Job Lacks Wisdom

11/7/2011 9:32:09 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Eliphaz: Two Warnings

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Job 15

            Message of the verses:  Today’s SD begins a new chapter in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Job, “Be Patient.”  He entitles this chapter, which covers chapters 15-17, “Discussion Turns Into Dispute.”  We will find in these three chapters of Job that Job’s three friends, starting with Eliphaz in this chapter, want to attack Job even more than the first time they spoke to him.  Job will speak to Eliphaz in chapters 16-17 in order to answer the things that Eliphaz speaks to him about in this chapter.

            Why is it that Job’s three friends want to discredit Job, telling him that he has sinned, and that is the cause of all of his troubles?  The answer could be that if Job was correct in his thinking that he had not sinned to cause all of this trouble, that the same thing could happen to them and so it is important that they make sure that it was because of some secret sin that Job committed against the Lord that caused all this trouble.

            The quote that I am about to write is from an unknown source but it surely goes along with Job’s three friends.  The quote is about theologians “a blind man in a dark room searching for a black cat that isn’t there.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following:  “But a true theologian walks in the light of God’s revelation in His Word, in history, and in creation; and he humbly accepts the truth, no matter what the cost.”  Job’s friends were not true theologians, for they only saw things from one side, if you sin you will have bad things happen to you, if you life a righteous life things will go good for you.  This kind of sounds like the Pharisees to me.

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes Eric Hoffer, who was a longshoreman-philosopher who said, “We are least open to precise knowledge concerning the things we are most vehement about.” 

            Job lacks wisdom (Job 15:1-16).  “1 ¶  Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, 2  "Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge And fill himself with the east wind? 3  "Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which are not profitable? 4  "Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder meditation before God. 5  "For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the crafty. 6  "Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you. 7  "Were you the first man to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills? 8  "Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself? 9  "What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not? 10  "Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father. 11  "Are the consolations of God too small for you, Even the word spoken gently with you? 12  "Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash, 13  That you should turn your spirit against God And allow such words to go out of your mouth? 14  "What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15  "Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight; 16  How much less one who is detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water!”

            In this section Eliphaz gives two warnings, and the first one is in the verses above, that is Job lacks wisdom.  Eliphaz is really not saying anything more that he had said in his last speech to Job, that is that man is a sinner and God must punish sinners (Job 5:17-19), however there is nothing comforting that is said to Job in this section. 

            How is it that Eliphaz comes to this conclusion that Job lacks wisdom?  Well for one thing he listened to Jobs words (vv.1-6) and all he found in them were hot air, nothing but wind.  Job’s words came from a belly full of hot air, and not from any source of true wisdom.  Eliphaz could not attack Job’s arguments so he attacked his words as being hot air.

            I think that it is important for me to quote a paragraph from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary from this section:  “Eliphaz not only heard Job’s words, but he saw where those words led (Job 15:4).  ‘But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God (v. 4, NIV).  If everybody believed as Job believed—that God does not always punish the wicked and reward the godly—then what motive would people have for obeying God?  Religion would not be worth it!  But this is the devil’s theology, the very thing that God was using Job to refute!  If people serve God only for what they get out of it, then they are not serving God at all, they are only serving themselves by making God their servant.  Their ‘religion’ is only a pious system for promoting selfishness and not for glorifying God.”  In my opinion this quote is precisely the main reason that the book of Job is so important for believers to read and to understand.

            As a believer in Jesus Christ living in the twenty-first century what is my motive for serving God?  Is it because I fear Him and so if I don’t I will be punished for my disobedience?  When God called Israel out of Egypt and gave them His Law at Mt. Sinai they were still children and therefore that is how God treated them, however when the next generation came along and they were about to go into the promised land Moses gave them a higher motive for obeying God.  Let’s look at a few verses from the book of Deuteronomy to see this higher motive:  “4 ¶  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  This is from Der. 6:4-5 and is one of the most important set of verses in all of Scripture to a Jew it’s the Shema.”  7  "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.”  (Der. 7:7)  “  12 ¶  "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13  and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14  "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15  "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16  "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”  (Deu. 10:12-16)  Now that we are beginning to understand that it is all about love, God’s love for us and in turn our love for God, and because of our love for God we will obey the Lord’s commandments.  Two NT verses:  “8  Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9  For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 10  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”  (Romans 13:8-10)  John 14:15 was said by the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciple’s right before He was to go to the cross:  “"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  In all these verses we can see that Job’s friends got it wrong.

            Eliphaz is telling Job that he has a wicked heart in verse 5-6 and also that because of his youth that he lacked wisdom in verses 7-10.  Eliphaz then turns to sarcasm, which is another proof that he did not have anything intelligent to say. 

            Eliphaz not turns to say something similar in verses 14-16 that he already said in Job 4:17-19, and that is if heaven is not even pure before God, not even the angels that live in heaven,  how then can a man who lives on this earth, born with a sinful nature be pure before God.  Job is no exception to this either.  In the next SD we will look at the second warning that Eliphaz has for Job, and that is “God judges the wicked.” 

            However I don’t want to leave this question unanswered that Eliphaz brings up.  The NT testament teaches us that once a person is “born again” that he receives the righteousness of Jesus Christ “2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (KJV) When I look at this verse I seem to always think that this is not a fair exchange, but this is love. As far as heaven not being pure I will give my own answer to that question and so you must understand it is only my opinion.  Satan fell while in heaven and took one third of the angels with him.  Those angels were then thrown down to the earth.  This is written about in the twelfth chapter of Revelations.  Now we see in the book of Job that Satan has access to come into heaven and speak to God, so in my opinion this is how heaven has been defiled and this, in my opinion, is why at the end of the kingdom age that lasts one thousand years that the heavens and the earth are “uncreated” and then we have a place called the New Jerusalem and this is where God will dwell.  I believe that heaven will be destroyed because Satan had access to it.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have read over and over about the love of God, how God loves me and demonstrated this love for me by sending Christ to die on the cross for me.  I believe it in my heart, but there are times when I have a hard time living like it in this body of mine.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      Remember the truth of 2Cor. 5:21.

2.      Remember the truth of Philippians 4:11b.

3.      Remember the truth of 1John 4:18.

11/7/2011 11:17:50 AM