1 The First Speech of Eliphaz, Part 1 Job 4:1-21
2 Text: Job 4:1-21, The First Speech of Eliphaz, Part 1 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: 2. If someone should attempt a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can refrain from speaking? 3. Look, you have instructed many; you have strengthened feeble hands. 4. Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave way. 5. But now the same thing comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are terrified. 6. Is not your piety your confidence, and your blameless ways your hope? 7. Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished? And where were upright people ever destroyed? 8. Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same. 9. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10. There is the roaring of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11. The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12. Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it. 13. In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men, 14. a trembling gripped me and a terror! and made all my bones shake.
3 15. Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up. 16. It stands still, but I cannot recognize its appearance; an image is before my eyes, and I hear a murmuring voice: 17. Is a mortal man righteous before God? Or a man pure before his Creator? 18. If God puts no trust in his servants and attributes folly to his angels, 19. how much more to those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth? 20. They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. 21. Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom. (NET) Commentary: The First Speech of Eliphaz (4:1-5:27). Job 4:1-2, Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: If someone should attempt a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can refrain from speaking? He accuses Job of impatience. Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? This was a polite introduction that said in effect, Job, I hope you won t mind if I respond to you. He continued, But who can withhold himself from speaking? (4:1-2). Which simply means, I am compelled to answer you! Job 4:3-6, Look, you have instructed many; you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees
4 that gave way. But now the same thing comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are terrified. Is not your piety your confidence, and your blameless ways your hope? (NET) Behold, thou has instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling and thou hast made firm the feeble knees. But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou are troubled. Is not the fear of God thy confidence, and the integrity of thy ways thy hope? (4:3-6). In brief he is saying, Job, you presumed to counsel and advise others when they had difficulties, but now that you have your problems, you cannot take it and live by your own prior recommendations! In this and other forth coming passages we will find bits of information that will help improve our knowledge about the man, Job. In the passage above we learn that he had counseled and instructed many when unexplained troubles beset them. This was the work of a wise man. Among the ancient people wise men were revered and looked to for information and advice. They were found in every nation. We read of wise men of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:8, The leaders of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were your captains. NET); Babylon (Daniel 2:12, Because of this the king got furiously angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. NET). The land of Teman was known for its wise men (Jeremiah 49:7, The Lord who rules over all spoke about Edom. Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? Can Edom s counselors not give her any good advice? Has all of their wisdom turned bad? (NET) Solomon was the greatest of Israel s wise men. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes provide us a good sampling of his wisdom. Wise men lay up knowledge (Proverbs
5 10:14, Those who are wise store up knowledge, but foolish speech leads to imminent destruction. NET). In 4:7-8 Eliphaz sets forth his thesis and the platform on which he will build his explanation for Job s suffering. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same. One of God s purposes in placing the Book of Job in our Bible is to teach us that while much of our suffering and misery is the consequence of our personal sin (Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, NET), this premise does not account for all of it. There is an unseen, evil spiritual being (Satan) in the world who delights in inflicting pain and suffering on humanity, including those who are righteous. Satan s disciples share his same delight in inflicting harm on the innocent. Thus, an innocent baby may suffering greatly through no fault of its own. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, suffered untold agony at the hands of wicked men. Job 4:9-11, By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. There is the roaring of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken. The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. (NET) Eliphaz then proceeds to apply his thesis to poor Job. By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed (4:9). By the breath of God he may be referring to the words that come forth from God s mouth ordering Job s punishment, or to the tornado that came from the heavens to smite the house when all of Job s children were feasting, leaving all of them dead. He then uses a metaphor to explain of whom he speaks. God roared from heaven and Job s children (the young
6 lions were smitten). The old lion, Job, is perishing from lack of prey and his wife s children have perished! (4:10-11). Job 4:12-19, Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it. In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men, a trembling gripped me and a terror! and made all my bones shake.. Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up. It stands still, but I cannot recognize its appearance; an image is before my eyes, and I hear a murmuring voice: Is a mortal man righteous before God? Or a man pure before his Creator? If God puts no trust in his servants and attributes folly to his angels, how much more to those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth? (NET) In 4:12-17, Eliphaz sets forth the source of his knowledge regarding Job s case. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before mine eyes: there was a silence, and I heard a voice saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? In these lines, Eliphaz states his source of information and authority. He claimed a spirit being had appeared to him in the depth of night, saying God puts no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly: How much more them that dwell in houses of clay (4:18-19). The obvious conclusion being, if God does not trust his servants and if his angels fail to please Him, How could Job be anything but
7 guilty! Concerning his claim of this visitation Eliphaz might have dreamed such a scary scene just as we dream about bad things. Satan might have sent it to him as a deceitful message. He might have invented the story to give credence to his judgement. It is certain God would not have given him such faulty impression about his faithful servant Job! Job 4:20-21, They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom. (NET) Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: they perish for ever with out any regarding it (4:20). This he confidently concludes will happen to Job. He further illustrates his pronouncement by asking, Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them. The taunt ropes of the tent keep it standing upright. If they are cut, or if a strong wind rips the stake from the ground the tent will collapse. So, secret sin will cause a man s life to collapse like the fallen tent. They die, and that without wisdom. (4:21). Thus he predicts Job s speedy death and the shame of it. Job was thought to be a wise man, but because of his hidden folly he will die like a fool!
8 Questions on Job 4:1-21 1. Can you see how belief of a faulty premise in religion can lead one, not only to wrong, but destructive conclusions? Discuss this (4:7). 2. What do you think was the origin of Eliphaz story? 3. In your judgement was Eliphaz sincerely mistaken or malicious in his attack on his old friend Job?
9 4. Discuss the possibility that being recognized as brilliant by our peers might lead us to make vain and rash decisions about things beyond our comprehension.