In the book of Job, Eliphaz the Temanite was one of Job’s three friends who came to comfort him after he had lost everything. However, instead of bringing comfort, Eliphaz accused Job of sin and exhorted him to repent. An analysis of Eliphaz’s speeches throughout the book of Job reveals key themes in his message to Job:
Affliction as Discipline for Sin
A core belief undergirding Eliphaz’s message was that affliction and suffering must be the result of some secret sin in a person’s life. Eliphaz insinuated that Job was being punished by God for unconfessed iniquity. For example, in Job 4:7-8, Eliphaz states, “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.” Eliphaz was convinced that Job must have committed some grievous sin to warrant his extreme suffering, telling him in Job 22:5, “Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities.”
In Eliphaz’s theological framework, trouble and hardship were always sent by God to discipline the wayward. He urged Job to confess whatever sins he was hiding: “As for you, if you direct your heart rightly, you will stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents” (Job 11:13-14). Eliphaz was certain that if Job would only repent, his fortunes would be restored.
God’s Justice and Sovereignty
Eliphaz also emphasized God’s justice and sovereignty. He regarded affliction as proof that God’s justice was at work and took a condescending tone toward Job, rebuking him for questioning God’s dealings. For instance, in Job 15:14-16 he asks rhetorically, “What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!”
In Eliphaz’s thinking, God was always just and right in His treatment of humanity. Human beings were sinful and corrupt – in no position to criticize or judge God’s actions. Eliphaz implied that Job was arrogant for demanding an explanation from God for his tragedies. He stated in Job 15:2-3, “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?” In other words, Job should simply accept his suffering without complaint or accusations against God.
Exhortation to Seek God
Despite his harsh rebukes, Eliphaz did encourage Job to turn his heart toward God once more. He urged him to submit to God’s sovereignty and entreat God’s mercy and favor. For example, Eliphaz appealed to Job, “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause” (Job 5:8). He later exhorts, “Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you” (Job 22:21). Though misguided in his certainty about Job’s sin, Eliphaz did direct Job’s attention to seeking God’s face.
Eliphaz also reminded Job of the blessedness of being in right relationship with God, saying “How blessed is the one whom God reproves; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal” (Job 5:17-18). Though the message was ill-timed, Eliphaz sought to turn Job’s eyes back to God as his helper and healer.
Futility of Sin Before God
Running throughout Eliphaz’s speeches is also the theme that sin and evil are ultimately futile before God. He declared that no amount of wickedness could threaten or diminish God’s perfection and sovereignty. For example, in Job 15:15 Eliphaz asks, “Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight.” The implication is that all creatures are impure and untrustworthy compared to God’s supreme holiness.
Eliphaz emphasized that while humans are disappointed by other people’s sin and corruption, these things do not surprise or threaten God. In Job 22:12-14 he states, “Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! But you say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness?’ Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.'” Of course, Eliphaz was wrong to imply God is disconnected from human affairs. Yet he sought to impress on Job that no human deeds ultimately impact the perfect holiness and sovereignty of God Almighty.
Therefore, a significant thrust of Eliphaz’s message was that Job’s raging against God and fixation on his own righteousness would accomplish nothing. Rather, he must accept his own sinfulness and God’s unquestionable justice in order to be restored.
Appeals to Personal Revelation
Interestingly, Eliphaz claimed that his knowledge about God and Job’s situation came directly from a divine revelation. In Job 4:12-16 he describes:”Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice…”
Eliphaz asserted that this mystical experience gave him insight into Job’s circumstances and God’s purposes. This may have been an attempt to give divine authority and credibility to his perspective, elevating it above mere human opinion. However, there is no evidence that Eliphaz’s revelations accurately reflected God’s views on Job’s suffering. In fact, God later rebukes Eliphaz and his companions for darkening counsel “without knowledge” (Job 38:2).
Nonetheless, Eliphaz repeatedly cited his spiritual encounters as the basis for his beliefs about Job. For example, in Job 15:17 he states, “I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare.” Eliphaz was convinced the content of his visions validated his theology and perspective on Job’s calamity.
Concluding Thoughts
In summary, Eliphaz operated from a rigid theological framework that assumed suffering must be punishment for sin. As a result, he refused to bring true comfort to Job in his pain. However, mixed in with his accusations were appeals to Job to renew his pursuit of God and place his hope in divine mercy. Though often misguided, Eliphaz sought to convince Job that nothing could thwart God’s ultimate sovereignty and justice.
Eliphaz claimed direct divine revelation as the authority behind his perspective. Yet he wrongly assumed Job’s guilt and made the mistake of diminishing Job’s humanity in the face of inscrutable suffering. Nevertheless, the book of Job uses the inaccurate theology of Eliphaz and Job’s other friends to point to deeper truths about human limitation, God’s mystery, and the need for grace and divine revelation.