Day 1,035: Job 4- The Gospel Vs. Moralism

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    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?
7 “Remember: 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 cubs 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 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.

20 Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.
21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
    do they not die, and that without wisdom?’
 
 
Meditation
Moralism is a pit of despair, the ruin that runs out of a religious mindset. Acts 28:4 reveals the moralist’s mindset after Paul is bitten by a viper on Malta- “Surely this was punishment from the gods for a morally corrupt man!?” Yet God revealed a higher way through Paul, one focused on the performance of Jesus. Religion ruins through moralistic mindsets. Relationship with Jesus saves.
 
Eliphaz is the first of Job’s “comforters” to speak. From the outset Eliphaz reveals himself to have a moralist mindset. How could Job’s suffering come from a place of innocence? If Job had integrity, should he not automatically have hope? Translated, this says “Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.”
 
The critical question of Eliphaz runs throughout the book and carries us to the cross of Christ. “Can mortal man be in the right before God?” (17)  Job asks the same question in 9:2 and it is echoed in 14:4; 15:14; and 25:4. The truth is, this is the same substance of Satan’s accusation of Job before God! No one can truly be right before God (chapters 1-2)! The moralist uses this as motivation to be good, seeking to earn God’s favor and eliminate suffering. Grace invites us to a better way.
 
There is no one righteous and no one seeks God. Since the fall, sin separates us from God and on our own we are without hope of reconciliation. God’s love makes a way through Jesus (Romans 3). Hope is found through Christ alone!
 
Richly Dwelling
-How does moralism continue a cycle that you can never break out of on your own, focusing life on your performance?
 
-Where does this mindset lead to ruin in your own life or where do you see it ruining others?
 
-The grace of God invites you to a better way through the work of Jesus. The perfect moral performance of Christ is the hope for all who have faith in Christ. How can you celebrate the gospel and break hurtful moralistic cycles in your life? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
17 ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?