Compassionate care, Appropriate application
Text Job 4, 5 Time 14/05/00 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
We have begun to look at the Book of Job and we have seen first the portrait of Job at the beginning – an upright and blameless man. Then we learn how every prop is taken from him – all his wealth, all ten of his grown up children and then even his health. His wife urges him to curse God and die but he refuses to even think in such terms. In two wonderful statements he says (1:21, 2:10)
We have begun to look at the Book of Job and we have seen first the portrait of Job at the beginning – an upright and blameless man. Then we learn how every prop is taken from him – all his wealth, all ten of his grown up children and then even his health. His wife urges him to curse God and die but he refuses to even think in such terms. In two wonderful statements he says (1:21, 2:10)
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.
and
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?
Job does not know why he suffers as he does but this book is inspired by the Holy Spirit and it is revealed to us what is happening behind the scenes. There is a dispute between God and his arch enemy Satan. When God boasts of his servant Job Satan counters by arguing that Job only serves God for what he gets out of it and that the moment things began to go wrong Job would curse God. The implication is that God can only get people to serve him by bribing them. In answer, God allows Satan to attack Job. First it involves losing his wealth and children, then, as Job still holds on to his integrity, Satan is given permission to afflict him with an appalling disease.
Following all this, three friends come to comfort Job and sympathise with him. First they sit in silence for seven days then (Chapter 3) Job makes a speech revealing the desperate anguish he is in. He certainly does not curse God but he does curse the day of his birth. He would rather be dead than in the situation he finds himself. Following this we have a long series of speeches which I have suggested to you we can think of as a discussion among art critics. We have seen the portrait – both before and after the disaster. Now the three friends speak to Job about what has happened to him. There are a number of observations we can make about these chapters (4-31).
1. There are three cycles. Each speaker speaks once and Job replies, except in the last where cycle where Zophar remains silent.
2. The friends fundamental conviction is that Job’s suffering is caused by sin, something we already know is the wrong diagnosis.
Following all this, three friends come to comfort Job and sympathise with him. First they sit in silence for seven days then (Chapter 3) Job makes a speech revealing the desperate anguish he is in. He certainly does not curse God but he does curse the day of his birth. He would rather be dead than in the situation he finds himself. Following this we have a long series of speeches which I have suggested to you we can think of as a discussion among art critics. We have seen the portrait – both before and after the disaster. Now the three friends speak to Job about what has happened to him. There are a number of observations we can make about these chapters (4-31).
1. There are three cycles. Each speaker speaks once and Job replies, except in the last where cycle where Zophar remains silent.
2. The friends fundamental conviction is that Job’s suffering is caused by sin, something we already know is the wrong diagnosis.
They syllogise: All suffering is punishment for sin; Job is suffering; so Job has sinned.
Because they want to defend God they condemn Job, but it is wrong thinking that leads them into this logical impasse.
3. The speeches grow progressively more vitriolic and specific regarding how Job has sinned. There is a movement from suggestion to insinuation to accusation. Eliphaz is the most courteous, Zophar the harshest, with Bildad somewhere in between.
4. Bildad and Zophar echo and repeat the things Eliphaz says though their emphases differ. Eliphaz has an emphasis on experience, Bildad on tradition. Eliphaz and Bildad’s speeches get progressively shorter. Zophar’s second speech is slightly longer than his first.
5. Job answers each speech with a longer one. He affirms his innocence, speaks of how God has afflicted him and speaks of his longing to present his case to God. At the beginning he has many questions.
The friends' speeches are intended to help Job but, as we shall see, they serve only to add to his sufferings. These are supposed to be friends offering comfort and sympathy but they sound more like magistrates admonishing from the bench. They have a great deal to teach us about counselling one another and about how we understand the ways of God with men. Much of what they teach, however, is by way of negative example.
This week we will concentrate on Eliphaz’s first speech in Chapters 4 and 5. Here his basic point is that Job is a good man and should not lose heart. Job is being disciplined by God as there is obviously some sin in his life. If he will just bear it patiently all will be well in the end. A number of lessons arise from the way we see Eliphaz approaching counselling Job. These are drawn from Eliphaz’s negative example.
1. General Lessons
3. The speeches grow progressively more vitriolic and specific regarding how Job has sinned. There is a movement from suggestion to insinuation to accusation. Eliphaz is the most courteous, Zophar the harshest, with Bildad somewhere in between.
4. Bildad and Zophar echo and repeat the things Eliphaz says though their emphases differ. Eliphaz has an emphasis on experience, Bildad on tradition. Eliphaz and Bildad’s speeches get progressively shorter. Zophar’s second speech is slightly longer than his first.
5. Job answers each speech with a longer one. He affirms his innocence, speaks of how God has afflicted him and speaks of his longing to present his case to God. At the beginning he has many questions.
The friends' speeches are intended to help Job but, as we shall see, they serve only to add to his sufferings. These are supposed to be friends offering comfort and sympathy but they sound more like magistrates admonishing from the bench. They have a great deal to teach us about counselling one another and about how we understand the ways of God with men. Much of what they teach, however, is by way of negative example.
This week we will concentrate on Eliphaz’s first speech in Chapters 4 and 5. Here his basic point is that Job is a good man and should not lose heart. Job is being disciplined by God as there is obviously some sin in his life. If he will just bear it patiently all will be well in the end. A number of lessons arise from the way we see Eliphaz approaching counselling Job. These are drawn from Eliphaz’s negative example.
1. General Lessons
These I have drawn from suggestions in Derek Thomas’s excellent Welwyn Commentary.
1. Be humble
1. Be humble
We should say that Eliphaz is certainly not as bad as he might be. He is the most sympathetic of the three and at least accepts Job’s essential innocence and uprightness. We must not underestimate how difficult his task either. A modern writer says ‘The first rule of ministry to people who are depressed is that you will almost certainly get it wrong.’ At least Eliphaz manages to stay cool and doesn’t launch into a tirade. At the very least he ought to teach us humility in this area. He failed - and so will we, without God’s help.
2. See the need for sensitivity and compassion
2. See the need for sensitivity and compassion
Perhaps his biggest failure is that he is too cool. He lacks sensitivity and compassion. We are to mourn with those who mourn but Eliphaz, like the others, fails to do that. He lacks sympathy and accuses Job of sin and of a lack of submission to God. He implies that he is a fool and the cause of his children’s deaths. Obviously we need to retain some sort of detachment when we counsel others but a lack of compassion is never excusable. We can only counteract this by showing compassion to one another at all times. As believers we should love each other deeply from the heart and try to understand and help with the burdens that each one is carrying.
3. Avoid the danger of misapplying a rigid theological position
3. Avoid the danger of misapplying a rigid theological position
The other big mistake, we shall see is the way Eliphaz decides what is wrong with Job before he starts. He does not listen. He has his own agenda, his own particular theological grid and he is determined to force Job into it. It reminds me of how as a boy my mother used to be annoyed with one particular doctor who she felt never looked at us probably. She felt that if you said to him ‘It looks like chicken pox or measles or whatever’ he would always agree with you. As we got older we were told not to say what she thought it was in front of him. She wanted him to look at the child and make a decision, not make his mind up before looking.
Eliphaz understood very well that God disciplines his children – he uses suffering to perfect them. Nothing wrong with that. However, what he did not take into account was the fact that it is possible to suffer for another reason. Because of the rigidity of his system he was determined that Job must be guilty of some sin. Because of his mistake he was both wrong and dangerous. It is important to have a clear system of theology in our minds but if we are wrong in some part and we misapply it then we can do great damage. I have mentioned before a contemporary of mine when I was a teenager whose believing mother died. She felt she should not be sad because her mother was in heaven. The consequences of her not grieving were great.
We have much less excuse than Eliphaz for making such a mistake as he made. Look for example at what Jesus says in Luke 13:1-5 and John 9. He asks of some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices - Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? He says I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. When his disciples asked about the man blind from birth who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? he replied Neither this man nor his parents sinned, ... but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. There should be no doubt in our minds that there are many reasons why people suffer and we will often not know why an individual is sufferings as he is. It is helpful for us to imagine how Christ would have handled this rather than Eliphaz. What a difference! He should be our model.
2. More specific lessons
1. Do not expect too much from those who are in trouble (4:1-6)
We have much less excuse than Eliphaz for making such a mistake as he made. Look for example at what Jesus says in Luke 13:1-5 and John 9. He asks of some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices - Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? He says I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. When his disciples asked about the man blind from birth who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? he replied Neither this man nor his parents sinned, ... but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. There should be no doubt in our minds that there are many reasons why people suffer and we will often not know why an individual is sufferings as he is. It is helpful for us to imagine how Christ would have handled this rather than Eliphaz. What a difference! He should be our model.
2. More specific lessons
1. Do not expect too much from those who are in trouble (4:1-6)
From the beginning it is clear that Eliphaz is unhappy with Job. He begins, If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking? In other words ‘You are obviously upset. I hope we won’t have another outburst if I speak to you. Anyway, what I have to say has to be said.’ That sort of approach shows a lack of understanding. People get upset when they are in trouble, believers and unbelievers – we should not be surprised at that. If people reject what we say, surely we can cope with it and try another approach?
He then reminds Job of the way he has been a support to others when they have been in trouble (3, 4). Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. He then draws two arguments from that.
1 (verse 5) But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. The implication is that Job should not feel as he obviously does. He needs to be encouraging himself. He should take some of the medicine he has been so good at giving to others.
2 Further (verse 6) Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope? Job is obviously not a wicked man. This is just a temporary setback. It will be over soon. This is a genuine effort at encouragement but of no help to Job who wanted to know why he was suffering and when it would end.
All this is to really minimise Job’s sufferings and to fail to see how great they are. It’s like when people go to those who are depressed and tell them to cheer up! Or when they go to people who are devastated and say ‘You’ve got to put this behind you and get on with life’. Or the remark ‘Now this is not like you. Pull yourself together.’ Or ‘Well, I didn’t expect this sort of reaction from you of all people.’ That is to expect too much from people when they are at a low ebb. Do not expect too much from those who are up against it and in trouble. The Lord is very caring and forgiving and we should be too.
2. Do not rely on experience and observation (4:7-11)
He then reminds Job of the way he has been a support to others when they have been in trouble (3, 4). Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. He then draws two arguments from that.
1 (verse 5) But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. The implication is that Job should not feel as he obviously does. He needs to be encouraging himself. He should take some of the medicine he has been so good at giving to others.
2 Further (verse 6) Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope? Job is obviously not a wicked man. This is just a temporary setback. It will be over soon. This is a genuine effort at encouragement but of no help to Job who wanted to know why he was suffering and when it would end.
All this is to really minimise Job’s sufferings and to fail to see how great they are. It’s like when people go to those who are depressed and tell them to cheer up! Or when they go to people who are devastated and say ‘You’ve got to put this behind you and get on with life’. Or the remark ‘Now this is not like you. Pull yourself together.’ Or ‘Well, I didn’t expect this sort of reaction from you of all people.’ That is to expect too much from people when they are at a low ebb. Do not expect too much from those who are up against it and in trouble. The Lord is very caring and forgiving and we should be too.
2. Do not rely on experience and observation (4:7-11)
Eliphaz then proceeds to present his argument. Job is pious and blameless but he is suffering. It must be because he has done something wrong. Where does Eliphaz get this idea from? Clearly it was a traditional belief held by many then as now. But two things have strengthened Eliphaz’s convictions in this respect. Firstly, his own experience. Consider now he says to Job (7) Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? Bad things don’t happen to good people – well, nothing too bad anyway. As I have observed, those who plough evil and those who sow trouble reap it. At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish. It is bad people who suffer. They fall under God’s wrath and get what they deserve. They reap what they sow. No matter how full of themselves these lions may feel God deals with them. See verses 10 and 11 The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken. The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. Job had been ‘lionised’ at one time but now he is perishing and his cubs have been scattered.
When ever we base an argument on experience we need to be careful. Eliphaz no doubt was an older man and had seen plenty of life but to generalise in such a way was unhelpful and misguided. We must not put weight on what ‘everybody knows’; on universally acknowledged ‘facts’. Eliphaz’s generalisation was wrong. They did not know it but Job was not suffering for doing anything wrong. Eliphaz’s experience needed tempering by God’s Word.
3. Do not claim divine inspiration for what you have to say (4:12-16)
3. Do not claim divine inspiration for what you have to say (4:12-16)
Eliphaz’s confidence in the rightness of his argument was further strengthened by an apparently supernatural experience he had had. He describes it in a vivid and rather over the top way (12-16). A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. This wasn’t for everyone just for Eliphaz. It happened while he was sleeping one night. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. He is trembling and fearful, his hair stood on end! Then (16) It stopped in front of him. He could actually see it. But he says I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice. It sounds slightly comical to our ears perhaps because we have heard this sort of thing ridiculed so often but it is clear that Eliphaz wants us to think ‘Wow! What an amazing experience. God has come in a special way to him. I must listen to him.’ In fact, as is so often the case, the message is nothing special.
Now Eliphaz lived in a different time to us, a time when they did not have the Bible and when God did speak sometimes in dreams and visions. However, not everyone who claimed to have had a vision really had. Certainly there are many today who claim revelations from God of various sorts. Of course, the trouble here is that it is difficult to argue with someone who says ‘God has told me’. Sometimes it’s more subtle. ‘I’ve prayed about this and now I am sure of the truth. You do agree, don’t you?’ It is a problem when people feel strongly led to do a certain thing. It can be like blackmail sometimes. We must give those we are counselling room to disagree with us without assuming that they must be going against God’s Word. They may be – but we must not equate our advice with God’s as Eliphaz does.
4. Do not misapply truth to individuals (4:17-21)
Now Eliphaz lived in a different time to us, a time when they did not have the Bible and when God did speak sometimes in dreams and visions. However, not everyone who claimed to have had a vision really had. Certainly there are many today who claim revelations from God of various sorts. Of course, the trouble here is that it is difficult to argue with someone who says ‘God has told me’. Sometimes it’s more subtle. ‘I’ve prayed about this and now I am sure of the truth. You do agree, don’t you?’ It is a problem when people feel strongly led to do a certain thing. It can be like blackmail sometimes. We must give those we are counselling room to disagree with us without assuming that they must be going against God’s Word. They may be – but we must not equate our advice with God’s as Eliphaz does.
4. Do not misapply truth to individuals (4:17-21)
There is some argument about the message from this supposed spirit. The NIV has Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? in verse 17. Can a mortal be righteous with God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? is probably more accurate. In other words no-one is perfect. Eliphaz goes on to argue (18, 19) If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Now on what basis Eliphaz claims the angels are not perfect we do not know, unless he is referring to fallen angels. His emphasis, however, turns to the weakness and mortality of man. Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; he says (20, 21) unnoticed, they perish for ever. Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?
The basic point here is true. Man is mortal and sinful. He has no way of making himself righteous before God. He is impure. The problem is the application. Job is not claiming to be without sin at all. He is a holy man and his suffering is not the result of some sin in his life. Eliphaz believes there can be only one reason for suffering, however, and so he misapplies the truth. He also gives the impression that Job should simply accept his lot without question – easy to say when it is someone else suffering.
The basic point here is true. Man is mortal and sinful. He has no way of making himself righteous before God. He is impure. The problem is the application. Job is not claiming to be without sin at all. He is a holy man and his suffering is not the result of some sin in his life. Eliphaz believes there can be only one reason for suffering, however, and so he misapplies the truth. He also gives the impression that Job should simply accept his lot without question – easy to say when it is someone else suffering.
We must not fall into this trap - the idea that one size fits all. We are not saying that there are different truths in a post-modern sense. Rather, there is one truth but different aspects of it apply in different situations. A doctor would be pretty incompetent if he decided a new wonder drug was so good that he would give it to all his patients what ever the problem.
5. Do not assume a person you are counselling is at fault (5:1-7)
5. Do not assume a person you are counselling is at fault (5:1-7)
Back in 4:8 Eliphaz has already observed that those who plough evil and those who sow trouble reap it. He cannot get away from the idea that Job is guilty of some wickedness. And so he says, rather uncaringly, (5:1) Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? Protesting your innocence is a waste of time Job. He then goes on to talk of a fool. By implication he is saying Job is not very different from a fool. Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed. His children (like Job’s ?) are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender. The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. Where do all his troubles come from? Not from nowhere, argues Eliphaz, it has to be a case of reaping what you have sown. Verse 6 For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Verse 7 is famous Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. No matter how innocent a man, there is always sin and so trouble is inevitable.
Sometimes when we are trying to help people we will have to say ‘Look. You’re in this trouble and it’s really your own fault.’ But that won’t always be the case. Sometimes, perhaps often, we will speak to people who are in trouble and it is not of their own making. We must keep that possibility firmly in mind. Yes, man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward but sometimes they are not the ones making the sparks fly. We must not be too quick to decide it is the person’s own fault.
6. Do not unsympathetically prattle about the greatness of God (5:8-16)
Sometimes when we are trying to help people we will have to say ‘Look. You’re in this trouble and it’s really your own fault.’ But that won’t always be the case. Sometimes, perhaps often, we will speak to people who are in trouble and it is not of their own making. We must keep that possibility firmly in mind. Yes, man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward but sometimes they are not the ones making the sparks fly. We must not be too quick to decide it is the person’s own fault.
6. Do not unsympathetically prattle about the greatness of God (5:8-16)
In 5:9-16 we have a wonderful speech about the greatness of God. It is an eloquent hymn that magnifies and honours God. Paul quotes from it approvingly in the New Testament. It is marred, however, by the way it is used. Eliphaz prefaces it with these words (8) But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. In other words, ‘Stop your complaining Job and start bowing down before this great God in prayer.’ This is both thoughtless and unjust. Job had been worshipping God. He was not denying the greatness of God in any way. Now the greatness of God is part of the answer to Job’s problem but not in the way that Eliphaz thinks. It is easy to prattle about the greatness of God and say a great deal that is true of him yet do no good to the person we are supposed to be helping. He does perform wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He is the one who sends rain on the earth. He does, on one hand, raise up the lowly and the mourner and he thwarts the plans of the crafty, catching the wise in their craftiness. He overthrows the wicked and saves the needy from the sword in their mouth. All this means that the poor can have hope as all injustice will be dealt with – but not straight away. And that is the problem for someone who is suffering – not necessarily that they do not believe it will all turn out for their good. Rather, they want to know why they are suffering and for how long. So let’s take care how we talk about the greatness of God to people.
7. Do not unsympathetically prattle about the goodness of God (5:17-27)
7. Do not unsympathetically prattle about the goodness of God (5:17-27)
Similarly in verses 18-26 there is another eloquent hymn to the goodness of God. I suppose today we would quote Romans 8:28. ‘Look Job’ says Eliphaz, with all the sensitivity of a butcher hacking into a meat carcass, ‘You are really blessed! God is correcting you. The last thing you want to do now is to blow it by despising the discipline of the Almighty.’ This was both wrong and thoughtless. Job was not being disciplined – at least that was not the main reason for his suffering. Nor was it what he needed to hear just then. The last thing we want to say when someone is suffering is "this is for your good". Think of a father smacking his child and saying ‘I’m doing this for your own good’. It may be true but it is hard for any child to believe it at that moment. No discipline is pleasant at the time. Last Christmas we set off adn the car broke down and so we had to come back. My eldest son was so disappointed. Trying to help I quoted Romans 8:28 and assured him that God would work it together for out good - which he did. But it was the wrong time to speak like that adn i confess I was rather insensitive.
Yes the Lord wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you. What ever the trouble, God will rescue you. If its famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected from the lash of the tongue and need not fear when destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth. Be assured believer, God determines only good for you. You will have plenty of food (no stones in your fields will spoil the crop); be safe from violence; you’ll know security, prosperity, a large family, a long and healthy life. This is the norm for the believer. We need to fix such thoughts in our minds when things are going well. However, for various reasons there are times of suffering to be faced as well. To say to people at such times (27) We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself is inappropriate, however. If they are struggling to see it, our pushing of the subject will do more harm than good. Better just to be patient until God does restore – as he did with Job and then bring in these truths. At the very least let’s be sensitive about the way we speak of the goodness of God to those who are passing through deep waters.
Yes the Lord wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you. What ever the trouble, God will rescue you. If its famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected from the lash of the tongue and need not fear when destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth. Be assured believer, God determines only good for you. You will have plenty of food (no stones in your fields will spoil the crop); be safe from violence; you’ll know security, prosperity, a large family, a long and healthy life. This is the norm for the believer. We need to fix such thoughts in our minds when things are going well. However, for various reasons there are times of suffering to be faced as well. To say to people at such times (27) We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself is inappropriate, however. If they are struggling to see it, our pushing of the subject will do more harm than good. Better just to be patient until God does restore – as he did with Job and then bring in these truths. At the very least let’s be sensitive about the way we speak of the goodness of God to those who are passing through deep waters.
