JOB LESSON 5
We will begin this lesson in Job 5:1 "Call now, if there be any
that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?"
If God did not help Job, there was surely no help available to
him through any of the saints.
Job 5:2 "For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the
silly one."
Eliphaz believed that Job had placed his trust in something, or
someone, other than God. He couldn't figure out with his mind what was
happening to Job, and he was seeking reasons that were logical. We
find that with many of the people who study the book of Job, they are
so busy trying to figure out what Job did to cause this calamity, that
they miss the whole meaning of the book. Job did not do anything to
bring this problem on. The fact that he was righteous in the sight of
God caused this.
Job 5:3 "I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I
cursed his habitation."
Eliphaz was saying that he had seen people who dealt foolishly
with God, and were destroyed. He still believed that something that
Job did caused God to turn on him.
Job 5:4 "His children are far from safety, and they are crushed
in the gate, neither [is there] any to deliver [them]."
We see Eliphaz blaming Job for the death of his children. He was
saying, the sins of the father had fallen upon his children.
Job 5:5 "Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even
out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance."
We see that Job's land had been over-run by those who would steal
his crops. His servants were dead, and could not keep them away. There
were not even enough servants to tend the crop, and it wass over-run
with thorns.
Job 5:6 "Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;"
Eliphaz was still trying to say that the evil that Job had done
was like a seed that brought in a crop of affliction.
Job 5:7 "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."
Eliphaz was telling Job that man was evil, and that it was
inevitable for trouble to come. Just as sure as a spark of a fire goes
up, and not down, the troubles come to all.
Job 5:8 "I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my
cause:"
Eliphaz was telling Job, if this was him, he would repent and
seek God's help.
Job 5:9 "Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous
things without number:"
Eliphaz seemed to be a man who knew a great deal about God. His
real mistake was in judging his friend. Sometimes, people who mean
well, say cruel things to those they love. We know that God does do
great and wonderful things. In the next few verses, we will see the
things Eliphaz listed as some of these great and wonderful things of
God.
Job 5:10 "Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon
the fields:"
God had promised to give rain in due season for those who loved
him. Eliphaz reminded Job that God would do this for him, if he would
repent and return to God. The truth was, Job had never wandered from
God.
Job 5:11 "To set up on high those that be low; that those which
mourn may be exalted to safety."
God is no respecter of persons. He would be the One to raise the
lowly. Those who mourned God would bring joy.
Job 5:12 "He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that
their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise."
Eliphaz was, possibly, saying that Job's wisdom was not wisdom at
all. That he was crafty and scheming to get where he was. God would
tear down such an enterprise, but Job did not do that.
Job 5:13 "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the
counsel of the froward is carried headlong."
Eliphaz, again, was warning Job that the wicked were caught in
the trap they had laid for others. He was even saying, that the
counsel that Job had given others was of no use at all.
Job 5:14 "They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in
the noonday as in the night."
Eliphaz said that Job's light had gone out, and that he was
groping around in the dark even though the sun was up outside.
Job 5:15 "But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their
mouth, and from the hand of the mighty."
God truly does save the poor from the oppressor. He not only
saves them from being destroyed by their actions, but by their words,
as well. Job knew this was true, but he knew that he was not the
oppressor, which he was being accused of being, either.
Job 5:16 "So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her
mouth."
This was a reprimand of Job for complaining of his plight.
Eliphaz said that God had stopped the mouth of Job.
Job 5:17 "Behold, happy [is] the man whom God correcteth:
therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:"
This was a true statement which did not apply to Job. It was not
God who was chastening Job, it was Satan. We know, and I am sure that
Job knew, that God chastens those he loves.
Job 5:18 "For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and
his hands make whole."
By the grace of God, we are healed, or we are sick. It is God who
decides the circumstances that we live in. God controls His creation.
Job 5:19 "He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven
there shall no evil touch thee."
We see some encouragement here. Eliphaz was telling Job that,
possibly, after 7 troubles came upon him, the LORD would help him. He
believed the 7 troubles to be justified punishment for the sins of
Job.
Job 5:20 "In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war
from the power of the sword."
Throughout the Bible, we see famine as a severe punishment from
God on the unfaithful. War is another punishment we have seen, that
God sends on those who are unfaithful. God did eventually remove them
both, and turned and blessed His people.
Job 5:21 "Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue:
neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh."
God will protect those of His own from the destruction of the
evil tongue. He will keep them from destruction. Those who are truly
of God have no need to fear these things. Job would be delivered too,
even though his friend did not believe he would. He had done nothing
to cause this problem. Job was persecuted without a cause. This,
perhaps, could be a type of the suffering of the righteous One on the
cross. Jesus was without sin, and yet was persecuted.
Job 5:22 "At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither
shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth."
The LORD afflicts His own, to cause them to return to Him. Those
who belong to God should not fear famine, or wild beasts. God is our
very present help in trouble. This friend of Job's was trying to
convince Job that he had to be a sinner, or else God would be His
protector in all of this.
Job 5:23 "For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the
field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee."
This is a description of the condition of those who are in
fellowship with God. They will not even dash their foot against a
stone. It appears, that they would be in harmony with all of God's
creation.
Job 5:24 "And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle [shall be] in
peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin."
These promises from God to those who love Him, were spoken by
Eliphaz to cause Job to repent and get back in right standing. Again,
I say they are futile, Job was already in right standing with God. The
only one angry with Job was Satan, because he could not get Job to
curse God.
Job 5:25 "Thou shalt know also that thy seed [shall be] great,
and thine offspring as the grass of the earth."
Job was aware of the promises of God to bless his offspring if he
remained faithful to God. Job was a man who knew and understood the
promises of God. Eliphaz tried to say that Job rejected the
chastisement of God, and all of this had been taken from him.
Job 5:26 "Thou shalt come to [thy] grave in a full age, like as a
shock of corn cometh in in his season."
In the pain and suffering that Job had endured, he had no desire
to live a long life. He had even wished he had never been born.
Job 5:27 "Lo this, we have searched it, so it [is]; hear it, and
know thou [it] for thy good."
Eliphaz said to Job, that he had said all of this for his own
good. He tried to tell Job that he should listen and repent. Job was
in right standing with God. He knew all of these things and believed
them, except he knew in his own heart, that he had not turned away
from God.
Job 5 Questions
1. If God did not help Job, who would?
2. For ________ killeth the foolish man.
3. What did Eliphaz believe that Job had done?
4. Why do many people overlook the meaning of the book of Job?
5. What caused the trouble of Job?
6. What was Eliphaz saying in verse 3?
7. In verse 4, he was blaming Job for the __________ of his children.
8. Why could the robbers come in and take Job's crops?
9. What terrible thing was Eliphaz still trying to say about Job in
verse 6?
10. Just as sure as ________ fly upward, man is born to trouble in
this life.
11. Eliphaz told Job, if this were him, he would do what?
12. What was Eliphaz's mistake?
13. Who sends the rain?
14. God is no ___________ of persons.
15. What was Eliphaz saying about Job's wisdom?
16. What did he say about the counsel Job had given others?
17. Eliphaz said that Job was _________ around in darkness.
18. Happy is the man whom God _____________.
19. Despise not the _________ of the Almighty.
20. It is _______ who decides the circumstances we live in.
21. Throughout the Bible, __________ is used as a severe punishment
from God.
22. Job was persecuted without a __________.
23. Who was Job a type of?
24. God is our very present _______ in trouble.
25. Eliphaz was trying to convince Job of what?
26. In verse 23, it is speaking of being in harmony with all of God's
___________.
27. Why would Job not want to live to old age?
28. What did Job know in his heart?
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