“This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep. Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end. The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’ [Job 4.12-17]
Eliphaz the Temanite said this. In Genesis 36 we see that one of Esau's sons from his wife Adah was named Eliphaz. Interestingly enough, one of Eliphaz's sons was named Teman.
Eliphaz's "truth" and the circumstances surrounding it sound suspiciously like an encounter with Satan. Here is why: this "truth" was given "in secret"; this "truth" was given "as though whispered in my ear"; this "truth" came as "a disturbing vision at night"; this "truth" invoked fear and trembling; and last but not least, what the spirit who brought that "truth" said was nothing less than all-out accusation of man's sinfulness which is nothing less than the work of Satan (Revelation 12.10).
In addition to what is noted above, when others encountered spirits in the Bible and were fearful, those "good angels" first told them "do not fear" before delivering their message. We have no record that the spirit Eliphaz encountered did any such thing.
What is said here, coupled with the fact that Job is later commissioned by God to pray for his three friends, which includes Eliphaz, tells us that Eliphaz was wrong before God.
As many times as I have read the book of Job, I believe I have believed (without substance) that Eliphaz was actually speaking for God. But now, not so much...
I am going to be paying better attention now to what these three friends say and scrutinizing their "encouragement" by what the Bible actually teaches.
On another note, I feel a need to better understand what I believe about Job's innocence as it is presented in God's and Satan's conversation. God's questioning Satan about Job in particular should give us reason to pursue deeper understanding... Why Job? Why did God single out Job? God is NOT random and so we must understand that God's focus on Job, to Satan nonetheless, had significance. AND, why then would God single out Job to Satan? There is, without question, more than meets the eye in this heavenly event! To make assumptions about this conversation is gross failure. We need to be mindful of everything we know about God and Satan in order to accurately discern what is actually taking place in their interaction. For starters, we need to think of this encounter like this: ANYONE who stands before God is subject to, and illuminated by, God's justice and holiness and, as such, is inspected for his own character and obedience. Let that soak in... Satan was NOT standing before God as some kind of peer or associate! Their conversation was not one of reasoning or collaboration between them!
One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. [Job 1.6]
One day the members of the heavenly court came again to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. [Job 2.1]
Those who came to stand before God came as subjects to give accountability for what they had been doing! They were, in essence, "on trial." We simply cannot miss the significance of this fact! Everything we understand about Job's story needs to take into account that Satan was on trial and the subject in question was Job! There is no way we can understand anything about the book of Job until we first understand this!
Father, I am going to stop here... Thank You for speaking to me today. Thank You for helping me to see deeper into Your "interaction" with Satan so that it might serve as a basis to better understand Job's entire situation. Help me to understand more and, at the end of the day, to understand that even the book of Job points us to Jesus, Who, at Your right hand, justifies those of us who believe.
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