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Job Chapter 5: Divine Correction and Restoration

An exploration of Job chapter 5, focusing on Eliphaz's perspective on suffering, divine sovereignty, and the potential blessings of God's correction. It emphasizes trusting in God's power and seeking His intervention in times of trouble, recognizing that He is the source of both affliction and restoration.

1. The Futility of Human Wisdom (Job 5:1-7)

1.1 The Cry for Help and the Fool's Wrath

Verses: Job 5:1-2
  • Eliphaz challenges Job to find anyone, even among the holy ones, who would answer his complaints, implying Job's self-reliance is misguided.
  • He asserts that vexation and envy lead to death, highlighting the destructive nature of foolish anger.

1.2 The Instability of the Wicked

Verses: Job 5:3-5
  • Eliphaz describes how he has seen the foolish take root, but then suddenly be cursed, suggesting their prosperity is fleeting.
  • He notes that their children are far from safety and oppressed, and there is no one to rescue them, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of their downfall.
  • The hungry devour their harvest, even taking what is behind the thorns, and the robber swallows up their substance, illustrating their vulnerability and lack of protection.

1.3 Affliction's Source and Humanity's Lot

Verses: Job 5:6-7
  • Eliphaz states that affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble spring from the ground, implying a deeper, perhaps divine, origin.
  • He asserts that humanity is born into trouble, as sparks fly upward, suggesting suffering is an inherent part of the human condition.

2. Trusting in God's Sovereignty (Job 5:8-16)

2.1 Seeking God's Intervention

Verses: Job 5:8-10
  • Eliphaz advises Job to seek God and commit his cause to Him, implying that God is the solution to Job's suffering.
  • He describes God as doing great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number, highlighting God's power and wisdom.
  • God gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields, demonstrating His provision and control over nature.

2.2 God's Exaltation and Humbling

Verses: Job 5:11-13
  • Eliphaz states that God sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety, showing God's compassion and justice.
  • He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot carry out their plans, demonstrating God's power over human schemes.
  • God takes the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong, illustrating how human wisdom is often self-defeating.

2.3 God's Protection of the Needy

Verses: Job 5:14-16
  • Eliphaz describes how the wicked meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night, highlighting their confusion and lack of direction.
  • God saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty, showing His protection of the vulnerable.
  • So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth, emphasizing the positive outcome of trusting in God's justice.

3. The Blessings of Divine Correction (Job 5:17-27)

3.1 The Benefit of Chastening

Verses: Job 5:17-19
  • Eliphaz declares that blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the discipline of the Almighty, suggesting that suffering can be a sign of God's love and care.
  • God wounds, but He binds up; He injures, but His hands make whole, illustrating God's ability to heal and restore.
  • He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you, promising comprehensive protection from harm.

3.2 Deliverance from Calamity

Verses: Job 5:20-23
  • In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword, promising deliverance from life-threatening situations.
  • You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not fear destruction when it comes, assuring protection from slander and fear.
  • You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not fear the beasts of the earth, demonstrating complete confidence in God's protection.

3.3 Restoration and Prosperity

Verses: Job 5:24-27
  • You shall know that your tent is secure, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing, promising stability and prosperity in one's household.
  • You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth, assuring a numerous and thriving family.
  • You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season, promising a long and fulfilling life.
  • See, we have searched this out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good, urging Job to accept Eliphaz's wisdom and find benefit in it.