Job Chapter 5
1 "Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,
5 whose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.
6 For affliction doesn't come out of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground;
7 but man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 "But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God,
9 who does great things that can't be fathomed, marvellous things without number;
10 who gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields;
11 so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.
12 He frustrates the plans of the crafty, So that their hands can't perform their enterprise.
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17 "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds and binds up. He injures and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither will you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, neither will you be afraid of the animals of the earth.
23 For you will be allied with the stones of the field. The animals of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is in peace. You will visit your fold, and will miss nothing.
25 You will know also that your offspring will be great, Your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.
27 Look at this. We have searched it. It is so. Hear it, and know it for your good."
Footnotes
- Verse 25
- or, seed
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Job Chapter 5 Guide
Proceeding, Eliphaz asked Job to whom he would appeal, to which of the holy ones, that is, as against the truth which he had declared, or in defence of himself. In the light of evident guilt, all vexation and jealousy, such as Job had manifested, constitute such sin as produces final undoing. His attempted explanation of the meaning of suffering he then crystallized into proverbial form:
Affliction cometh not forth of the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.
That is to say again that there must have been a sowing for such a harvest.
Eliphaz then proceeded to utter his advice to Job by telling him what he would do. He "would seek unto God," and to Him commit his cause. This declaration is followed by a passage of great beauty, in which he tells of the faithfulness and might of the Most High. In order to persuade his suffering friend to such action, he described the confidence and ultimate deliverance and restoration which would come to him if his trust was in God. It is all very beautiful, but absolutely short-sighted. Eliphaz had no knowledge of those secret councils in heaven, and was making the mistake of attempting to press all things into the compass of his philosophy.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Job Chapter 5 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- Eliphaz urges that the sin of sinners in their ruin. -- (1-5)
- God is to be regarded in affliction. -- (6-16)
- The happy end of God's correction. -- (17-27)
Verses 1-5
Eliphaz here calls upon Job to answer his arguments. Were any of the saints or servants of God visited with such Divine judgments as Job, or did they ever behave like him under their sufferings? The term, "saints," holy, or more strictly, consecrated ones, seems in all ages to have been applied to the people of God, through the Sacrifice slain in the covenant of their reconciliation. Eliphaz doubts not that the sin of sinners directly tends to their ruin. They kill themselves by some lust or other; therefore, no doubt, Job has done some foolish thing, by which he has brought himself into this condition. The allusion was plain to Job's former prosperity; but there was no evidence of Job's wickedness, and the application to him was unfair and severe.
Verses 6-16
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves. Man is born in sin, and therefore born to trouble. There is nothing in this world we are born to, and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble. Actual transgressions are sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption. Such is the frailty of our bodies, and the vanity of all our enjoyments, that our troubles arise thence as the sparks fly upward; so many are they, and so fast does one follow another. Eliphaz reproves Job for not seeking God, instead of quarrelling with him. Is any afflicted? let him pray. It is heart's ease, a salve for every sore. Eliphaz speaks of rain, which we are apt to look upon as a little thing; but if we consider how it is produced, and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work of power and goodness. Too often the great Author of all our comforts, and the manner in which they are conveyed to us, are not noticed, because they are received as things of course. In the ways of Providence, the experiences of some are encouragements to others, to hope the best in the worst of times; for it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless, and hope to the hopeless. And daring sinners are confounded, and forced to acknowledge the justice of God's proceedings.
Verses 17-27
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor his title to heaven; nay, he is happy because he is afflicted. Correction mortifies his corruptions, weans his heart from the world, draws him nearer to God, brings him to his Bible, brings him to his knees. Though God wounds, yet he supports his people under afflictions, and in due time delivers them. Making a wound is sometimes part of a cure. Eliphaz gives Job precious promises of what God would do for him, if he humbled himself. Whatever troubles good men may be in, they shall do them no real harm. Being kept from sin, they are kept from the evil of trouble. And if the servants of Christ are not delivered from outward troubles, they are delivered by them, and while overcome by one trouble, they conquer all. Whatever is maliciously said against them shall not hurt them. They shall have wisdom and grace to manage their concerns. The greatest blessing, both in our employments and in our enjoyments, is to be kept from sin. They shall finish their course with joy and honour. That man lives long enough who has done his work, and is fit for another world. It is a mercy to die seasonably, as the corn is cut and housed when fully ripe; not till then, but then not suffered to stand any longer. Our times are in God's hands; it is well they are so. Believers are not to expect great wealth, long life, or to be free from trials. But all will be ordered for the best. And remark from Job's history, that steadiness of mind and heart under trial, is one of the highest attainments of faith. There is little exercise for faith when all things go well. But if God raises a storm, permits the enemy to send wave after wave, and seemingly stands aloof from our prayers, then, still to hang on and trust God, when we cannot trace him, this is the patience of the saints. Blessed Saviour! how sweet it is to look unto thee, the Author and Finisher of faith, in such moments!
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.