The Book of Job

Word Study

"wickedness," Hebrew ra'ah (רָעָה), evil. Eliphaz, having run out of arguments, resorts to pure invention: "Is not thy wickedness great?" The word is the plain, broad term for evil, and he flings it at a man God Himself had called "a perfect and an upright man" (Job 1:8). There is no evidence whatever that Job did the things Eliphaz will go on to name.

"great," rabbah (רַבָּה), abundant. Not merely present but plentiful, piled up. Eliphaz assumes that since Job is suffering so greatly, his hidden sins must be correspondingly abundant, so he sizes the accusation to fit the punishment rather than to fit the facts.

"iniquities," avonoth (עֲוֹנוֹת). The plural of crooked dealings, perversities. Having settled on the size of the charge, Eliphaz manufactures specific counts out of thin air: "thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing... thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken" (v6-9). Job will later testify to exactly the opposite, that he clothed the naked, was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame, and was a father to the poor (Job 29:12-16, 31:16-22).

"infinite," ein-qetz (אֵין־קֵץ), without end, no limit. Literally "no end," the most sweeping word in the verse and the least defensible. This is the tragic end of Eliphaz's rigid theology: it forces him to bear false witness against a righteous man in order to defend his system. It is a sobering example of how a false framework can lead sincere people into real sin, slandering the innocent to protect a doctrine. God's later verdict is clear: the friends "have not spoken of me the thing that is right" (Job 42:7). Zeal for a theory is no substitute for truth, and no cause is served by accusing the innocent.

Explanation

Out of arguments, Eliphaz resorts to invention: "Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?" He then manufactures specific charges, that Job stripped the poor, sent widows away empty, broke the arms of the fatherless, none of it true. Job will later testify he did exactly the opposite (Job 29, 31). Eliphaz assumes that since Job suffers so greatly, his hidden sins must be great, so he invents crimes to fit the punishment. This is where his rigid theology leads: to bear false witness against a righteous man to defend a system. A false framework can drive sincere people into real sin.

Gospel Focus

"Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?", Eliphaz hurled a false accusation at a righteous man, and in doing so he unwittingly foreshadowed the false accusations heaped upon the truly righteous One, Jesus Christ. "Many bare false witness against him" (Mark 14:56); He was charged with blasphemy, sedition, and evil He never did, "they hated me without a cause" (John 15:25). The sinless Son bore the accusations that Eliphaz wrongly aimed at Job, and more: on the cross He bore not false guilt but our real guilt, "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). And here the false charge takes on a strange truth: Eliphaz said "thine iniquities infinite", and while that was a lie about Job, it is the sober truth about every sinner before a holy God, our iniquities are indeed beyond number. But the Gospel is that Christ bore that infinite weight of iniquity for us. What no man could answer, Jesus answered at the cross. So the very words that were a slander against Job become, rightly understood, a description of what Christ carried away: our countless sins, laid on Him, blotted out for ever. And His example forbids us ever to accuse the innocent to defend our theories, for He, the innocent, was falsely accused that we, the guilty, might be freely acquitted.

Word Study

"acquaint," Hebrew hasken-na (הַסְכֶּן־נָא) from sakan, to be familiar with, become intimate, be at home with. Now Eliphaz, from his wrong assumption that Job needs to repent, speaks words that are, in themselves, gloriously true: "Acquaint now thyself with him." This is not distant acknowledgment but familiarity, being at home with God, and it is indeed the deepest need of every soul.

"be at peace," ushlam (וּשְׁלָם) from shalam, be complete, be at peace, be reconciled. The root behind shalom: to be made whole and squared with God. Eliphaz sets it as the fruit of acquaintance with Him, and he is right to. He continues with beautiful promises: "Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart" (v22); "then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God" (v26). These are wonderful truths about the blessedness of knowing and being reconciled to God.

"good," tovah (טוֹבָה). The good Eliphaz promises will come "thereby," as the outcome of that reconciliation. The tragedy is that he aims all of it at a man who already knows God and is already, in the deepest sense, at peace with Him, while wrapping it in the false claim that Job's suffering proves estrangement. So a genuine gospel-shaped invitation is spoiled by a cruel misdiagnosis. Yet the invitation itself remains true for every reader: to be acquainted with God and at peace with Him is the one thing needful, and it is exactly what God offers.

Explanation

From his wrong assumption that Job needs to repent, Eliphaz speaks words that are in themselves gloriously true: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." To become intimate with God and be reconciled to Him is indeed the highest good and deepest need of every soul. But Eliphaz aims it at a man who already knows God and is at peace with Him, wrapping the invitation in the false claim that Job's suffering proves estrangement. A gospel-shaped invitation is spoiled by a cruel misdiagnosis, yet the invitation itself remains true for every reader.

Gospel Focus

"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace", these words, wrongly aimed at Job, are the very heart of the Gospel's call to every sinner. Peace with God is the great need, and it is found in Jesus Christ: "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). He "is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14), who "made peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20), reconciling us to God. To be "acquainted" with God, to know Him intimately, is eternal life itself: "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Eliphaz could only urge Job to make peace by putting away sin, a law-based bargain; but the Gospel proclaims a peace God Himself has purchased and freely gives. "Come unto me... and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). The "good" that comes from being acquainted with God is not chiefly gold and silver, as Eliphaz promised (v24-25), but God Himself, His fellowship, His peace, His joy. So while Eliphaz misapplied it, the invitation stands open to all: acquaint yourself with God through Jesus Christ, be reconciled to Him by the blood of the cross, and enter the peace that passeth all understanding. This is the one thing needful, and it is offered freely to everyone who comes to the Lord Jesus.

Word Study

"cast down," Hebrew hishpilu (הִשְׁפִּילוּ) from shafel, to be low, brought low. Eliphaz ends with a genuinely beautiful truth, and it begins at the bottom: "When men are cast down." The verb describes being pressed down to the low place, which is precisely where Job has been for the whole book.

"lifting up," gevah (גֵּוָה), a raising up, exaltation. The answering word to being cast down: "then thou shalt say, There is lifting up." This is one of the great recurring themes of Scripture, God's special grace toward the humble and lowly. "The LORD lifteth up the meek" (Psalm 147:6); "he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill" (1 Samuel 2:8); "he hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree" (Luke 1:52). Eliphaz speaks better than he knows, for this very principle is the vindication awaiting Job, who has been cast down as low as a man can go, and whom God will indeed lift up and restore.

"the humble," literally, shach-einayim (שַׁח־עֵינַיִם), the one of lowly eyes, the downcast and humble. God "shall save the humble person," the one of downcast eyes who cannot lift his gaze. The irony is that Eliphaz states the principle to urge Job to humble himself and repent of imagined sins, when in fact God will lift Job up not because he finally confessed hidden guilt, but because Job was His humble, faithful servant all along. The truth stands gloriously: God saves the humble person, and this is the pattern of the Gospel itself.

Explanation

Eliphaz ends with a beautiful truth: "he shall save the humble person." God lifts up those brought low and saves the lowly of eyes, a great recurring theme of Scripture (Psalm 147:6; 1 Samuel 2:8; Luke 1:52). He speaks better than he knows, for this very principle is the vindication awaiting Job, cast down as low as a man can go, whom God will indeed lift up and restore. The irony is that Eliphaz uses it to urge repentance of imagined sins, when God will lift Job up not for confessing hidden guilt but because Job was His humble, faithful servant all along.

Gospel Focus

"He shall save the humble person", this is the very pattern of the Gospel, for God "resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The way up is down: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:10); "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4). And the supreme example is the Lord Jesus Himself, who "humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him" (Philippians 2:8-9). Christ walked the very path of being cast down and then lifted up, humbling Himself to the lowest place, the cross and the grave, and being raised to the highest, the throne of heaven. And He saves the humble by treading that path for us: those who humble themselves, confessing they have no righteousness of their own, and casting themselves on His mercy, are the ones He lifts up and saves. The proud who trust in themselves are sent away empty; but "he shall save the humble person." Job would be lifted up in the end, a shadow of the greater lifting up of all who humble themselves before God. Come to Christ not with the proud claims of self-righteousness, but as a humble sinner casting yourself on His grace, and the God who saves the humble will lift you up into His salvation.