March 7, 2024

Is it ever okay to question God?

Job 4

Brian Long
Thursday's Devo

March 7, 2024

Thursday's Devo

March 7, 2024

Thursday's Devo

March 7, 2024

Thursday's Devo

March 7, 2024

Big Book Idea

God is at work even when we can't see it.

Key Verse | Job 4:6

Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?

Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2  “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    Yet who can keep from speaking?
3  Behold, you have instructed many,
    and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4  Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
    and you have made firm the feeble knees.
5  But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
    it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6  Is not your fear of God 1 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God your confidence,
    and the integrity of your ways your hope?

7  Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?
    Or where were the upright cut off?
8  As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
    and sow trouble reap the same.
9  By the breath of God they perish,
    and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10  The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
    the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11  The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12  Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
    my ear received the whisper of it.
13  Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on men,
14  dread came upon me, and trembling,
    which made all my bones shake.
15  A spirit glided past my face;
    the hair of my flesh stood up.
16  It stood still,
    but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
    there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17  ‘Can mortal man be in the right before 2 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse God?
    Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18  Even in his servants he puts no trust,
    and his angels he charges with error;
19  how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
    whose foundation is in the dust,
    who are crushed like 3 4:19 Or before the moth.
20  Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.
21  Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
    do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Footnotes

[1] 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God
[2] 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse
[3] 4:19 Or before
Table of Contents
Introduction to Job

Introduction to Job

Timeline

Author and Date

The unknown Israelite author of this book presents Job as a person living in Uz (see note on 1:1). Job’s godliness (1:1) matches the ideals of Israelite wisdom literature. He clearly knows Yahweh (1:21). The events of the book seem to be set in the times of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Theological Themes

The book of Job concerns itself with the question of faith in a sovereign God. Can God be trusted? Is he good and just in his rule of the world? The book shows that the reasons for human suffering often remain a secret to human beings.

In the book of Job, God seems both too close and too far away. On the one hand, Job complains that God is watching him every moment so that he cannot even swallow his spit (7:19). On the other hand, Job finds God elusive (9:11). Though God is greatly concerned about humans, he does not always answer their most agonizing questions.

At the same time, Job’s friends offer no real help. They come to “comfort” him (2:11), but Job ends up declaring them “miserable comforters” who would console him “with empty nothings” (21:34). These friends represent an oversimplified view of faith. They think that all human troubles are divine punishments for wrongdoing. Their “comfort” consists largely of urging Job to identify his sin and repent of it. These friends are negative examples of how to comfort those who are suffering.

The book illustrates that one does not need to fully understand God’s will in order to be faithful while suffering. Those who suffer need not be afraid to express to God their confusion and questions.

Purpose

The book of Job was written to those who struggle with the question of how God can be good when the world is filled with suffering.

The author does not provide a formal defense of God’s justice. Rather, as Job’s friends offer their inadequate answers, the author shows how their reasoning fails. Then, in chs. 38–41, the Lord speaks in his own defense, bringing Job to fuller understanding (ch. 42).

Even during his suffering and confusion, before God finally speaks, Job can triumphantly declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (19:25).

Outline

  1. Prologue: Job’s Character and the Circumstances of His Test (1:1–2:13)
  2. Dialogue: Job, His Suffering, and His Standing before God (3:1–42:6)
    1. Job: despair for the day of his birth (3:1–26)
    2. The friends and Job: can Job be right before God? (4:1–25:6)
      1. First cycle (4:1–14:22)
      2. Second cycle (15:1–21:34)
      3. Third cycle (22:1–25:6)
    3. Job: the power of God, place of wisdom, and path of integrity (26:1–31:40)
    4. Elihu: suffering as a discipline (32:1–37:24)
    5. Challenge: the Lord answers Job (38:1–42:6)
  3. Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job (42:7–17)
The Global Message of Job

The Global Message of Job

Universal Questions

With its story of one man’s life and suffering, the book of Job raises universal questions. Why do people suffer, especially godly people? Where is God in suffering? Can God be trusted amid suffering? Job’s friends try to answer such questions with superficial and simplistic solutions, eventually earning God’s rebuke (Job 42:7–9).

Ultimately we learn from Job that we can hope steadfastly in our sovereign God. Instead of providing easy answers to hard questions, this incomparably glorious, all-knowing, and almighty God presents to people in all places and in all times the simplest, most powerful, and most universal answer to these questions. God’s answer to human suffering has everything to do with his own infinite goodness and care for his creation.

Suffering in a Fallen World

In the life of Job we see the breadth and depth of human suffering. We see suffering in health (Job 2:7), suffering in the loss of property (1:14–17), and suffering in the tragic death of family members (1:18–19). In Job we also listen in on a discussion in the heavenly courtroom between God and Satan (1:6–12; 2:1–7), in which God delights in the upright life of Job. There we are given a window into the normally invisible reasons for our trials and suffering.

Sin and suffering. Suffering is universal, though the kind of suffering differs from circumstance to circumstance. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin. There is no such thing as sin without consequences. Sometimes God himself directly chastises his people for their sins. However, Job’s friends are wrong to assume that his suffering is a direct result of disobedience (Job 8:4), and it would likewise be wrong to conclude that all or even most suffering in the world today is divine punishment for specific sins. The speeches of Eliphaz (chs. 4; 5; 15; 22), Bildad (chs. 8; 18; 25), and Zophar (chs. 11; 20) reflect such wrong assumptions.

Common suffering. Another type of suffering is what we might call “common suffering.” This is suffering that affects all people without distinction. It is simply the result of living in a fallen world. It includes health problems from colds to cancer. It includes bad weather, earthquakes, and typhoons. It includes financial struggles, and even death itself. Each tragic incident in Job’s life includes an element of this common suffering.

Godliness and suffering. Not only are godly people afflicted with suffering just as others are, but the godly experience some kinds of suffering due specifically to their godliness (Matt. 10:24–33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). Faithfulness to Christ will bring insult and at times persecution—suffering that could be avoided if we were not disciples of Christ. We see this principle in Job, for it was precisely Job’s uprightness that prompted God to single him out to Satan and then led Satan to seek to afflict him (Job 1:8–12).

Devastating suffering. Job’s suffering is uniquely profound and painful. Some suffering, we learn, defies any category. We discover in Job that Satan has a hand in some of the suffering of God’s people (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; compare 2 Cor. 12:1–10). But even such demonically instigated suffering is not outside of God’s sovereignty. Nor should our focus be on Satan when we suffer but rather on persisting in steadfast faith amid such God-ordained pain. At the very least a lesson to be learned from Job is that our vision and insight into suffering is severely limited. What is not limited, however, is God’s perfect understanding and sovereign control over every event in our lives. In the “Yahweh speeches” of Job (chs. 38–41), God does not engage Job in the details of his questions and complaints. Rather, God reminds Job that God is God and Job is not. God laid the foundation of the earth (38:4); he is God over the seas (38:8, 16), over the stars (38:31–33), and over every creature (39:1–30; 40:15–41:34).

A Global Message of Comfort and Hope

The almighty, all-good God. Despite its focus on challenges and sufferings, the book of Job speaks a message of great hope to the world. We live in a world longing for comfort and hope, and such hope is found in the sovereign God who sees, who is good, and who is faithful. We are not victims of random fate or uncontrolled circumstances. We are loved faithfully and passionately by a sovereign God who works all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). The suffering global church can take comfort amid suffering, knowing that God is pleased with our faithfulness to him, even as God expressed delight in “my servant Job” (Job 1:6–8; 2:3). James 5:11 reminds us that God will fulfill his good purposes and is indeed compassionate and merciful toward his people.

No neat formulas. Living an upright life of faith in God does not exempt us from suffering. This was the fundamental misunderstanding of Job’s friends (Job 8:6) and the reason that their “comfort” was so “miserable” (16:2). Indeed, in Job and in all of Scripture we see that suffering is a part of the experience of godly people, and that suffering is also a means for our sanctification. Suffering is a blessing as through it we learn that God’s ways and purposes are much greater than we can know (chs. 40–41). His purposes and faithfulness are much greater than the achievement of ease and a comfortable life; the global church must not make an idol out of worldly comfort and earthly abundance.

The sufferings of the Savior. Job confessed faith in the living Redeemer (Job 19:25). That Redeemer would one day come and suffer for us on a cross. Here we have yet another kind of suffering, the atoning sufferings of Christ. He suffered for our salvation, bearing the penalty for our sin. It is also our great privilege to share in his suffering (2 Cor. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:13). These are not the sufferings of health problems or bad weather or the consequences of our own folly. These are sufferings that flow from our union with and loyalty to Christ. There is a global attack on the righteous, but God will continue to provide sufficient grace to his people (2 Cor. 12:9).He will grow both his people and his kingdom through such suffering as it is endured in faith.

Our Intercession and Mission of Hope

Though God’s righteous anger burned against the three friends of Job, their folly was forgiven in response to the righteous intervention of Job’s prayers (Job 42:7–9). What then is the Christian response to those who suffer—and to those who cause suffering?

We are to intercede for the world, both in prayer and in life. We are to “comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). This comfort must find expression in our ministry and service to those in need both where we live as well as around the world—to orphans, widows, and all those who suffer.

This comfort is most gloriously and eternally known as the church ministers the gospel of new hope in Christ to the world—to the lost, to the downtrodden, and even to our enemies (Matt. 5:44). For the greatest suffering in this world is not the loss of property or even family; it is to be lost in sin, without the living Redeemer.

Proverbs Fact #1: Wisdom

Fact: Wisdom

Wisdom is a key term in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The word can mean “skilled at making sound decisions in life.” Proverbs 9:10 states that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Job Fact #1: Comfort

Fact: Comfort

Comfort is a key word in the book of Job. When faced with personal tragedies, Job receives no comfort from his friends (16:2). But when God answers him (see chs. 38–41), he finds the comfort he needs.

Job Fact #7: Three cycles of conversations

Fact: Three cycles of conversations

The book of Job includes three cycles of conversations in which the friends of Job offer their comfort and advice, and then listen as Job responds. The first cycle covers chs. 4–14.

Job Fact #15: Elihu

Fact: Elihu

Elihu is the only character in the book of Job with a Hebrew name.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

After the Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job, three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort him. However, all three wrongly assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of some hidden sin. Each man urged Job to repent so that God would have mercy on him. But Job insisted that he was innocent. Although it is true that some suffering is a result of sin, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar oversimplified this truth. They believed that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing, which was not the case for Job. The wrong actions of Job’s three friends should remind believers today to be wise and sensitive when dealing with people in distress. The Lord rebuked Job’s three friends and instructed Job to pray for them. (Job 42:7–9)

Study Notes

Job 4:8 those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. At the opening of his speech, Eliphaz introduces the claim that the friends will relentlessly defend throughout the dialogue: a person’s character can be judged by his or her circumstances.

Study Notes

Job 4:12–21 Eliphaz reports that he had a vision (vv. 12–16) and then describes its content (vv. 17–21). The vision raises the question, Can mortal man be in the right before God? Eliphaz argues that if God puts no trust even in his angels, then Job, a mortal man, should seek God’s help rather than presuming the right to protest against him.

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Dive Deeper | Job 4

Have you ever had bad things happen to you and thought that this must be God's punishment? Job's friend Eliphaz argues this in Job 4. 

Eliphaz asks his key question in Job 4:6, "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?" Here, Eliphaz presents to Job a common understanding that one's hope for a good life comes from reverence for God and a life free from sin. Eliphaz continues in Job 4:7: "[W]ho that was innocent ever perished?" Later, he asks, "Can mortal man be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?" Eliphaz is foreshadowing the truth Paul teaches in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Eliphaz is partly right and partly wrong. He is right to question if "mortal man can be right before God," because all people sin. But he does not trust in God's plan for salvation, rather he thinks that evil that happens to man is God's punishment. Eliphaz surmizes that Job must have sinned because of what happened to him. 

From our perspective in the story, we know that Job's misfortune is not punishment. Recall that in chapter 1, God tells Satan that "there is none like [Job] on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil." So, we know that God's view of Job is different. God must be saying this because He can look past Job's sins with His foreknowledge of the cross.

From our vantage point in the Church, we know that Jesus is the answer for our sins and has taken the punishment that is due to us. Jesus died for Job too, even if from Job's Old Testament vantage point he did not yet fully understand God's plan. Thus, we know that God's punishment for any of Job's sins were not the source of his misfortune.

Therefore, when we who trust in Christ have evil circumstances befall us, we should know that such situations are not God's punishment for our sins. Yes, God does discipline us, but He does so as a loving Father "for our good that we may share his holiness" (Hebrews 12:10).

This month's memory verse

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

– Romans 5:8

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever had a bad thing happen to you that you thought must be punishment from God? Explain.

2. Why do you think this point of view can be easy to adopt, even with our knowledge of Jesus' saving acts on the cross?

3. What are some practical steps you can take to remind yourself of these truths from Job when bad things happen to you?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

GJ

greg jones

This is a sample of the theology of the day that Job and his friends are abiding by. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you. Deuteronomy 6:18 Be careful to heed all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you for ever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 12:28 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground; for the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 30:9-10 See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16 His friends are being theologically orthodox in their arguments. And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Job 1:8-10 The formula has been at work for Job’s good according to the narrative. Job hasn’t changed. But his theology will have to in order to accommodate his personal experience. That’s one of the beautiful messinesses of the book of Job.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Hey Brian! Thank you for your devo, and thank you for the privilege of teaching calligraphy to your precious Kaylee at THEO! As Eliphaz launches into his attack on Job, I am grateful for good Bible teaching that helps me understand that simply because something is recorded in the Word, that doesn't mean God is teaching us to follow it. As Blake Holmes has brilliantly asked, "Does the Bible SAY it, or TEACH it?" In the book of Job, we read speech after speech of men with an incorrect view of God--but absolutely sure they're right. And they're not. That's probably one reason the book of Job is included in the canon of scripture: so we can identify one of the most broadly believed, but completely wrong, concepts about life--that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. So if bad things happen to someone, it's because they were bad. As we read today's speech, and the speeches of Job's other friends in the days to come, I think of God on His throne watching and listening, eyebrow raised (speaking anthropomorphically), allowing the pile of wrongful accusations to build . . . and getting it all wrong. He's going to give a speech of His own that will blow EVERYBODY out of the water.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. I did not play 7th Grade Basketball because I did not make the team. I practiced basketball over the summer and went back to tryout for the 8th Grade Basketball Team. The tryout was going well, but my ankle started hurting and turning inward. I would shake it off and continue playing because I knew that year was my year. Again, things were great, but my ankle hurt, and it kept turning inward. Tryouts finished and the roster would be posted shortly. That night, I woke up, stepped onto the floor to walk to the bathroom and fell to the ground. My ankle was too weak. I couldn’t walk. I missed school the next day to go to the doctor. I was told it was a stress fracture. I would be in an air cast for four to six weeks and not allowed to play basketball. I was UPSET. So I returned to school, checked the roster, and became REALLY upset. I had a broken ankle and a place on the 8th Grade Basketball Team. I thought God was punishing me. 2. Eliphaz’s experience is handed to me. It takes very little effort for me to comprehend Eliphaz’s experience. 3. There are practical steps I can take to remind myself of truths when bad things happen. I can accept the bad, step away from the bad, and then recall the words from Job. Brian - Thank you for sharing your ideas. You make a good point in saying, “Therefore, when we who trust in Christ have evil circumstances befall us, we should know that such situations are not God's punishment for our sins. Yes, God does discipline us, but He does so as a loving Father "for our good that we may share his holiness" (Hebrews 12:10)”. God empowers us to be true to Him and to use the gifts He has instilled within us.
MS

Michael Scaman

Urban Eliphaz could have said this with a modern twist on Job 4 Title: Instant Karma Instant karma, what goes around, comes around, Positive thoughts lift us up, never keep us down, Health and wealth, blessings overflow, In the journey of life, our spirits grow. Karma's swift, but positivity's quicker, Health, wealth, and liberation, make our lives richer. With faith as our guide, we're unstoppable, In the dance of destiny, we're unbreakable. New Dude on the Block steps up and raps..... Title: I'm the Victim Here Not Job Liberation theology, fighting for the politically oppressed, Forget sins of the heart, injustice and inequality, put to the test, Not "savior theology" and the love or glory of God, Positive vibes, break through every chain, Salvation is in the sexual revolution. In the darkest night, our light will reign. Then Urban Eliphaz and New Dude rap together.... We sow seeds of hope, reap fields of "instant karma" and not grace, We rebuje our struggles and oppression, we find our place. It's our words not God's it's all about health in mind, body, and soul, We're on a journey going our own way towards our hearts ultimate goal. Job raps his reply Title: Hard Pass on Both Eliphaz speaks with words that seem wise, But beneath the surface, deception lies. His arguments, though coated smooth, Reveal a judgmental, harsh groove. His persuasive tone may catch the ear, But scrutiny reveals doubts and fear. I'll hold fast to truth, come what may, In God's presence, I'll find my way.