Daily Devotionals

Find Comfort in the Gospel

Good friends are hard to find. Honest friends are even harder.
Today, as we read Job 5-8, we will see how the teaching of Job aligns with the Gospel of Christ.

Good friends are hard to find. Honest friends are even harder.

Today, as we read Job 5-8, we will see how the teaching of Job aligns with the Gospel of Christ.
A Temanite’s Teachings
As chapter 5 begins, Job’s friend Eliphaz is still responding to Job’s complaint in chapter 3. The book of Job is a long conversation between Job and his three friends.

The text identifies Eliphaz as a Temanite, from the town of Teman in Edom. This was a region celebrated for its intellectual giants.

He was more verbose than Job’s other friends, as we will hear him speak first in the three rounds of dialog in this book.
The Causal Link
His philosophy is very close to Christianity. He believes all suffering results from sin. Christianity would say, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23, NIV).

Eliphaz claims he had a dream which revealed that everyone is a sinner (See 4:12-21). Paul would have stated that as “All have sinned” (Rom 3:23 NIV).

He encourages his buddy to repent, stating that He can do miracles and restore him (v5:8-9).

I find the statement he makes in verse 5:2 intriguing. “Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.” (NIV)

We all know people whom we offend whenever we try to help them. They assume our recommendation is implying they are stupid.

Their reaction would imply they would prefer we let them stumble instead of warning them of a step they are about to trip over.

It is important to accept help without resentment.

As a man with a disability, I have seen people offer to help me do everything.

I wonder if they think I can’t function in life without help.

To avoid offending me, other people never offer help, even when it would be appreciated.

I used to resist help. Then I realized how blessed I feel to help others. God has blessed me so that I could bless someone else.

I’ve learned that a bonus in my paycheck wasn’t so I could spurge. There was about to be a need for a home or auto repair, which was God orchestrating a means for me to bless that repair person or mechanic.

When those things happened, I used to get excited. Now I look for the real purpose.

So I now allow people to help me when they want. Why would I deny someone the opportunity to be blessed?

The next point Eliphaz makes is about trouble. He states, “hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.” (v5:6, NIV).

Newton’s third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Some people call this karma.

What Eliphaz is saying is God doesn’t just give us troubles. When we have problems, they result from actions we have done.

We can’t pay what we owe. But, a week ago we spent money on an impulse buy.

Our child is sick, but we let them play outside without a jacket last weekend.
Embracing Correction
Summing up Eliphaz’s comments, I see him saying this: We are all sinners, and sin brings troubles.

This aligns with Jesus’s teaching that we all should follow the Law of Moses, and when we don’t, we have problems (see Mat 19:16-22).

Which Eliphaz follows up in verse 5:8-9 with his call to seek forgiveness and repent.

Jesus, who tells Peter, would echo this, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Mat 19:26, NIV).

In Job 5:17, we read, “Blessed is the one whom God corrects.” (NIV).

We like to avoid having troubles.

Job was not used to trouble until Satan turned his attention to him.

Now that he was up to his neck in it, he was lamenting being born.

His friend is saying, no need to lament. We all have trouble because we all deserve trouble.

When we are having problems, seek the Lord and He will forgive. God has a purpose for the troubles you are having.

Through trials, we come to count on God’s mercy and see his strength.

As Dr. David Jeremiah stated in a lesson, I watched, “God has no weakness, therefore, He needs our weakness. We need His strength.”

Eliphaz assures Job that in famine, God will deliver him, and in battle, He will protect him (v5:20).
Applying God’s Word
Then he wraps up his advice by stating, “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.” (Job 5:27, NIV)

This is what we all must do as we read through scripture. Measure ourselves against the standard of Jesus. Understand where we are failing and ask God for the strength to overcome.

As chapter 5 begins, Job’s friend Eliphaz is still responding to Job’s complaint in chapter 3. The book of Job is a long conversation between Job and his three friends.

The text identifies Eliphaz as a Temanite, from the town of Teman in Edom. This was a region celebrated for its intellectual giants.

He was more verbose than Job’s other friends, as we will hear him speak first in the three rounds of dialog in this book.

His philosophy is very close to Christianity. He believes all suffering results from sin. Christianity would say, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23, NIV).