JOB: Don't Assume We Know Why God is Allowing Someone to Go Through Suffering; "therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole!"

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. (Job 2:11) 

Three of Jobs friends came to mourn with and comfort him. They sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. (Job 2:13) We discussed in the previous lesson that sometimes the most important thing we can do to comfort someone going through a very difficult time is to just be there; ...let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,... (James 1:19) But after seven days, one of Job's friends, Eliphaz finally spoke, and he had a lot to say.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees; but now it comes upon you, and you are weary; it touches you, and you are troubled. Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope? “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of His anger they are consumed. The roaring of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken. The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. (Job 4:1-11) 

Eliphaz started off basically asking Job, why was he so weary and troubled by what was happening to him?  He had helped many people before who had experienced similar troubles, now why was he so distressed?  Didn't he have confidence in the kind of man he was and the way he lived his life that God would deliver him from his current situation?  Then he goes on to imply that God doesn't allow these kind of things to happen to a person who is innocent, because we all reap what we sow. Well, this was Eliphaz first mistake, assuming he knew why God was allowing Job to go through this suffering, and assuming that Job had done something to deserve it.

Eliphaz continued, “Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair on my body 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 saying: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? If He puts no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before a moth? They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; they perish forever, with no one regarding. Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’ (Job 4:12-21) 

Eliphaz goes on to question Job's righteousness. The scripture described Job as a man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1) He was making the point that no matter how blameless and upright Job was, he still wasn't perfect, because Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? Of course the answer is no!  God judges His celestial creation, and He will judge His natural creation also.  Our houses of clay, these flesh bodies, the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) When we die, nothing of us will remain, and eventually the memories of us will fade away.  That's reality! Eliphaz was just stating the obvious.

“Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? For wrath kills a foolish man, and envy slays a simple one. I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling place. His sons are far from safety, they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer. Because the hungry eat up his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and a snare snatches their substance. For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble spring from the ground; yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. (Job 5:1-7) 

Now Eliphaz got to the point that he is outright accusing Job of being outside of the will of God. His logic is that had to be true, because God was slaying him and had crushed his children, and had allowed all he had, his livestock, crops, everything to be either taken or destroyed.  He was saying these kinds of things don't just happen. As the prophets said, If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? (Amos 3:6) Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed? Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? (Lamentations 3:38-39) True, God is in control of all things and He is the one Who allows all things to happen, whether he actually causes them or not.  

But what Eliphaz didn't understand was something that Christ Jesus taught His disciples when he healed a man who was born blind. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." (John 9:2-3) Sometimes God allows things to happen in our lives so that He can be glorified through us. But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8) Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:21) Regardless of what God allows to happen in our lives and why, if we are his children through faith in His Only Begotten Son, Christ Jesus, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Eliphaz concluded by saying, “But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause— Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous 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 cannot carry out their plans. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noontime as in the night. But He saves the needy from the sword, from the mouth of the mighty, and from their hand. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth. (Job 5:8-16) 

“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine He shall redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For you shall have a covenant 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 in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss. You shall also know that your descendants shall be many, and your offspring like the grass of the earth. You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season. Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.” (Job 5:17-27)

Despite all his assumptions, Eliphaz concluded by speaking the Truth, that God would restore to Job all he had lost plus more, from possessions to children to long life.  Remember,  all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. We just have to suffer through the process of going through whatever it is we're going through, know that God is taking us through it and will deliver us from it.  But at this moment, Job was the one suffering, and we will study in the next lesson how he responded...