ARE THE UPRIGHT EVER DESTROYED?

Passage: Job 4:1-21

Key verse: 7

NIV

Eliphaz

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:

2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;(G)
    it strikes(H) you, and you are dismayed.(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence(J)
    and your blameless(K) ways your hope?

7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?(M)
8 As I have observed,(N) those who plow evil(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.(P)
9 At the breath of God(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.(R)
10 The lions may roar(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions(T) are broken.(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(W)

12 “A word(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper(Y) of it.(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,(AA)
14 fear and trembling(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.(AD)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,(AH)
    if he charges his angels with error,(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,(AJ)
    whose foundations(AK) are in the dust,(AL)
    who are crushed(AM) more readily than a moth!(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,(AP)
    so that they die(AQ) without wisdom?’(AR)

Read full chapter
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many,
    and you have (A)strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
    and you have (B)made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
    it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 (C)Is not your fear of God[a] your (D)confidence,
    and the integrity of your ways your hope?

7 “Remember: (E)who that was innocent ever perished?
    Or where were the upright cut off?
8 As I have seen, those who (F)plow iniquity
    and sow trouble reap the same.
9 By (G)the breath of God they perish,
    and by (H)the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10 The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
    (I)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
    my ear received (J)the whisper of it.
13 Amid (K)thoughts from (L)visions of the night,
    when (M)deep sleep falls on men,
14 dread came upon me, and trembling,
    which made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face;
    the hair of my flesh stood up.
16 It stood still,
    but I could not discern its appearance.
(N)A form was before my eyes;
    there was silence, then I heard (O)a voice:
17 (P)‘Can mortal man be in the right before[b] God?
    Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18 Even in his servants (Q)he puts no trust,
    and his angels he charges with error;
19 how much more those who dwell in houses of (R)clay,
    whose foundation is in (S)the dust,
    who are crushed like[c] (T)the moth.
20 Between (U)morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
    they perish forever (V)without anyone regarding it.
21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
    (W)do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Job 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God
  2. Job 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse
  3. Job 4:19 Or before
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

After Job expresses his misery, his friends, after being silent for seven days, begin to answer him. They say many good things, and at first they seem to want to help Job, but it ends up becoming an intense and accusatory debate.

Eliphaz goes first and reminds Job of how many people he has helped before with wise words when they were suffering. So, he says Job should not refuse counsel when he himself is suffering (3-6). Then, Eliphaz asserts God’s justice, saying that the innocent have never perished, but the evil are the ones who receive trouble from God (7-11). He tells Job that his righteousness should be his hope (6), but he is indirectly suggesting that Job must have done something wicked. He tries to back up his argument by saying he received a revelation in a dream (12-21).

In fact, our own righteousness cannot be our hope, and we are not innocent. Jesus is our only hope. By faith we are considered upright based on what Jesus has done, and we will not perish, though we may suffer in this life.

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus, my righteousness. Help me not to rely on my own righteousness but trust your salvation even when I am suffering unjustly.

One Word: Jesus’ righteousness is my hope.