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Eliphaz Takes Aim At Job, Again Series
Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Jul 2, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Job is in a world of complete hopelessness, and his friends are only making things worse. Our lesson from this is actually simple: The key to strengthening our hope is to focus on God, not yourself!
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Eliphaz takes aim at Job, again
Job Sermon Series, Part 8
Introduction (Job Slide)
- Today we continue to examine Job’s conversations with his friends
-- Re: These men came in Ch. 2 to sit with him and mourn his loss
- They appear to come to comfort … but quickly their real motives are shown
-- They are discouragers; ones who desire Job to stop holding onto his faith
-- In their eyes, there is a cause/effect with his sin and his condition
- These friends have three conversations with him…
• Round 1: they suggest Job has sinned
• Round 2: they imply Job is a sinner
• Round 3: they state Job’s sin
- Round two begins with Eliphaz digging in deeper to accuse Job
-- It’s curious to note how the tone begins to change with these discussions
-- First, they were merely trying to offer guidance; now it’s an assault
-- Hopelessness is a powerful weapon the enemy uses …
- Read Job Ch. 15
- Pray
Point 1 – Eliphaz’s Second Assault (Ch. 15)
- As they have done before, Job is accused of not answering their questions (v1)
-- To them, Job is all talk and no action – he is self-centered (v2-3)
-- Job is accused of treading on the very instruction of God (v4)
-- Their logic: A reasonable man would listen to what is being said to him
- Therefore, the conclusion can only be that Job’s sin is the cause (v5)
-- Job is not able to speak properly because of the sin in his life
-- It is obviously Job’s mouth that has him in trouble here (v6)
-- “Therefore, don’t get mad at me because you have your feelings hurt”
- CHAL: Sometimes we need to step back and see if we are the cause
-- Eliphaz certainly believes that Job has brought this on himself
- Therefore, Eliphaz takes to asking a series of questions to Job
-- These are meant to elicit a specific response (Job is smarter than everyone)
- Re-read v7-9
• Are you Adam? Were you here before even the mountains?
• Do you even listen to God? Or, are you the smartest man ever to live?
• Tell us how smart you are, because you obviously know everything
- APP: Job has no right to counsel his friends; or refuse what they are saying
-- Their implication is they are correct here, and Job needs to simply listen up
-- Eliphaz places all the blame on Job, and cuts him deep with a question (v12)
-- “You’ve lost your grip on reality Job, your emotions are ruling you now.”
-- This is driven home deeper by accusation that he is raging against God (v13)
- Eliphaz reminds Job (who knows this) that there are no perfect humans (v14)
-- We have all sinned and have all fallen short… even YOU, Job
-- Therefore, since God does not place trust in his angels, why us? (v15)
- So, he tries to motivate Job by explaining why he’s suffering (v17)
• We have the knowledge from our ancestors about our condition
• Even the ruthless man will suffer because of his sins
• So much so, that God stores his wrath up for them to pay
• The punishment is clearly laid out for all who deserve it (v21-24)
- Furthermore, Job is accused of charging at God with a shield (v25-26)
-- He is accused of shaking his fist at God and daring to threaten the almighty
- He even describes the condition of someone who does this (v27)
-- APP: Fat was a sign of wealth, prosperity, and often used to describe wicked
-- The wicked man would rob other towns, pillage from everything (v28)
- Because a man is wicked (v29-33):
• He deserves to have his wealth taken
• He deserves death and the punishment that comes with it
• He should get nothing in return by believing his own lies
• His life should end abruptly; a vine stripped of its unripe grapes
- Hatefully, Eliphaz brings to mind the state that Job is in now (re-read v34)
-- APP: His children are dead and now his wife is barren b/c of him (cruel)
- The implication is also that corrupt people love bribes; Job is corrupt (v34)
-- This ruin has fallen on him because of the sins/decisions he has made
- IMP: Job … you are a wicked man and you’ve conceived this trouble
-- You have brought this upon yourself … and you deserve it (v35)
- TRANS: “And then Job replied…”
Point 2 – Job’s Reply (Ch. 16)
“If you really want to know who your friends are, just make a mistake” – Anon