Day 1,101: Job 15- The Attack Of Moralism

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
    and fill his belly with the east wind?

3 Should he argue in unprofitable talk,
    or in words with which he can do no good?

4 But you are doing away with the fear of God
    and hindering meditation before God.

5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
    and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
    your own lips testify against you.
 
7 “Are you the first man who was born?
    Or were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
    And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
    What do you understand that is not clear to us?

10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
    older than your father.

11 Are the comforts of God too small for you,
    or the word that deals gently with you?

12 Why does your heart carry you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God
    and bring such words out of your mouth?

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!
 
17 “I will show you; hear me,
    and what I have seen I will declare
18 (what wise men have told,
    without hiding it from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
    and no stranger passed among them).

20 The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.

21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
    in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.

22 He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
    and he is marked for the sword.

23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
    He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify him;
    they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.

25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
    and defies the Almighty,
26 running stubbornly against him
    with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because he has covered his face with his fat
    and gathered fat upon his waist
28 and has lived in desolate cities,
    in houses that none should inhabit,
    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;
30 he will not depart from darkness;
    the flame will dry up his shoots,
    and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.

31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
    for emptiness will be his payment.

32 It will be paid in full before his time,
    and his branch will not be green.

33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
    and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.

34 For the company of the godless is barren,
    and fire consumes the tents of bribery.

35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil,
    and their womb prepares deceit.”
 
Meditation
The cross of Jesus Christ, God redemptively using the suffering of an innocent person, is foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews- but to those who are saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Grace is offensive within a moral framework for life. Grace is life-giving when we see the world through redemptive lenses.
 
Eliphaz begins an assault on Job for his claims of innocence in suffering. Eliphaz’s basic premise is misguided moralism, saying that if Job is experiencing suffering, then he has birthed it himself (35). From Job’s perspective, it is possible for his suffering to be from an unknown sin. But from ours, the readers, we know Job is actually suffering as an innocent man (chapters 1-2). Job’s sin is atoned for through sacrifice so, therefore, his suffering has a greater purpose than punishment. In this way, Job points to Jesus. Eliphaz’s speech highlights and condemns the moralism within us all.
 
The suffering of someone innocent is foolish (1-16) and Eliphaz enforces his perspective by calling Job empty, unknowing, arrogant, and a worthless bag of wind. His personal assault shows his deep offense at the idea of innocent suffering.  Eliphaz bases his argument on tradition (17-19), fear (20-24), and strong conviction of the fate of the wicked (25-35). Though well-articulated and thought out, Eliphaz’s argument is deeply flawed.
 
The gospel centers on the suffering of innocent Jesus so the guilty can be forgiven, a stumbling block for those living by a moralistic framework and foolishness to humanity in general.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about Eliphaz’s assault on Job? Why?
 
-Why is it significant that Job establishes a greater purpose to suffering than punishment for sin? How does this invite you into the larger story of God working everything for His glory?
 
-How can you reframe how you see suffering, abandoning an exclusive framework that assigns problems and pain to people who are being punished for sin and allowing yourself to see that suffering may have a greater purpose? Consider how new born babies arrive after labor pains. How can God be bringing life from suffering and struggle in this fallen world?
 
Key Verse
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?