What is the meaning of Job 15:2? Does a wise man answer with empty counsel • Eliphaz challenges Job’s claim to wisdom by pointing out that truly wise speech carries substance, not hollowness. Proverbs 15:2 says, “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly”, underscoring that wisdom and emptiness cannot coexist. • “Empty counsel” exposes words that lack grounding in God’s truth. Proverbs 10:19 warns, “When words are many, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise”. Eliphaz implies that Job’s lengthy defenses have drifted into unprofitable territory. • For the believer, wisdom is anchored in fearing the Lord (Proverbs 9:10) and aligning words with His revealed will (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Anything else—no matter how heartfelt—rings hollow. or fill his belly with the hot east wind? • The “east wind” in Scripture is a scorching desert blast that withers crops and topples ships (Genesis 41:6; Jonah 4:8). Eliphaz uses the image to paint Job’s words as destructive gusts rather than refreshing truth. Hosea 12:1 draws a similar picture: “Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day”. • “Fill his belly” implies internalizing and being satisfied by his own bluster. Ecclesiastes 1:14 observes, “all is vanity, a chasing after the wind”. Eliphaz accuses Job of nourishing himself on vanity instead of God’s wisdom. • Scripture contrasts this emptiness with the satisfying fare of God’s Word: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy” (Jeremiah 15:16). Speech that lacks that nourishment is little more than hot air. summary Job 15:2 confronts the difference between words filled with God-given wisdom and words that are empty, self-satisfying gusts of hot wind. Eliphaz wrongly concludes that Job’s arguments fall into the latter category, yet the principle is timeless: wisdom speaks with substance, humility, and reverence for God, while folly multiplies words that neither edify others nor honor the Lord. |
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