Daily Devotional Saturday 21st August 2021

by William Moody

Job 5

5:1   “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,1
    and the thirsty pant2 after his3 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.
  “As for me, I would seek God,
    and to God would I commit my cause,
  who does great things and unsearchable,
    marvelous things without number:
10   he gives rain on the earth
    and sends waters on the fields;
11   he sets on high those who are lowly,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12   He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.
13   He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14   They meet with darkness in the daytime
    and grope at noonday as in the night.
15   But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
    and from the hand of the mighty.
16   So the poor have hope,
    and injustice shuts her mouth.
17   “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
    therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
18   For he wounds, but he binds up;
    he shatters, but his hands heal.
19   He will deliver you from six troubles;
    in seven no evil4 shall touch you.
20   In famine he will redeem you from death,
    and in war from the power of the sword.
21   You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22   At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
    and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
23   For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
    and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24   You shall know that your tent is at peace,
    and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25   You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
    and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
26   You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
    like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27   Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
    Hear, and know it for your good.”5

Footnotes

[1] 5:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[2] 5:5 Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew could be read as and the snare pants
[3] 5:5 Hebrew their
[4] 5:19 Or disaster
[5] 5:27 Hebrew for yourself

(ESV)

Eliphaz’s insensitivity to Job’s suffering is seen in how he speaks here about a fool (v2-5). By implication he is saying that this is who job is. He’s kicking the man when he is down and adding to his suffering.

A lot of what Eliphaz says is true, fools in the end will suffer for their actions and men are born to trouble just as the sparks fly up (v7). Life due to the fall will not be easy and trials are a part of life.

Eliphaz believes that the answer to Job’s situation is for him to seek the majestic Lord who rules over all (v8-16). In other words he says ‘Stop complaining and pray!’ This is always good advice, but does he really think Job has not been doing this?

Eliphaz sees what is happening as discipline for Job’s failings and that if he is patient he will be delivered (v17-27).

There is an element in truth in what Eliphaz is saying, but we must remember how Job was righteous and blameless (1 v1). Eliphaz says some wise sounding and theologically sound words, but his understanding of the situation was wrong. We need great humility as we examine situations and particularly if we express our opinions.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.