Let’s recap… Job’s friends have been sitting with him for a week. Seven days. And no one talks. What would you say to Job? There isn’t really anything you can say to someone who has lost all his children. But- after a week, it turns out that Job’s friends have plenty to say. And it mostly isn’t nice.

I’m not sure how friendship was defined in the ancient world, but shooo, these guys are definitely not friend material by my standards.

So after a week of (awkward?) silence, Job curses his birth in a dozen ways for the space of a whole chapter. The elevated ancient language is very dramatic but he’s basically George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life; standing on the snowy bridge looking into the icy water far below, wishing he had never been born.

Then, in chapters 4-5, Eliphaz lectures Job and then shares information from the beyond? Next he has a pious praise moment and wraps up by kinda going all Joel Osteen positive confession. It’s super weird. Let’s walk through this odd diatribe. And let me just say- do your own study and think for yourself. I am not the final authority on what the text means. But this is my blog so I’m sharing my thoughts.

Eliphaz opens by basically telling Job to suck-it-up-buttercup, then hints that Job has obviously done something (no one knows what- but something 👀 ) to bring this calamity upon himself.

Then next section beginning in 4:12 is just bizarre. But let’s take it seriously. Eliphaz says that he had some kind of encounter with a ghost. And it told him stuff. The quotation from the apparition seems to be verses 4:17 all the way to 5:7. It begins:

“Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? Even in His servants He puts no trust, and His angels He charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth.“
‭‭Job‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

K- I’m seeing red flags here.

🚩 1. Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? The answer is a resounding YES! And I don’t even have to look beyond the bit of Genesis we’ve already covered. Look at Abel. And Enoch. And Noah. What kind of ephemeral chip does this poltergeist have on its ghostly shoulder? It seems to not be very happy about humans being accepted by God through obedient faith.

🚩 2. Even in His servants He puts no trust, and His angels He charges with error… When I read this, I get the distinct flavor of bitterness. It feels sympathetic towards these untrusted “servants.” The Hebrew poetry’s structure tells us that the spirit is “rhyming” “angels charged with error” (the fallen angels) with God’s “servants.” It’s as if the spirit is of the opinion that it was perfectly reasonable for the angels to descend to earth to tweak the human race- as if they were just trying to help and God didn’t appreciate the favor. YHWH did indeed charge those angels with error. Peter and Jude in the NT both confirm this. Sounds to me like Casper here supports team Fallen Angel. I refer you to Genesis 6. According to 2nd Temple Period Angelology, this disembodied spirit would be the offspring of one of those fallen angels. It perished in the Flood and remained disembodied. God’s holy angels never appear anywhere in the Bible as ghosts. They always look like men and can interact with the physical realm.

🚩 3. how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. This spirit is clearly not impressed with mankind. I mean, they’re made of dirt. They die. And turn back into dirt. Ugh… humans. Ick. If the glorious, beautiful, wise, immortal angels couldn’t make the cut, y’all might as well give up, cuz there’s no way a bunch of mortal clay-people (who eat…things…then have to… um…poop more dirt 💩) NO WAY they are going to be welcome in YHWH’s presence. Poor Ghosty. How little you know. Just wait and see what the Almighty does with the clay-people.

I find it interesting in 5:1 that Ghosty double-dares the lowly mortal (Job) to try to find someone in the heavenly court who would actually listen to his complaints. It’s like the customer service departments of most big cell phone companies. I dare you to try to find an actual person who will hear your complaint and do something about it. It asks, “To which of the holy ones will you turn?” “Holy Ones” is code for the Sons of God. (My Answer if a ghost ever asks me which of the Sons of God I would turn to- the firstborn One, Jesus the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God who is Himself YHWH. He hears my complaint and answers me. Take that.)

Whether Eliphaz is still relaying what the the spirit said, or he’s speaking for himself, I don’t care who you are, you don’t say THIS to a father who has just lost all 10 of his kids when a house collapsed on them:

“I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.“
‭‭Job‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

That. Is. Cold. Heartless. Cruel even. This mess ends with the famous line “man is born into trouble as the sparks fly upward.” Stupid humans. They don’t deserve any better. Trouble is their lot. Maybe this is the bitter Ghosty still talking.

Then it seems we’re back solidly to Eliphaz in 5:8 “As for me…” and then follows this holier-than-thou praise report about how great God is. It’s not necessarily inaccurate but I smell pride somewhere. It smacks of Pharisee. This:

“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I’m not saying this verse is wrong. This very idea is repeated practically verbatim in Hebrews 12:5-7. But it’s how it’s used. Eliphaz is quoting scripture at Job to suggest that Job is being reproved and disciplined by the Almighty. As one who got to listen in on the conversation between YHWH and The Satan, do you remember the Lord saying anything negative about Job or a need to discipline him? Neither do I. This is a classic example of taking God’s good word and using it to beat someone over the head.

From verse 19 to the end, I feel like I’m watching a Word of Faith preacher on TBN. Stop and read it. You can see the gleaming smile and hear the congregation’s applause. Again, does God do these things for people? Supernatural protection? Provision? Peace? Material blessings? Sure. Sure He does. Does He do them every time in every circumstance? No. No He doesn’t. What does it mean when He doesn’t? About us? About Him?

Remember, He’s not a tame lion. No one tells Him what to do. He’s not safe. But He is good.

In the next section, Job is going to push back on Eliphaz’s assertions.