Job's friend tries to help

The Book of Job Chapter 5

Job's friend Eliphaz continues his response to Job's lament:

You may cry for help, but no one listens, he says. Then he states that from his own experience he knew that fools who turn from God may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. Their children abandoned far from help with no one to defend them, their harvests stolen and their wealth, but evil does not spring from the soil nor trouble sprout from the earth. People, he says, are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.

Eliphaz goes on and advises Job to go to God and present his case. For the Lord does works too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number. He gives rain to the earth, he sends water to the fields. He give prosperity to the poor and humble, and he takes sufferers to safety. He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so their efforts will not succeed. He catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness. He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong and saves them from the clutches of the powerful. And so at last the poor have hope, and the fangs of the wicked are broken.

Eliphaz continues to say that Job should consider the joy of those corrected by God. Do not despise the chastening of the Almighty when you sin. For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal. He will rescue you again and again so that no evil can touch you. He will save you from death in the time of famine, from the power of the sword in the time of war. You will be safe, says Eliphaz, from slander and will have no fear of destruction when it comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine, wild animals will not terrify you. You will be at peace with the stones of the field and its wild animals will be at peace with you. You will know that your home is safe and when you visit your pastures, nothing will be missing. Your children will be many, your descendants will be plentiful as grass. You will live to a good old age and not be harvested until the proper time.
We have found from experience all this is true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Verse 13 is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:19. And is the only time Job is clearly quoted in the New Testament. Although God never rebuked Eliphaz for being wrong in his advice to Job, not all he said was in error. It is true that people are often caught in their own traps. It is true that it is a joy to be disciplined by God when we do wrong. However, this advice did not apply to Job because he had done nothing wrong. His friends did not know that Satan was behind the terrible things that had happened to Job.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? If we look closely at this chapter we can see the seed of an idea - that pain can help us grow. So when we face hardships and loss, it is good to remember that pain can help us grow. On the other hand, we must not make the same mistake that Eliphaz made in assuming that God will eliminate all hardship when we follow him closely and have good behavior. Good behavior does not guarantee prosperity. You cannot earn your way to heaven. There are no reward points to cash in on a trip to heaven. God alone has the power to give the gifts of love and prosperity and it is done according to his timetable.
Satan on the other hand delights in his ploy to get us to doubt God's design for us.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH:
Update on my niece Suzanne, she is healing but her leg was crushed and will take many months of doctoring. She is in a nursing home for rehab care. Pray for her healing. Also Gabe, Wanda, Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother who faces another round of chemotherapy and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
Pray for Cyndi Sullivan who made it six years with cancer but may now go home with hospice in her final days.
Pray for my cousin Diane who had total mastectomy surgery for breast cancer.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer.
Pray for John’s recovery from a heart attack and for the doctors who have difficulty diagnosing his other symptoms.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
Pray for another friend named Carolyn whose faith remains strong, but is lost and confused about where and how to spend her elder years.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.