May the Name of the Lord Be Praised, Alan Wolff
ELIPHAZ' EXPERIENCE
Passage: Job 5:1~27  
Key verse: 17
5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?(A)
To which of the holy ones(B) will you turn?
2 Resentment(C) kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.(D)
3 I myself have seen(E) a fool taking root,(F)
but suddenly(G) his house was cursed.(H)
4 His children(I) are far from safety,(J)
crushed in court(K) without a defender.(L)
5 The hungry consume his harvest,(M)
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.(N)
7 Yet man is born to trouble(O)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.(P)
9 He performs wonders(Q) that cannot be fathomed,(R)
miracles that cannot be counted.(S)
10 He provides rain for the earth;(T)
he sends water on the countryside.(U)
11 The lowly he sets on high,(V)
and those who mourn(W) are lifted(X) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(Y) of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.(Z)
13 He catches the wise(AA) in their craftiness,(AB)
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(AC)
14 Darkness(AD) comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.(AE)
15 He saves the needy(AF) from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.(AG)
16 So the poor(AH) have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(AI)
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;(AJ)
so do not despise the discipline(AK) of the Almighty.[a](AL)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(AM)
he injures, but his hands also heal.(AN)
19 From six calamities he will rescue(AO) you;
in seven no harm will touch you.(AP)
20 In famine(AQ) he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.(AR)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(AS)
and need not fear(AT) when destruction comes.(AU)
22 You will laugh(AV) at destruction and famine,(AW)
and need not fear the wild animals.(AX)
23 For you will have a covenant(AY) with the stones(AZ) of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(BA)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;(BB)
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.(BC)
25 You will know that your children will be many,(BD)
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.(BE)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,(BF)
like sheaves gathered in season.(BG)
Footnotes
- Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job
Cross references
- Job 5:1 : Hab 1:2
- Job 5:1 : Job 15:15; Ps 89:5, 7
- Job 5:2 : Job 21:15; 36:13
- Job 5:2 : Pr 12:16; Gal 5:26
- Job 5:3 : S Job 4:8
- Job 5:3 : Ps 37:35; Isa 40:24; Jer 12:2; Eze 17:6
- Job 5:3 : Pr 6:15
- Job 5:3 : Job 24:18; Ps 37:22, 35-36; 109:9-10; Pr 3:33
- Job 5:4 : Job 20:10; 27:14
- Job 5:4 : S Job 4:11
- Job 5:4 : Job 4:19; Am 5:12
- Job 5:4 : Ps 109:12; Isa 9:17; 1Jn 2:1
- Job 5:5 : Lev 26:16; S Jdg 2:15; Job 20:18; 31:8; Mic 6:15
- Job 5:6 : S Job 4:8
- Job 5:7 : S Ge 3:17; Job 10:17; 15:35; Ps 51:5; 58:3; 90:10; Pr 22:8
- Job 5:8 : Job 8:5; 11:13; 13:3, 15; 23:4; 40:1; Ps 35:23; 50:15; Jer 12:1; 1Co 4:4
- Job 5:9 : Ps 78:4; 111:2
- Job 5:9 : Dt 29:29; Job 9:4, 10; 11:7; 25:2; 26:14; 33:12; 36:5, 22, 26; 37:5, 14, 16, 23; 42:3; Ps 40:5; 71:17; 72:18; 86:10; 131:1; 139:6, 17; 145:3; Isa 40:28; Ro 11:33
- Job 5:9 : Ps 71:15
- Job 5:10 : Mt 5:45
- Job 5:10 : S Lev 26:4; Job 36:28; 37:6, 13; 38:28, 34; Ps 135:7; Jer 14:22
- Job 5:11 : S 1Sa 2:7-8; S Job 4:7; Ps 75:7; 113:7-8
- Job 5:11 : Isa 61:2; Mt 5:4; Ro 12:15
- Job 5:11 : S Mt 23:12; Jas 4:10
- Job 5:12 : Ne 4:15; Ps 33:10; Isa 8:10; 19:3; Jer 19:7
- Job 5:12 : Job 12:23; Ps 78:59; 140:8
- Job 5:13 : Job 37:24; Isa 29:14; 44:25; Jer 8:8; 18:18; 51:57
- Job 5:13 : Job 15:5; Ps 36:3; Lk 20:23; 1Co 3:19*; 2Co 11:3; Eph 4:14
- Job 5:13 : Job 9:4; 18:7; Pr 21:30; 29:6; Jer 8:9
- Job 5:14 : Job 15:22, 30; 18:6, 18; 20:26; 22:11; 27:20; Isa 8:22; Jn 12:35
- Job 5:14 : S Dt 28:29; S Job 18:5; Am 8:9
- Job 5:15 : S Ex 22:23; Job 8:6; 22:27; 33:26; 36:15
- Job 5:15 : S Job 4:10; S 31:22
- Job 5:16 : Job 20:19; 31:16; Pr 17:5; 22:22; Isa 11:4; 41:17; 61:1
- Job 5:16 : Ps 63:11; 107:42; Ro 3:19
- Job 5:17 : Dt 8:5; Job 33:19; 36:10; Zep 3:7; Jas 1:12
- Job 5:17 : Ps 94:12; Pr 3:11; Jer 31:18
- Job 5:17 : S Ge 17:1; S Job 15:11; Heb 12:5-11
- Job 5:18 : Ps 147:3; Isa 57:15; 61:1; Hos 6:1
- Job 5:18 : S Dt 32:39
- Job 5:19 : Da 3:17; 6:16
- Job 5:19 : Ps 34:19; 91:10; Pr 3:25-26; 24:15-16
- Job 5:20 : ver 22; Ps 33:19; 37:19
- Job 5:20 : Ps 22:20; 91:7; 140:7; 144:10; Jer 39:18
- Job 5:21 : Ps 12:2-4; 31:20
- Job 5:21 : Ps 23:4; 27:1; 91:5
- Job 5:21 : ver 15
- Job 5:22 : Job 8:21; 39:7, 18, 22; 41:29
- Job 5:22 : S ver 20
- Job 5:22 : S Lev 25:18; Ps 91:13; Hos 2:18; Mk 1:13
- Job 5:23 : Isa 28:15; Hos 2:18
- Job 5:23 : 2Ki 3:19, 25; Ps 91:12; Mt 13:8
- Job 5:23 : Job 40:20; Isa 11:6-9; 65:25; Eze 34:25
- Job 5:24 : Job 12:6; 21:9
- Job 5:24 : Job 8:6; 22:23
- Job 5:25 : Dt 28:4; Ps 112:2
- Job 5:25 : Ps 72:16; Isa 44:3-4; 48:19
- Job 5:26 : S Ge 15:15; S Dt 11:21; S Ecc 8:13
- Job 5:26 : Pr 3:21-26
- Job 5:27 : Job 32:10, 17
- Job 5:27 : Job 8:5; 11:13; 22:27
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Man is born to trouble (1-8)
Eliphaz' world view is pessimistic. He was rebuked by God in 42:7 for misrepresenting God. Much of what he said was right, but his basic assumption was wrong. He assumed that God was punishing Job for some sin. He counsels Job, not from God's word, but from his own experience.
2. God wounds, but he also binds (9-27)
God indeed performs miracles that cannot be fathomed; he gives rain to the earth; he lifts up the lowly. No one can deceive God. (Paul quotes verse 13 in 1Co 3:19.) It is true that God's discipline is a blessing--that he wounds so that he can heal. Eliphaz promises Job that God will rescue him from all his calamities (19-27). The problem is that Eliphaz is not qualified to speak for God. His counsel cannot bring real encouragement to Job. It would be better if he would quietly pray for his friend.
Prayer: Lord, I cannot understand your ways. Help me to pray for your people and study the Bible with them instead of giving advice based on my own experience.
One Word: God wounds, but he binds up