Job 4:12-21

Tags

accuser, angel, blameless, demon, evil, false prophet, lies, prophecy, sin, spirit, suffering, truth, vision, wrath

Job 4:12-21 ESV

“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:

‘Can mortal man be in the right before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like the moth.

Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

How can someone be so right, but at the same time so wrong?

Of course, no man is perfect, but Job never did anything to incur the wrath of God. God knew Job better than Eliphaz ever could, and He said of Job, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 2:3a).

Did Eliphaz receive his revelation from the angel of the Lord, or the accuser of the brethren? Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14, ESV). I think it’s fairly obvious what kind of spirit Eliphaz was inspired by when you judge the fruit. First of all, he accused a blameless and upright man of sin. Second of all, who else but the devil would point out that his angels he charges with error?

Eliphaz was a false prophet. He was, in fact, the most insidious and deceptive of false prophets, who prophesy things that are so true and yet still lie.

Who could disagree with Eliphaz’s argument that nobody’s perfect? And yet, within the platitude lay vicious lies. The lies were that Job was being punished by God for hidden sin, and that the Almighty was a megalomaniacal berserker.