Job 5:1 “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? ESV
I’ve been told that the key to understanding Job is to remember that his friends were incorrect in their view of God. The first friend to speak is Eliphaz and he assumes that Job is in trouble because he’s guilty of some wrongdoing (see chapter 4, verse 7). Eliphaz’s whole case is that Job is being punished for something he did wrong. This was a challenge of Job’s faith.
Those who don’t know God work on a payback system of sorts and see almost everything in life as something reciprocal to a previous event – what goes around comes around (or something like that.) Listen to how people talk and they’ll tell you that most of life is some sort of payback – somebody up there likes me; you must be living right.
Fortunately, with Job we get to read the beginning of the book where we find God doting on His servant and speaking well of him. We see God making the case that Job loves Him and trusts Him no matter what. What happens to Job is because God thinks very highly of him. That doesn’t enter the mind of Eliphaz who thinks how we behave is how we win or lose with God. People around us think the same way – he must’ve done something or else this wouldn’t have happened…
The longer I walk with God the more I realize there is nothing I can do to earn points with Him – the biggest reason is: He’s not about points – or score cards or winning. God is about faith. Hebrews 11.6 says, And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. To please God is to believe in Him. If Eliphaz (or anyone else for that matter) would say: Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? I would answer by saying, “Eliphaz, let’s you and I talk to God together; He loves it when we pray.”
Father in Heaven,
You are helping me see that You have already done everything that needs to be done and I am the beneficiary of all of that. Help me to live in the reality of what You’ve done and trust You with all of the circumstances of my life – in Jesus’ Name, amen.
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