bible, which teach us otherwise. Be careful when coming alongside the suffering and assuming your experience is inspired. Be careful of assuming the worst about those who are undergoing trials.

We should also be careful not to misuse the doctrine of total depravity. It is true that no one is without sin, but personal sufferings are not always (or even usually) because of our sinful nature. After all, Jesus Christ suffered! And he explicitly taught against assuming that those suffering are worse than those not suffering (see Luke 13:1–7).

A Sensational Revelation

Job and Eliphaz lived before any written revelation. They therefore relied heavily on tradition and, as we see in 4:12–21, supernatural encounters with God. In these verses, Eliphaz claims that his wisdom flowed from a sensational revelation.

Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

(Job 4:12–21)

At the risk of being overly and perhaps unjustifiably critical, I am tempted to roll my eyes as I read these verses. Eliphaz appears to have been playing the “God spoke to me card.” And how does one argue with that? But, of course, there is no indication in this passage that God did speak to him. In fact, it is equally likely that this sensational revelation was in fact satanic in nature. After all, Eliphaz was reasoning very much like Satan had reasoned and was simply furthering the torment that Satan had already inflicted on Job.

He describes having had a dream or vision that stirred him, even to the point of fear (as indicated by the goose pimples in vv. 14–15). The voice he heard asked him, “Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?” Well, this is pretty much the same thing that Satan said to God about Job (1:6–11; 2:1–6). The issue was never Job’s sinlessness (31:33–34) but whether Job was right with God and whether God was pleased with Job. According to God’s own revelation, this was the case (1:8; 2:3)!

However, Eliphaz made the satanic assumption that Job was not as reverent and as selflessly disinterested as he appeared to be. He therefore tried to draw a confession from Job. He wanted Job to admit that he was not right with God, that he had not been pure and blameless before the Lord, which was the cause of his suffering.

Eliphaz proceeded to inform Job—supposedly by spiritual, if not divine, revelation—that, since God has no trust/respect for his heavenly angels, why would Job think that God had any special favour towards him? He piled on the heartache by implying that Job had no wisdom and perhaps implied the same thing about his now dead children, whose tent came crashing down on them. This makes me think of the well-worn adage, “With friends like this, who needs enemies?”

Eliphaz’s sensational revelation poured was both harsh and false. God does care for his creation. God does care for the humanity he created. God is not unconcerned about people’s hardships, especially those of his own people.

Let us learn from this that, when brothers and sisters are suffering, we need to be extremely cautious with our words. Don’t jump in with theological platitudes. Don’t jump in with assumptions about what God is doing in their life. Theological truth, as we will continually see, can be wielded in the most of unhelpful ways. Learn to listen to the sufferer.

A Cruel Admonition

Chapter 5 transitions from Eliphaz’s sensational revelation to a cruel admonition:

Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them. The hungry eat his harvest, and he takes it even out of thorns,  and the thirsty pant after his wealth. For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.

(Job 5:1–7)

Eliphaz was on a roll and so continued his judgemental implications and outright accusations. Having just implied that Job lacked wisdom, he now implied that Job was a fool. That is, he implied that Job lived as though there is no God; as one who defiantly said, “No, God” (5:2–3). Such people have no hope of a mediator (5:1) and thus little hope of deliverance from troubles. Job must confess he had lived foolishly if he would be rescued.

This was a cruel admonition not only because it was way beyond the pale of decency, but also because of what he said in vv. 4–5. Eliphaz implied that Job’s children had been crushed to death because of Job’s folly and that his crops had been stolen or destroyed because he had lived like a fool. Cruel indeed. It reminds me of the fool I saw who publicly suggested that Rick Warren’s son had committed suicide several years ago as a direct result of Warren’s faulty teaching and ecclesiology. Sadly, there are plenty of Eliphaz’s in our day.

In vv. 6–7, Eliphaz authoritatively declared that all suffering is a result of cause and effect. In his theology, the universe operates under the absolute terms of reaping and sowing. Verse 7 is not a general statement that, living in a sin-cursed world, all people face trouble; it is, instead, a pointed conclusion that calamity is the inevitable result of one’s innate sinfulness. In other words, Job should cease his cry of complaint in chapter 3 and rather repent of the secret sin that had now been exposed by his troubles.

Though there a clear biblical principle we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), this does not mean that everything we experience is a direct result of what we have done. We will consider below some other reasons for suffering.

Brothers and sisters don’t look for sin as the absolute cause behind the effect of suffering in the lives of others. It may be—but perhaps not. Give the benefit of the doubt. Be careful.

A Creedal Exultation

Every commentator I consulted think that the words of 5:8–16 are lifted from an ancient creed.

As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night. But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

(Job 5:8–16)

At this point, after lobbing the emotional grenade of a cruel accusation, Eliphaz spoke great theological truth as an appeal for Job to seek the Lord in repentance and faith. But Job didn’t need a theological treatise.

If the commentators are correct that these verses were likely a memorised creed—a statement of faith concerning the character of God—then we affirm that what Eliphaz said of God here is gloriously true. God does do “great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number” (5:9). He graciously sends the rains, sets on high the lowly, and safely cares for those who mourn (5:10–11). The Bible and human history is filled with experiential evidence of this. Further, God frustrates the evil designs of those who are opposed to him (5:12–14). God does save the oppressed from evil tyrants and does real hope to those suffering injustice (5:15–16). God is to be praised for this. But God is not to be presumed upon. That is, God does not always perform such deeds. God does not always deliver, as Daniel’s three friends well recognised (Daniel 3:16-18). As Anderson observes, “Eliphaz’s fault is not that his doctrine is unsound; it is his ineptness as a counsellor. True words may be thin medicine for a man in the depths.”

We need to mature in our faith so as to be confident in the absolute truth about God’s greatness, power, and ability while at the same time submitting to his absolute wisdom. God’s greatness includes the greatness of his wisdom. And sometimes his wisdom is displayed in his people reaping what they have not sown.

Another way of putting this is to say that we need to learn to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Be careful of misapplying Scripture. Regardless of the confident assertions of your bumper sticker, your vehicle is not protected by Psalm 91.

Finally, we need to be cautious when coming alongside suffering saints to not throw theological truths at them like one might throw darts at a target. Think theologically before speaking theologically.

A Condescending Exhortation

Eliphaz concluded his first counselling session with Job with the clear accusation that Job was suffering because of his sin and that God was simply chastening him towards repentance.

Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth. You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season. Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.

(Job 5:17–27)

Eliphaz’s exhortation is akin to what we know as the prosperity gospel: Do right and God will reward you. I don’t doubt that he meant well, but his exhortation completely missed the mark. He spoke from ignorance of what God was doing and his condescending tone simply added to Job’s pain. I call this is a condescending exhortation for two reasons.

First, Eliphaz assumed too much. Though the words of 5:17 are true (and quoted elsewhere in Scripture [Proverbs 3:11; Hebrews 12:5]), they did not apply to Job’s situation. As the reader knows, Job was not suffering because of any sin on his part but rather because of God’s unsearchable wisdom. And though it is sometimes the case that God delivers his people from calamities, he often does not. In other words, repentance is no guarantee that everything will work out in the end—at least this side of eternity.

Second, it was condescending in the way he ended his speech in 5:27. Eugene Peterson’s The Message captures it well: “Yes, this is the way things are—my word of honour! Take it to heart and you won’t go wrong.” Longman summarises: “He and his friends are wise men, Job should take it on their authority. They are taking the position occupied, by the father in Proverbs and applying it to their naïve son, Job.”

I might add that his condescending counsel was also cruel. In 5:26, he promised many children to the faithful when Job had recently buried his. And he was faithful. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound!

David Mckenna summarises: “Suffering, therefore, is justified because the root of suffering is in man himself. Yet there is hope. God uses suffering as a correcting and purifying process. If Job will submit to suffering and trust God with patience, his repentance will return him to prosperity.” He adds, “Eliphaz is a dangerous man because he speaks the truth at the wrong time and in the wrong spirit.”

We can learn from this encounter to be careful what we promise and when we promise it. God is not a vending machine in which we insert our good works to magically produce a prosperous life. There is a whole lot more taking place in God’s cosmos than we know. We do know that God is faithful and can be trusted at all times. This is where we need to assist the afflicted. Rather than heartless accusations, let us respond with honest affirmations and hopeful assurances that our God will never leave or forsake us. And let us do so with a commitment to compassionate listening as we weep with those who weep.

Concluding Observations

As I draw this to a close, let me do so with few closing observations and applications.

First, it is vital that we grasp a proper understanding that not all suffering fits under the same category. People suffer for different reasons and our response to these will be somewhat varied.

Sometimes, we suffer because we live in a fallen world (Romans 8:14ff). This suffering is intended for spiritual growth (as Romans 8 makes clear; see also Romans 5:3–4). Some certainly do suffer for personal sin (1 Corinthians 11:29–30; James 5:13–20). Some suffer for Christ’s sake—that is, they suffer because of direct persecution (see Acts 12:1–19; 1 Peter 3:8–22; 4:12–19). Still others, like Job, suffer intensely for completely inexplicable reasons.

Second, when coming alongside a suffering saint, be compassionate. This involves being a patient listener. It also precludes jumping to conclusions and making assumptions. Beware the callous pull-up-your-socks-and-trust-God approach to suffering.

Third, when coming alongside a suffering saint, be competent and careful. Eliphaz had some good theology. This was important. The problem was that he misapplied his theology. Praxeology is often as important as is theology. We need to apply theological truth in a truthful way.

Fourth, when coming alongside an afflicted saint, remember that they probably don’t need explanations and exhortations as much as they need expressions of grace. When afflicted saints are confused, they are not helped by condemnation.

If we will truly help people, we need to point them to the grace of God. Christopher Ash helpfully writes, “Since the message of Eliphaz is a message of piety and religion [moralism?] rather than the gospel of grace, Job will be driven to despair if he believes it. Any message other than the gospel of the cross will ultimately lead suffering men and women to despair. Only the gospel of the cross can bring true comfort.”

At a human level, the sufferings of Christ were both intense and inexplicable. Yet those who have been saved see in it the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:21–25). There is a sense in which all suffering is deserved because we are sinners, and the wages of our sin is death. But Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, did not deserve to suffer. Yet, for sinners to be forgiven, he suffered in their place. He also rose from the dead for them. Sinners miss the mark; Jesus Christ did not. And therefore you and I can repent and believe in him. Make sure you do not miss that.

AMEN