Job 4:7-11 - The Response of Eliphaz

Job 4:7-11

⁷ “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?
⁸ “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
⁹ “By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.
¹⁰ “The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
¹¹ “The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

Message: The Response of Eliphaz

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

Review

Chapter 1 and 2 opened up this book with the proclamation of a great man - Job - Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. And then enter in Satan and the sons of God (angels) roaming on the earth and they came before God. This is interesting for it should remind us that there is a another world going on beyond what we can see. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

I still am not sure I know and understand this. I still do not comprehend this unseen world that is going on. Naturally, I suppose, it is a challenge, because it is unseen. But Satan and the sons of God (angel) are all about this unseen world. They are roaming the earth. 

In this instance in Job, God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" 

Overview
In the commentaries I've read about the three friends of Job that show up, it mentions that there words have some truth to them, but they also do harm. In my first reading of Chapter 4, there are some interesting phrases but overall I'm left with the feeling that Eliphaz is saying to Job that it is odd how Job has been a life long encouragement to others when they experience trials, but now based upon Chapter 3 his outcry is one of anger in his birth and wishing he had never been born. Verse 6 states, "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?"

So perhaps through verse 6 Eliphaz words are fitting and okay.  

But in verse 7 Eliphaz switches to words that say basically a person's actions in life result in their outcome. In verse 7, the innocent do not perish nor are the upright destroyed. So those who live squeaky clean lives do not perish or are destroyed. While those that live bad lives perish; "those who sow trouble harvest it." And yet chapters 1 and 2 show that Job's loss of possessions and family and his own health was the result of Satan's hand. So at times, we cannot say that the loss we experience is the result of a bad life led. Eliphaz is wrong to set up this karma like situation in life. Karma is, by definition, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. 

I remember being at an LDS service, that I agreed to go to after missionaries came to our church, where several people stood up in their pulpit and offered this idea, that our actions decide our fate. I get confused by this because Galatians does talk about reaping what you sow, but I don't think we can say that those who are righteous will never experience malady for this is what happened to Job who lived an upright life and yet he experienced difficult situations. So, I guess the LDS person could be right but not in a formulaic manner. In all these situations we must trust God for the outcome. It is true, sometimes it will seem unfair to us. We will want to see the 1:1 correlation. And yet what Eliphaz expresses is man's honest reflection sometimes based upon what he sees. In our eyes, there is a correlation between works and outcomes.

Eliphaz concludes his talk, in the verses following verse 12 speaking of a vision that he received. Verses 12-16 simply talk about the process of receiving the vision and then in 17-21 is the vision and the central idea of this vision is realizing the proper place of man before God. Mankind cannot be just before God. Man and God are different. Man is not pure, especially before God. 

But then Eliphaz goes on. I think what's missing in this chapter is the relationship God has with man. Man and God are viewed as completely distinct, that they each carry on their lives separate from one another. Their is no bridge whereas in Chapters 1 and 2, Job a blameless and upright man still received calamity and God remained in community with Job. So Eliphaz wasn't seeing the entire picture. Despite what our eyes see at any one moment, community is possible between God and man. Despite what we see and naturally conclude, God does find value in man whatever his circumstances. His grace is not looking for good people, but God's grace is given irregardless of man's condition and life lived. This is what Eliphaz misses. Yes, man and God are separate in their natures, but God is still with man.

Promise: Tabletalk states here -- the presence of sin means that sometimes people suffer the effects of the fall in ways that are unrelated to their specific, personal sin. While our suffering may be due to a specific sin, this is not always the case, and we should not assume that our pain automatically means that God is displeased with us. Always, God is there to rescue man.