Bible Commentary - Job 5

In this chapter, Eliphaz proclaims the power of God and tells Job to seek God for his healing.

Eliphaz’s discourse is hard to understand.  This whole book uses a poetic form that is filled with symbolism and metaphors and even with careful review it is hard for me (and a lot of other people) to understand exactly what is intended.  That said, I’ll do my best to break down Eliphaz’s speech into a set of discrete points and unify them to the extent that I am able.

In verses 2-7, Eliphaz is basically asserting that disasters are the result of sin.  He basically said the same thing in the previous chapter, so this is mostly redundant in content, though the phrasing is different.  Verses 2-5 are pretty clear, but in verses 6-7 there is a somewhat more confusing expression when Eliphaz says that “affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, for man is born for trouble.”  In light of the previous passage, what I think he is saying here is that trouble and affliction don’t come up from our circumstances or the environment (i.e. the ground) but rather flow out of human sins like anger and jealousy (v. 2).  His whole point in v. 2-5 is that Eliphaz has “seen” the affliction of wicked people as a result of their sins, and I believe that v. 6-7 is another way of asserting that point.  Trouble doesn’t emerge from nothing (sprout from the ground) but arises from human wickedness.

Now if we take this point into its broader context, it is another way of saying that Job’s suffering is a result of his sin.  Verse 8 then is Eliphaz trying to advise Job to “place his cause before God” and seek God’s deliverance from his affliction.  In essence, this is a call for Job to repent of his sins and seek God to be delivered from his troubles.

Verses 9-27 is basically a paean to God’s glory and power.  Eliphaz seems to have two core points in this section.  First, in v. 9-16, Eliphaz emphasizes how God brings various kinds of reversals of fortune (conceptually similar to the reversal theme in Esther).  The lowly are placed on high, the poor are saved, the helpless has hope, and the crafty and shrewd people are trapped by their own plots and brought down.  In other words, those who are on the bottom (poor, helpless, etc) will be raised up, and the lofty and proud will be brought down.

Second, in v. 17-27, Eliphaz is trying to establish that “the man whom God reproves” will be blessed and protected from all kinds of disasters, will be full of confidence and have a happy and prosperous life.

Both of these points seem much more generalized and less directed at Job himself.  It’s perhaps somewhat relevant in the sense that Job is now “lowly” and suffering, and that he should trust God to heal him.  “[God] inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds and His hands also heal”.  Job has been “wounded” by God and should now turn to God and look for relief and healing, and then he can expect a reversal of his fortune from suffering back into blessing.

In the next chapter, Job will respond to Eliphaz’s monologue with his own perspective on suffering.  As we can imagine, Job has a much different take on his own situation.