Job 3-31 (part 1) Job's friends well-meaning'ed but misdirected arguments

Job 3:1–10 (RSV) 1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3 “Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night which said, ‘A man-child is conceived.’ 4 Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. 5 Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 That night—let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7 Yea, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it. 8 Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. 9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning; 10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.

Job 3:11–13 (RSV) 11 “Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? 12 Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should suck? 13 For then I should have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept; then I should have been at rest, Job 3:20–26 (RSV) 20 “Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, 21 who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22 who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they find the grave? 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, whom God has hedged in? 24 For my sighing comes as my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. 25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. 26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.”



• After a week of thinking about the loss of his children, the dying of his flesh, and all his  material losses, Job finally speaks. What is different this time, and what do we observe about the subjects?
• He is no longer stoic
• He complains about being born
• He complains about not dying as he was born
• He complains about not being able to die
• Note two things:
1. Job is bitter (verse 20)
2. Job is angry at God (verse 23)
• APPLICATION:
• No matter how wonderful life has been, when pain hits us, all we see or remember is the current pain
• Pain hides memories
• Pain numbs the good and screams out at the bad
• Also, this is a normal part of the grieving process


Job 4:1–6 (RSV)
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many,
and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?



• Eliphaz, probably the oldest, speaks first. Eliphaz and his friends are chastised by God later
• Job 42:7 (RSV)
7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

• Note that the fourth individual, Elihu, is not mentioned, his is the younger individual who did not sit with Job but showed up later
• Eliphaz and Bildad answer Job three times. Zophar replies two times. Elihu, the youngest answers once, with 3 additional continuations before concluding. Elihu is also angry because the men have not answered Job
• So, why does Eliphaz jump in?
• One, Job has offered many wisdom and helped them in the past. Eliphaz assumes his pride will prevent him from offering his wisdom (verse 2-4)
• Not everything that Eliphaz says is wrong. In this sense, these opening verses are the same thing that God will judge Job
• How does Eliphaz see Job now?
• Impatient
• Dismayed
• Losing hope in God
• Once again, Eliphaz is probably right
• APPLICATION: You may have very good biblical advice, and it may not be a good time to share it



Job 4:7–18 (RSV) 7 “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? 8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10 The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily, my ear received the whisper of it. 13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, 14 dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. 15 A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. 16 It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: 17 ‘Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18 Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;



• Eliphaz continues. Eliphaz makes two arguments in verses 7-11
• The innocent don’t suffer
• Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same
• Both arguments are true in principle, but are not always true (hard and fast)
• Eliphaz shares a vision -- what is the conclusion?
• Everyone is a sinner
• No one can be perfect
• We learn a little of theology of the time
• God is very powerful. His breath can destroy a person
• God is perfect. No man is perfect
• They believe that angels were charged with error (4:18)
• Later (chapter 5:10), He recognizes the goodness of God in providing rain
•  And how does this fit with what Eliphaz just said?
• If we can't be perfect, then obviously, if evil has occurred then we sinned (in a grievous manner)
• He is not arguing that you are punished for being a sinner, but for sinning


Job 5:2–8 (RSV)
2 Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
3 I have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4 His sons are far from safety,
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
5 His harvest the hungry eat,
and he takes it even out of thorns;
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For affliction does not come from the dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground;
7 but man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward.
8 “As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause;



• This section is rather pointed, why?
• Eliphaz shares a story about when he cursed a fool (it is very similar to Job)
• The fool had experienced temporary blessing
• His children are crushed
• His food and wealth are gone
• His body is afflicted (reference to the dust)
• A fool is destined to it
• The opposite of a fool is someone who seeks God and commits his cause to God
• My biggest problem with this passage is verse 8, while entirely true, it does not help at this point in time
• Eliphaz is suggesting that his problem is a problem with God


Job 5:17–19, 27 (RSV)
17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves;
therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he binds up;
he smites, but his hands heal.
19 He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven there shall no evil touch you.

…
27 Lo, this we have searched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good.”



• Eliphaz adds one more thought to the argument, what is it?
• God is disciplining you for your own good
• God is patient in his discipline
• (in your wisdom), you need to learn this lesson


• Notes from Constable:
• Throughout the three cycles of speeches Job’s friends did not change their position. They believed that God rewards the righteous and punishes sinners, the theory of retribution. They reasoned that all suffering is punishment for sin, and since Job was suffering, he was a sinner. They believed that what people experience depends on what they have done (cf. John 9:2). While this is true often, it is not the fundamental reason we experience what we do in life, as the Book of Job proceeds to reveal.
• Job’s friends each emphasized a different aspect of God’s character.
• Eliphaz pointed out the distance between God and man (4:17–19; 15:14–16) and stressed God’s punishment of the wicked (5:12–14)

Job 4:17–19 (ESV) — 17 ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18 Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; 19 how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. Job 15:14–16 (ESV) — 14 What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? 15 Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; 16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!

Job 5:12–14 (ESV) — 12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. 14 They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night.

• Bildad said God is just (8:3-6), great (25:2–3), and that He punishes only the wicked (18:5–21)

Job 8:3–6 (ESV) — 3 Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 4 If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 5 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 6 if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. Job 25:2–3 (ESV) — 2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise?

Job 18:5–21 (ESV) — 5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine. 6 The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out. 7 His strong steps are shortened, and his own schemes throw him down. 8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks on its mesh. 9 A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare lays hold of him. 10 A rope is hidden for him in the ground, a trap for him in the path. 11 Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his heels. 12 His strength is famished, and calamity is ready for his stumbling. 13 It consumes the parts of his skin; the firstborn of death consumes his limbs. 14 He is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors. 15 In his tent dwells that which is none of his; sulfur is scattered over his habitation. 16 His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above. 17 His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the street. 18 He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world. 19 He has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live. 20 They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east. 21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God.”

• God’s inscrutability (impossible to understand, also similar to God's answer) impressed Zophar (11:7-9) who also stated that God punishes the wicked quickly (20:18-23)

Job 11:7–9 (ESV) — 7 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? 8 It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9 Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

Job 20:18–23 (ESV) — 18 He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment. 19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build. 20 “Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. 21 There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure. 22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress; the hand of everyone in misery will come against him. 23 To fill his belly to the full, God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body.



• Interactions:
• Eliphaz spoke to Job with the most respect and restraint,
• Bildad was more direct and less courteous, and
• Zophar was the most blunt and harsh.
• Reasoning:
• Eliphaz based his arguments on experience (4:8; 5:3; 15:17),
• Bildad on tradition (8:8–10), and
• Zophar on mere assumption (20:1–5).
• View of Life:
• Eliphaz viewed life as a mystic,
• Bildad as an attorney, and
• Zophar as a dogmatist.
• Argumentation:
• Bildad and Zophar picked up themes from Eliphaz’s speeches and echoed them with slightly variant emphases (cf. 5:9 and 22:12 with 8:3, 5; 22:2a with 11:7, 11; 15:32–34 with 18:16 and 20:21–22; and 5:14 with 18:5, 6, 18 and 20:26).