Eliphaz continued his assault against Job in these verses. God is all powerful. That is not something anyone should doubt. It is important to understand that He can strike anyone dead in an instant. However, it is also a fact that He does not do that. If Eliphaz would have been honest, he would have known that he was in danger of God’s judgment. God would make this very clear later in the book. If a person wants to speak of God’s judgment, they better be careful they are not living in defiance of the true God.
In verses 10-11 Eliphaz chose lions as an example of where Job was at. Lions are vicious animals. They would not make a good pet. When they are hungry they go out and seek food wherever they can find it. Eliphaz used the lions to speak of nations and people that are ruthless in their dealings. Lions get old. Lions cannot hunt as well when they get old. There are always younger lions who will challenge the territory of older lions. However, when a lion becomes too aggressive, he loses out. Their offspring also lose out. So it is with a nation that becomes too aggressive. They may succeed for a time, but eventually they are overthrown and their young, which should have been groomed to take over, are scattered by a more aggressive enemy. The same is true for a person that becomes too aggressive.
James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy Samaria. They thought they were doing Jesus a favour with their thoughts. They lacked that genuine care for the soul of man. They wanted to come down like a hammer with no mercy. Jonah was the same in his day. God’s Word is like a hammer. it will break in pieces those who defy Him. God is also merciful and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish. That is why Eliphaz had opportunity here to spout off his false theology. He would be sharply rebuked for his sin.
Eliphaz was suggesting that Job had dealt unjustly with others, but now things were beginning to backfire on him. His children were already dead. He had no successors to pass his possessions to. He had nothing left. His wife rejected his faith. Job was left physically alone and according to Eliphaz, it was his fault.
In verses 12-13 Eliphaz went so far as to claim he had been given a vision from God about what was happening to Job. Eliphaz was a liar. God has already told us the basis of this book in the opening chapters. God was not attacking Job. Satan was trying to prove to God that he could get any person to fall, if God would just give him liberty with the person. Satan does not understand salvation. God changes the heart of the repentant sinner. That person is given the love of God and God motivates His children to serve Him faithfully. We do not always do that, but there is a fundamental difference between a child of God and a fraud.
At this point in this book, Job had no answer to this accusation, one way or another. He wanted to talk to God about what was going on. He claimed that God was far from him. He was wrong in that. Job did not know whether Eliphaz actually had a vision or not. Eliphaz was a forerunner to the Charismatic deceivers of our day. He claimed to have a vision. How could Job question that? The fact that Job needed to know is that God did not give Eliphaz a vision. Eliphaz was not in any spiritual condition to receive any insight from God as to Job’s affairs. Eliphaz was rejecting God’s work in his own heart. His false piety needed to be slain. He needed to repent and be forgiven by God. His self-righteous attitude was evil.
In verse 14 Eliphaz claimed that the vision he received caused great fear to come over him. He would have done well to have the fear of the LORD in his life. He would never have dared to come up with such a foolish tale as this, if he knew the fear of the LORD. It could well be that Satan gave Eliphaz his vision. It certainly did not come from God. Many people like story time. They sit up and pay attention. It does not matter how far fetched the story is, if someone can tell a good story, they will listen. Job was not that foolish.
In verse 17, after Eliphaz did his best to impress Job with the “truthfulness” of his vision, he went so far as to recite the words he said he received from the LORD. What a shame that Eliphaz had so little respect for God. He would make up a story and then try to persuade Job to follow his ungodly reasoning in dealing with his situation.
We know that God had not left Job alone. Job had some discernment. He knew that what Eliphaz was telling him was not true. He did not have the answer for what he was facing, but he was not willing to fall for the lies being given to him.
It is important to know the Word of the Lord. Charismatics will tell you of a vision or a dream, they claim to have received. If you question them, they will accuse you of lacking faith. They will get upset if you do not agree with them. They expect others to buy into their lies. Some of them actually have visions. They do not want to acknowledge those visions came from the devil, not from God.
They are deluded and they take offence to anyone questioning their “experience”.
We learn from the Bible that man’s experiences do not supersede the Word of God. God’s Word is sure. The sooth-sayers may sound impressive. There are many gullible people who will believe them. That is the sad reality of where many people are at. Those who are truly “born again”, don’t need to fall for these lies. Believe the Scriptures, follow what God says and let the false religionists follow their deluded ways. They may have some spectacular things to say. What they say is not based in the Word of God.
The book of Job is inspired of God. God shows us the darkness that is in the lost sinner. God also shows us the struggles that His child may face at times. He shows us the importance of knowing the true God and walking humbly with Him. Those who want to be an island unto themselves are in danger of falling. Job was under attack from the devil. The devil has many devices at hand. Sometimes people will seem so sincere and genuine. They will use experiences and other things to try to convince you they are right. In spite of how troubled a true child of God may be, it is always important to listen to God. He is not a liar. He is not mean. He loves His children and He works all things together for good to them that love Him. We do not always see the answer immediately, but we know that if we walk humbly with the Lord, He will show us the way through the good times and the dark times.
Pastor Bartel