How does Eliphaz's response in Job 15:1 challenge Job's previous statements? Setting the Scene Job has just finished pouring out his complaint (Job 12–14), insisting on his integrity and questioning why the righteous suffer. Eliphaz answers, launching his second speech in chapter 15. Job’s Recent Assertions Eliphaz Targets • “I am blameless, yet He deprives me of justice” (Job 9:15, 21). • “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him; yet I will defend my ways to His face” (Job 13:15). • “Man dies and is laid low… so man lies down and does not rise” (Job 14:10, 12). • “All of you are worthless physicians” (Job 13:4). Eliphaz’s Opening Rebuke (Job 15:1–2) “Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied, ‘Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?’ ” (Job 15:1–2) • Calls Job’s words “empty counsel”—undercutting Job’s claim to speak wisely. • Labels them “hot east wind”—implying destructive, pointless bluster (Hosea 13:15). • Sets a courtroom tone: Eliphaz will prosecute Job’s speech as folly. Specific Ways Eliphaz Challenges Job 1. Questions Job’s Wisdom – vv. 2–3: “Should he argue with useless words?” – Counter to Job’s plea to “reason” with God (Job 13:3). 2. Accuses Job of Undermining Piety – v. 4: “You even undermine the fear of God.” – Pushes back against Job’s lament that God “destroys both the blameless and the wicked” (Job 9:22). 3. Claims Job’s Speech Springs from Sin – v. 5: “Your iniquity teaches your mouth.” – Contradicts Job’s insistence on innocence (Job 10:7). 4. Uses Job’s Own Words as Evidence – v. 6: “Your own mouth condemns you.” Echoes Jesus’ later principle, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). 5. Appeals to Ancient Tradition – vv. 7–10: “Were you the first man ever born?” Eliphaz suggests Job lacks the authority of the elders (cf. Deuteronomy 32:7). 6. Reasserts Universal Sinfulness – vv. 14–16: “What is man, that he can be pure?” anticipating Romans 3:23. 7. Warns of Retributive Justice – vv. 20–35: The wicked “writhe in pain” and “will not escape darkness,” countering Job’s observation that the wicked often prosper (Job 12:6). The Core Challenge Summarized • Eliphaz shifts the focus from Job’s suffering to Job’s speech, arguing that talking irreverently reveals hidden sin. • He re-entrenches the retribution principle: suffering equals sin (Proverbs 11:5). • He dismisses Job’s desire for a legal hearing with God, asserting Job lacks the wisdom, purity, or standing to question the Almighty (Isaiah 45:9). Takeaway for Today Eliphaz’s response warns against letting pain drive us to irreverent conclusions about God. Yet, as later chapters reveal, rigid theology without compassion can misjudge the innocent (Job 42:7). Suffering tests both the sufferer and the comforter; only God’s final verdict settles the matter (Ecclesiastes 12:14). |
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