JOB 15-17
ELIPHAZ VS JOB (ROUND 2)
Let them no longer fool themselves
by trusting in empty riches,
for emptiness will be their only reward.
—Job 15:31
The man appeared frozen in thought, so the boy said, “Do we hear from God now?”
The man snapped back to the present and said, “Oh no. We’ve got plenty more bickering among friends to endure.”
“You’re kidding,” said the boy. “It never ends.”
“Sometimes it feels like this story is as much a trial of endurance for the reader as it is for Job,” said the man. “Just be grateful you’re observing from afar and not from Job’s position.”
“Fair enough,” said the boy. “Carry on then.”
The man looked down and began reading the next speech of Eliphaz:
A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
You are nothing but a windbag.
The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
What good are such words?
Have you no fear of God,
no reverence for Him?
Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
Your words are based on clever deception.
Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
Your own lips testify against you.208
Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?209
Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?210
What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?211
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
older than your father.
Are the comforts of God too small for you,
or the word that deals gently with you?212
Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash as you turn your anger against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?213
Can any mortal be pure?
Can anyone born of a woman be just?214
If God puts no trust in His holy ones
and the heavens are not pure in his sight,
how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?215
Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,
what the wise have declared and not concealed,
that came from their ancestors,
to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigner passed among them.216
The wicked person writhes in pain all his days,
and the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
Sounds of terror are in his ears.
While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
and he is destined for the sword.217
He wanders about for food,
asking, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.218
Distress and anguish terrify him,
they overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
Because he has reached out with his hand against God,
and is arrogant toward the Almighty.219
He rushes headlong at Him with his massive shield.220
Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,221
he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.222
He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.223
He will not escape the darkness.
The burning sun will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God will destroy him.224
Let them no longer fool themselves
by trusting in empty riches,
for emptiness will be their only reward.
Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life,
their branches will never again be green.
They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
For the godless are barren.
Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
Their womb produces deceit.225
The man looked up to find the boy staring at him with droopy eyes.
“Sounds like more of the same.”
“Yes,” said the man, “we quickly see the friends have little more to add to their original contribution. Eliphaz first approaches Job with a soft and gracious demeanor, but by this time, his finger is jammed into Job’s sternum with further disapproval. Yet his second speech only casts more suspicion upon his concept of God. In his eyes, the wicked are punished quickly and expectedly, a clear deviation from the nature of reality. It would seem God only exists to punish evil as the main pillar of his theology.
“We start to wonder if Eliphaz values God Himself or if he only values the fear God instills in others. The underlying assumption is that God should be feared to keep wickedness at bay and worshipped for the rewards that come from good behavior. This, of course, mirrors the ordeal of chapter one. Satan wagered a true relationship with God remains loyal, always, even when blessings are taken away. We wonder if Eliphaz would have passed the same test that Job has endured because we see little love for God outside the principles of reward and punishment he seems to live by.”
The boy gave a silent nod, so the man continued.
“Here, we see more evidence of why Job has become such a threat to Eliphaz. On the off-chance Job is telling the truth that he’s innocent, there is nothing to stop Eliphaz from suffering the same fate as Job, even if he remains perfectly well-behaved. So Eliphaz accuses Job of arrogance in his immaturity, trying to win a confession from Job by presenting the fate of those who rebel against the Lord. And he doesn’t accept Job’s desire to meet with the Almighty as a genuine plea for his innocence. He thinks these words are merely an attempt to cover up his sins from the world. But it’s all based on the underlying fear that a similar fate could befall Eliphaz, revealing his narrow-minded view of the world.
“He isn’t completely wrong in everything he says,” the man went on, noticing the boy still had nothing to say. “For example, when he tells Job those born of a woman can never be righteous, he speaks of the general nature of the fallen human condition, as mortals who will never be completely sinless before God. But he begins mixing concepts, beginning with this universal truth and flowing seamlessly into the accusation that Job is a vile and corrupt human being who rebels against the very ideals God stands for. In reality, Job is a servant of God, but Eliphaz deems him God’s enemy.”
The boy gave another quiet nod.
“Getting bored?” said the man.
“Just listening,” said the boy.
“I’ll try to keep these next speeches brief because I know you’re dying to hear from God. But just know that there are gems of wisdom in every passage. For example, this scene shows us how we should reflect on our own fears and insecurities before taking our frustrations out on someone who stirs them up inside of us. And when speaking to someone in pain or trouble, we should never be arrogant or accusatory. Eliphaz has characteristic phrases, like ‘we have examined’ or ‘I have seen.’ He’s the kind of know-it-all we’ve all come across, already having seen or done whatever you have before. ‘Your lips testify against you.’ ‘Your own mouth condemns you.’ He spews the same old blame-the-victim ideology that is as wrong today as it was in the days of Job. But let’s see how Job responds, shall we?”
Without waiting for the boy to respond, the old man looked down to read:
I have heard all this before.
What miserable comforters you are!226
Is there no end to your empty words?
What provokes you that you continue testifying?227
I too could speak like you,
if only I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
and shake my head at you.228
But if it were me, I would encourage you.
I would try to take away your grief.
Instead, I suffer if I defend myself,
and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.229
’O God, you have ground me down
and devastated my family.
As if to prove I have sinned,
You’ve reduced me to skin and bones.
My gaunt flesh testifies against me.230
His anger tears at me, and He harasses me.
He gnashes His teeth at me.
My enemy pierces me with His eyes.231
People open their mouths to jeer at me.
They strike my cheek in scorn
and unite together against me.
God has turned me over to the ungodly
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.232
I was at ease, and He broke me apart.
He seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target,233
His archers surround me.
Without pity, He pierces my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.234
Again and again He smashes against me,
charging at me like a warrior.
I wear burlap to show my grief.
My pride lies in the dust.235
My face is red with weeping,
dark shadows ring my eyes,
yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.236
’O earth, do not conceal my blood.
Let it cry out on my behalf.237
Even now my witness is in heaven,
my advocate is on high.238
My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.
I wish that someone might argue for a man with God
just as anyone would for a friend.239
For soon I must go down that road
from which I will never return.240
My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.241
I am surrounded by mockers.
I watch how bitterly they taunt me.242
You must defend my innocence, O God,
since no one else will stand up for me.
You have closed their minds to understanding,
but do not let them triumph.
They betray their friends for their own advantage,
so let their children faint with hunger.243
God has made a mockery of me among the people,
they spit in my face.244
My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.
The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent are roused against the godless.
Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.245
But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.246
My days are over.
My hopes have disappeared.
My heart’s desires are broken.247
These men say that night is day,
they claim that the darkness is light.248
What if I go to the grave and make my bed in darkness?
What if I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister?
Where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?
No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
We will rest together in the dust!249
The man looked up and said, “While Eliphaz destroys his own credibility, Job’s initial words here show a glimmer of hope and resilience. They’re ripe with sarcasm and anger, summed up in the phrase ‘you miserable comforters.’ It’s a powerful oxymoron slapped together as hard as they’re meant to slap his friends in the face. People who are graceless and insulting can’t take a hint, so sometimes a firm verbal blow is the only way to respond before people walk all over you. Job has had enough of these cruel and judgmental allegations, so he calls on God to step in and defend him, even though he charges God with sending these archers to spill his gall on the ground in the first place.
“But while that glimmer of hope and resilience is amazing to see from someone who’s been tortured beyond comprehension, it’s only a flash in the pan. Job proceeds to lament on his condition as he regresses into the kind of darkness that requires no further commentary. His hope, as he puts it, will go with him to the grave.
“Anyway,” said the man, “let’s hear how his friends respond to Job’s challenge to try him again,” turning the page quickly in fear of losing the boy.