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ELIPHAZ’S FIRST SPEECH
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
Job 4:1-11

Psalm 51:1-10

 

“We have also a more sure

word of prophecy…”

 

ELIPHAZ’S FIRST SPEECH
 
Job’s friends, unhappy with his bitter words, broke their seven days of silence. When they answered Job, it was easy to see that they were not offering sympathy but had become critical. Perhaps, this was in part due to Job’s words. However, more importantly, this probably sprang from the common notion that suffering was always a result of sin. When the Lord’s disciples saw the man blind from his birth, they assumed that his affliction had been caused by either his own or his parents’ sin. However, the Lord told them that this man’s blindness was not because of sin but for the manifestation of the power of God (John 9:1-3). Job’s friends could not understand that it was not sin causing his problems.
 
The first of Job’s friends to speak was Eliphaz. He came from Teman, a town known for its many men of wisdom. Eliphaz accused Job of not following his own teaching and practice. Job had evidently instructed many people who were having difficulty and had helped them to be strong in the Lord. Of course, Eliphaz saw this as an admirable thing (Job 4:3-4). However, he immediately put forth the popular premise that those who were in trouble were sinners and those who had lived righteous lives were prosperous, basing his statement on human experience (Job 4:7-9).
 
However, it is not through human experience that we come to know about God and His dealings with man. It is through God’s revelation of Himself in the Holy Scriptures. Interpreting God’s dealings with man on the basis of experience is very dangerous, even the Apostle Peter, who had personally witnessed the transfiguration, viewed the Scriptures as the only sure word of prophecy (2 Pet 1:15-21). Man lacks the data and understanding necessary to examine experience and thus cannot come to understand God’s purpose.
 
As we see the confusion of Job and his friends, we should be encouraged to ignore man’s own ideas concerning God and instead rely on the revelation of Holy Scriptures.
 
THOUGHT: What was wrong with Eliphaz’s reasoning?
PRAYER: Only God’s Word can give wisdom concerning spiritual matters.

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