Job 4:12-21 – We are created with capacity to live right

Here Eliphaz described a visitation he had. It came in the form of a dream or a night vision. It was such a harrowing experience that he was affected much. His bones were shaken and he was terrified. Even his senses were quickened and he could feel a breath brushed pass. It was quite unusual that the message should be surreptitiously deposited. Eliphaz sensed the presence of an indescribable and mysterious figure though he couldn’t name him. And when he stayed still, he heard a still small voice asking him two rhetorical questions: the first question was, ^“Can mankind be just before God?” And the second, “Can a man be pure before his Maker?” It is unlikely that the experience Eliphaz had, came from God. Here are three reasons why. Firstly, he didn’t say with specificity that it was from God; secondly, the message came stealthily; and thirdly, he painted for us a picture of a God who was totally unconcerned for man.  

From these verses, we deduce that Eliphaz had two assumptions. Firstly, that man cannot be right and pure before God. Secondly, that God cannot even trust his angels who could be flawless, how then could he trust men, who are transient. This is furthest from the truth. With His help, man can have the capacity to live right before God. With His assistance, God does trust man to make right decision. For after all, he had created man in His own image and likeness.

Eliphaz characterized man as weaklings without considering the fact that each one is created in the image and likeness of God. Man, after all, is still the highest of God’s creation. Yes, granted that after the fall, man became mere mortal. And their mortality is like perishable houses made of clay, with flimsy foundation of dust. Like moths, men could be crushed as easily. Mankind could also be broken into pieces like pottery. And like tent, when the cords were pulled out, they could also be folded. Ultimately man would die without discovering wisdom. Yet God is mindful of man. Pointedly, Eliphaz was hinting that Job was a mere unwise mortal man, and he was suffering because he was a sinner. 

Forcefully, Eliphaz had applied what he had experienced onto Job’s situation. He was indeed presumptuous. It’s plain to see that he had a framework in his mind, and that he interpreted Job’s suffering in the light of that framework. That’s what a Job’s comforter would do. They always have pet answers to any given situation without thinking that every effect in life has its own set of causes. You and I know better, that to help a person in turmoil, the best thing to do is never to provide pet answers. With empathy, we should lead and guide a person to accurately assess his situation and then to place his or her trust in God.