Eliphaz would finish this part of his assault on Job by continuing to assume to be God’s mouthpiece. He was pulling words out of thin air. It is true that God is well able to protect His children. Eliphaz continued his accusations that Job was at fault here and if he would simply turn to God in repentance, God would forgive him and He would deliver him from many troubles. The numbers “six” and “seven” suggest that God is able to protect from many troubles and from many attacks.
As we mentioned, God is able to protect His child from evil. God was able to protect Job from sinning. God could also have protected Job from the attacks of the devil against his family and possessions. God chose to allow the devil some access to Job’s life. He did this for His glory. Job would also benefit from this testing, even though it was quite severe for him at the moment.
It is not wise to take counsel from a person who is not walking with God. God’s people should not support false teachers. Jesus did not accept the false teaching of the Pharisees. He exposed them as false teachers. He warned the people against following them. Godly people need to take their counsel from those who walk in the fear of the Lord. False teachers always have an ulterior motive and they will twist God’s Words for their own benefit.
In verse 20 Eliphaz continued his story of what God would do. As we have noted before, Eliphaz was claiming that Job could not be delivered because of his sin, and if he would deal with that before God, then God would deliver him from all his troubles. God has the power to deliver His child from all trouble. However, we already know that God chose to let Satan test Job. God had confidence in Job because he was His child. Job still had freewill. God is far greater than we are. He gives His child freewill, but He also knows HIs capacity to change the nature of the person who trusts in Him. We will never fully understand God’s ways until we enter heaven. The last chapters of this book help us to see this. Job was reminded there of the greatness of God and of how foolish he had been to challenge God’s ways.
Job was not a carnal believer in God. He was not trying to see how close to the world he could be. Job desired to be as close to God as he could be. A person that is saved, and desires to be close to God, is not going to indulge in sin. He or she knows that is not how to be close to God. He or she must also understand that walking close to God can bring challenges to the life that the carnal Christian does not face. However, the carnal Christian does not know the peace of God in his heart, and that is worth far more than the material comforts that are only short lived.
Eliphaz was making assumptions and he was making statements without having any understanding of what was going on. He assumed that every true saint should never have any trouble if they walk humbly with the Lord. He took the evil desires of the devil right out of the equation. He was so deceived by the devil that he could not see truth if it was right in front of his eyes.
As we mentioned before, Eliphaz’ theology would fit well with the Charismatic nonsense of our time. They like to pull verses out of their context and they like to make claims that are false. Many people like to listen to these snake oil salesmen. They like to hear a good tale. Years ago I spent a summer as a supply pastor in a northern Manitoba community. The Charismatics loved to go to that community because they could draw large amounts of money out of it.
I was told of men who would come into that community and tell stories of how the Holy Spirit was doing amazing things in other areas and the people there wanted to see amazing things done in their town as well. The smooth talking men would tell tales and the people were not well taught and they believed the lies and they emptied their pockets for these deceivers. One of those men happened to come into that community while I was there. I did not know the man and so I let him speak to the people one evening. He certainly told some tall tales. I asked the man if I could meet with him the next day. I asked him about some of his tales and he did not like my questions. He chose one Old Testament passage as support for one of his lies. The passage had nothing to do with what he was saying, but he would use it anyway. He was not happy with my line of questioning and I did not allow him to speak to the people anymore while I was there.
At our next meeting, I addressed the deception that this man was using. He was in the meeting and I wanted him and the people to know that what he was doing was not Biblical. I gave warnings to the people regarding what this man was up to. Some of them accepted it and some did not.
My duty was not to play politics. My duty as a pastor was to try to protect the sheep from wolves who were coming in sheep’s clothing. Christians do not need to entertain people like Eliphaz. Non-Christians do not need to be deceived by these people either. In our text, Job had nowhere to go. He was in pain and he was immobilized by the boils. He would reject his “friends” assumptions and instead wanted to talk to God.
In our text, Eliphaz tried to persuade Job that they had searched out the matter. He tried to suggest that what he was saying was Biblical. Even though he was wrong, he tried to convince Job that he was right. Untaught people are quite gullible. They are easily swayed. Many professing Christians are very untaught. They refuse to attend a good church. They do not read their Bibles very much. They have not been taught how to study the Bible. They run to get a commentary or another book written by some smooth talker and they accept what they read there.
We need to be taught. We need to be taught by men who walk in the fear of God. We don’t need men who can quote the latest smooth talker. We need men who can rightly divide the Word of truth. Commentaries have their place. Commentaries are written by men. If you are going to read a commentary, make sure you have your Bible there and look up every reference the person uses in his writing. Look at the context of the verses and make sure you are not being deceived. This will take time, but it is time well spent. Be sure you are attending a good local church where the pastor teaches the word of God faithfully. Ask him questions. A godly pastor will not be offended by questions. He will take the time to explain why he believes certain things. He will take the time to teach the Word of God carefully and faithfully.
That is not what Eliphaz or his two friends were doing. They were misusing the Word of God and they were hoping that Job would just accept their smooth talking rather than check it out for himself. They were wrong and God would prove them so.
There is no substitute for personal Bible reading and study. There is also no substitute for attending a true, Bible-believing church that honours God. You need it more than you think. God says you need it. God knows what He is talking about. Know Him and follow Him.
Pastor Bartel