Eliphaz continues his speech. He tells Job, “Call for help; see if anyone answers.”
I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
Job 5:8 (KJV)
“I would call upon God, Job, if I were you. I would ask Him for help, hand it all over to Him and hope for mercy. Call for help, Job! What will it hurt?”
Eliphaz goes on. “God does so many great things, performs so many miracles that we can’t even count.”
Let’s park right there for a moment. God does so many great things, so many miracles; we can’t number them, can’t comprehend all He’s done. He’s greater, more powerful, more awesome, more astounding than we can wrap our little human minds around! Eliphaz lists just a few amazing things God does, and the other chapters in the book of Job add more, and then there’s the rest of the Bible… The last verse of John says:
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
John 21:25 (KJV)
That’s talking about the things, the miracles, that Jesus did while He was on earth. What about all the miracles that have happened in the days since?
Yeah, like I said, our little human minds can’t comprehend God’s awesomeness.
Job’s friend declares, “Happy is the man who’s corrected by God. Don’t despise the chastening of the Almighty, because He causes hurt but He also brings healing.” The word “chastening” is speaking of a rebuke or misfortune that has a restraining or humbling effect. Think about that: when God chastens us, He’s restraining or humbling us–not necessarily punishing us.
Eliphaz says, “Job, look. God’s going to deliver you. Whatever trouble comes your way, you don’t have to fear. You’ll live in peace, and see your multitude of descendants, and die when you’re old.”
Then he finishes with this punch:
Our experience has proven these things to be true…
Job 5:27 (CEV)
“We know, Job. We know these things are true. Experience has proven them to us. We’ve seen it happen before, and we believe they’ll happen again. God has delivered, and He’ll do it again. God has hurt but He’s also healed, and He’ll do it again. We’ve seen His faithfulness over and over. Listen, Job! Listen and learn!”
I’ll admit, I always thought Job’s friends were “miserable comforters,” as he called them; I thought they judged him and said he had sin in his life and were cruel/uncaring. But I’m beginning to change my mind. 🙂 Eliphaz, at least, seems to be trying to get Job out of his slump, show him he’s wrong, encourage him to grow closer to God, etc. He’s being fairly blunt with Job, but that appears to be necessary. Sometimes we need to be blunt with our friends–or they need to be blunt with us. (Of course, it needs to be done in love.)
Anyway, I think Eliphaz is a pretty good example of what a friend should be. Showing up, weeping, sitting with a grieving friend, reminding them who God is, encouraging them to call out to Him… Good friend, indeed.
