“Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good
shall come unto thee.” (v.21)
Eliphaz’s final speech is especially sad. It’s clear that he
really cares about Job. While he has misdiagnosed the problem, he’s concerned
for the patient. But he’s frustrated. Consequently, he’s becomes harsh, even
cruel. And, because Eliphaz hasn’t found any real examples of sin in Job’s life, he
invents some. He accuses Job of being wicked (v. 5), unjust to family members
(v. 6), and uncaring to the poor and oppressed (v. 7–9) Even going so far as to assert that Job is now getting what he deserves (vv.
10–11).
However, if Job had committed such cruel acts, everyone would
have seen them. Consequently, Eliphaz accuses Job of concealing his sin from
both God and his friends, and suggests that Job is a godless person. Even more
cruelly, Eliphaz implies that he rejoices in the ruin that Job apparently
deserves (v. 19).
Finally, Eliphaz concludes his speech with his familiar appeal to repent,
and suggests (more than once) a “salvation by works” mentality (vv.22-30).
While Eliphaz rightly states one must repent in order to be right with God, it’s
wrong to think that because someone is suffering they must have sinned. Going
back to our text (v.21), had Eliphaz followed the one piece of advice he got
right, he might have been able to bring real comfort to his suffering friend.
The Truth: “The
preparations of the heart belong
to man, But the answer of the tongue is
from the Lord. All the ways of a man are
pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the
Lord, And your thoughts will be established.”
(Proverbs 16: 1-3)
