[ELIFAZ 1]
You have taught many people
and given strength to feeble hands.
When someone stumbled, weak and tired,
your words encouraged him to stand.
I want to be that person, Father. Am I?
Once a message came quietly,
so quietly I could hardly hear it.
Like a nightmare it disturbed my sleep.
I trembled and shuddered;
my whole body shook with fear.
A light breeze touched my face,
and my skin crawled with fright.
I could see something standing there;
I stared, but couldn’t tell what it was.
Then I heard a voice out of the silence…
Is Elifaz taking himself to be some kind of messenger from God (Jeremiah 2:28)?
I have seen fools who looked secure,
but I called down a sudden curse on their homes.
Elifaz is making himself the focus. He no longer sees his friend (Job 6:28).
it is God who raises the humble
and gives joy to all who mourn.
He upsets the plans of cunning people,
and traps the wise in their own schemes,
so that nothing they do succeeds;
even at noon they grope in darkness.
But God saves the poor from death;
he saves the needy from oppression.
He gives hope to the poor and silences the wicked.
Elifaz is taking refuge in a vision of the world that he so wants to exist but doesn’t (Job 13:7).
Happy is the person whom God corrects!
Do not resent it when he rebukes you.
Sure, but what Job has experienced goes infinitely beyond any lesson (Job 6:1-3).
God bandages the wounds he makes;
his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.
That is true (Lamentations 3:31-33).
Time after time he will save you from harm;
when famine comes, he will keep you alive,
and in war protect you from death.
God will rescue you from slander;
he will save you when destruction comes.
You will laugh at violence and hunger
and not be afraid of wild animals.
The fields you plow will be free of rocks;
wild animals will never attack you.
Then you will live at peace in your tent;
when you look at your sheep, you will find them safe.
You will have as many children
as there are blades of grass in a pasture.
Like wheat that ripens till harvest time,
you will live to a ripe old age.
Eliphaz is trying to heal Job with empty words (Job 17:12). Better to keep silent.
Job, we have learned this by long study.
It is true, so now accept it.
Regardless of whether or not the reality in front of him contradicts what he is saying. May I always be an honest witness, Lord!