Eliphaz's Last Appeal
"I will bring the third part into the fire,
I will refine them like silver and test them like gold."
—Zech. 13:9
Eliphaz has not spoken his last word yet. He has to try one more time to prove his point. Since Job still refuses to acknowledge transgression as the cause of his affliction, he obviously has to be dealt with a little more directly. Eliphaz is going to tell him in detail some possible ways that he may have grieved the Lord.
All the way through this story, the friends show their ignorance of the character of God. They appear to exalt Him by talking about His greatness and holiness, but they do not seem to have any real acquaintance with Him, and yet, later, Eliphaz urges Job to a personal knowledge of God.
Eliphaz looks at Job and asks "is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to Him if you were perfect?"
Yet, the Word says indeed, "the Lord takes delight in His people. He takes pleasure in them that fear Him." Eliphaz did not know anything of the heart of God.
"Is it because you are good that He is punishing you?" he sarcastically continues. Judging by the extent of the reproof Job's wickedness must be very great. His iniquities must have been unending since there seemed to be no end to his suffering!
Eliphaz's favorite weapon is sarcasm. Almost his first words to Job are clothed with this. After listening to all that has been said, he sees it is hopeless to convince Job by these flank attacks. He is going to cast aside all cover, and simply say what is on his mind for the last time. Job had just said that he knew they were referring to him with their stories about the fate of the wicked. Therefore, Eliphaz is going to speak out.
Job, "isn't your wickedness great?" You're simply receiving your portion in all the suffering that has come on you. It is a judgment for your sins, cries Eliphaz, as he goes on to enumerate these sins.
Job must have robbed his brothers; stripped cruelly the poor; withheld water from the weary, and bread from the hungry; been deaf to the cry of the widow; taken advantage of the fatherless; therefore the snares were around him, and sudden fear troubled him. Couldn't he see that he was in darkness, and deep water?
Worst of all, Job was saying in his heart that God did not know all this; the Lord was too high and too hidden with clouds as He walked on the vault of heaven to see what Job was doing.
From the pedestal of his assumed knowledge of God, Eliphaz looks down on this poor sin-punished friend of his. "Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod?" Aren't you going to take warning by their fate—they who said to God, "Depart from us"?
Eliphaz's last appeal
Eliphaz's candid speaking now turns to pleading, because he genuinely wants to help Job. If Job would just acquaint himself with God, he would be at peace, and good should come to him and not evil. Eliphaz would even pray for him to receive instruction from the mouth of God, and to "lay up His words in his heart." Because, in Eliphaz's view, it was sad to see such havoc as appeared in Job's life because of his persistent refusal to listen to the advice of the friends.
If Job would just return to the Lord, he would be built up, instead of being torn down; if he would put away unrighteousness from his home, and lay his treasure in the dust, the Lord Himself would be his treasure.
If Job could delight himself in the Lord, he would lift up his face to God without the terrors that he talks about; his prayers would be answered; he would be able to fulfill his promises to God; power and authority would be restored to him, because he could "decree a thing" and it would be done; instead of darkness, light would shine on his ways; he would be able to say confidently to those who were cast down "there is a lifting up;" and he would be used once more to help, and bless others. Souls would be delivered because he had put away unrighteousness, confessed his transgressions, and made clean his hands (v. 29, 30).
Yes, Phaz, this is all perfectly true. You are accurate in your assessment of the power of God's grace. However, it has nothing to do with Job's (or our) behavior. Job had never left the heart of God.
Job reception of Eliphaz
Job does not reply to Eliphaz right away because the assumption that he is a transgressor and the accusation of wrongdoing—with this renewed exhortation to put away sin and seek God—is more than he can answer. The iron is entering his heart, and he can only pour out his heart to God.
"Even today my complaint is bitter" Job groans in his pain. If only he could get access to the Throne of God, he would spread out his case before Him; if he could just get His verdict, and understand His will, he would be satisfied. If he could even come to the seat of Jehovah, he is sure the Lord would not contend with him in the greatness of His power. He could give heed to His servant, and permit him to reason with Him, so that he could be delivered from all the cruel judgment of his friends.
The test of Faith
Job admits that he does not have a specific word from God in his deep trial. It seems that whichever way he moves—forward, backward, to the left or to the right, he cannot perceive a trace of His Presence or His workings.
This hiding of God causes the bitterest pain of all; but it is useless laboring to find Him when He withdraws Himself. No agonizing in prayer or writhing in self-effort can compel Him to unveil His face when He hides Himself in thick darkness.
Whatever Eliphaz may think about it, even though he calls Job's complaint rebellion, Job is determined to hold to his convictions. The Lord "has broken him down on every side," and there is no possibility of "keeping up appearances" now. God has hidden Himself from him, and he does not know why!
Job's Anchor
"But if I can't see God, He can see me!" If I don't know the path He is leading me in, He knows it and that is enough. He has placed me in the crucible of trial, and when the fire has done its work, He will bring me forth as gold.
In spite of all the suffering and the complaining, Job's endurance, of what was almost unendurable to a human being, helps us to see again and again how Job was really made to understand his position by the inner teaching of the Spirit of God. All the way through this story, we see the division between the inner and the outer man through the language he uses.
As we listen to his outpourings of grief, it seems as if his spirit was lost in the bitter cries of his flesh. Yet again and again his spirit breaks out in a tenacity of faith, which assured him, in the face of outward circumstances, he is still in the hand of God.
It is said of Abraham that:
"When hope was dead within him, he went on hoping in faith . . . With undaunted faith he looked at the facts . . . yet he refused to allow any distrust of a definite pronouncement of God to make him waver. He drew strength from his faith, and, while giving the glory to God, remained absolutely convinced that God was able to implement his own promise. This was the 'faith' which was counted unto him for righteousness."
Once again we see Job, at the moment of deepest despair—when he is driven to an agonized cry to his friends for pity—his spirit breaks free in triumphant faith in the Living God. His faith is again anchored on the Rock. Now, when Eliphaz boldly deals with him as a transgressor, (and he is dumb with the obvious impossibility of answering him), he is able to steadfastly rest in the faithfulness of God, and to understand what the Lord is doing with him.
Job remembers that gold is always purified by fire. He has already learned the need for sacrifice for the remission of sins, but now he realizes that there is also a trial by fire for the "gold" of God's chosen, and true gold will stand the fire and only lose the dross.
Job had suffered a great deal of distress under the charges of evil doing, and bitterly cried to God to show him his transgressions. But as soon as he saw his Redeemer to be his heavenly Vindicator, his spirit began to rest in a calm assurance and dependence on God. He knew now that the Lord was only trying him; not punishing him as his friends had said.
The Boldness of Faith
The apostle John told us that if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence (or as one translation renders it: boldness) before God. Job knew that he had not swerved from his fixed purpose to walk in the ways of God. He declared his foot had held fast to His steps; that is, his foot of faith had been planted firmly on every fresh step forward, because the Lord had been his strength, making his feet like hind's feet to walk on the high places of His truth.
Not only that, Job could say with a clear conscience that he had not "turned aside" or "gone back" from anything that he knew to be the will of God; he had "treasured up the words of His mouth" and esteemed them more than his "necessary food."
Right here is where we have the secret of Job's fear of the Lord, and dread of sin. He knew what it was to receive "words from His mouth". Those words remain in your heart like letters of fire, they can't be erased or forgotten, and are of greater value to spirit, soul, and body than even "necessary food."
Jesus told Satan that "man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Does that include the written word, too? Yes, the Holy Spirit of God speaks through the Scriptures and makes every word as alive as if it was from the very mouth of God. Without that, we are plainly told that the letter kills; it is the Spirit alone, speaking through the letter, that gives life.
Job's Knowledge of Faith
Job's knowledge of the character of God becomes very clearly understood again and again. Here he shows that he knows Him as the One with Whom there "can be no variation, nor a shadow that is cast by turning."
This is a God that never changes, could not be hindered, or turned aside from fulfilling His purposes. Job could rest assured that the Lord would perform every desire of His heart for him. "And many such plans He still has in store" Job adds—many blessed purposes are in His heart for me, and He will take His own way to fulfill them. I only know that "whatever His heart desires, that is what He does," no one can turn Him aside.
Job's fear of faith
"That's why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear Him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty terrifies me."
Those seem like strange words to follow the bold language that Job just used, but in experience, they are very easy to understand. Job's flesh has been broken down on every side, and during this breaking, all his natural powers of endurance and self-restraint are gone. The once dignified Job has not been able to hide his suffering behind any façade. He also was not able to protect himself from the humiliation of begging for mercy from his misjudging friends, and even weeping like a child. He knew God was refining him as gold, but as he remembered the pain and suffering of the past few days, and he said that He had even more in store, he couldn't help trembling as to what those "more" might mean.
Job says "when I think of that, I'm terrified of Him"—and he explains this by adding, "God has made my heart soft," although "I am not dismayed by the darkness, nor by the thick darkness that covers my face."
Job realizes his heart has been softened by all the struggling and suffering, that it even melts at the presence of God. But he also knows that it is not fear—fear of the darkness that God is leading him through. He does not know what it is, but his heart is faint.
The Marvel of Faith
"If my friends know God so well," Job begins to ponder, "why don't they understand His different times, or "days," for dealing with individuals?"
For instance, there are some so selfish and grasping that they provide for their own needs regardless of the suffering of others; they take advantage of the fatherless; rob the widow; trample the poor, so that all are afraid of them. Then there are the poor who are oppressed, they work hard for daily food; they reap the corn and glean the vintage, yet they are without shelter at night, and have no covering from the cold.
Then again there is the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer, all who sin in the dark, and hide themselves in the daytime. "Phaz you say their portion is cursed in the earth." You claim "the grave" violently takes away all who like that. The fact is "God lets them rest in a feeling of security," because it is not the "day" for dealing with them.
It is true His eyes are on their ways. For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone, and when they are brought low they are gathered in and cut off like ears of corn.
"Eliphaz, aren't I talking about the truth?" God has a time for everything, and those who know Him should see and understand His "days."
