1
Cry out — is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2
Surely, the foolish are slain by vexation, and the simple are destroyed by envy.
3
I myself have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.
4
His children are always without help; they are crushed at the gate, and there is none to deliver them.
5
What he reaped, the hungry eat up, even taken from among the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6
For affliction does not come forth from the dust, nor does trouble spring up from the ground;
7
but man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward.
8
But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
9
He does great and unsearchable things, and wonders without number;
10
He gives rain upon the earth and sends water upon the fields;
11
He sets the lowly on high, and those who mourn are lifted up to safety;
12
He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so that their hands do not succeed in their work;
13
He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the devious is brought to nothing.
14
By day they meet with darkness, and at noon they grope as in the night.
15
But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17
Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18
For He wounds, but He also binds up; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
19
From six troubles He will deliver you, and in seven no evil will touch you.
20
In time of famine he delivers you from death, and in time of war from the power of the sword.
21
You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not fear when destruction comes.
22
You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
23
For you shall be in covenant with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with you.
24
You shall know that your tent is secure, and when you inspect your dwelling, you shall miss nothing.
25
You shall know that your offspring will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26
You shall come to the grave in a ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered in its season.
27
Behold, this we have searched out; it is so. Hear it, and know it for yourself!”
⚖️🔥🗯️ Summary of Job 5 – Eliphaz Admonishes Job to Repent and Trust in God
Job 5 continues the speech of Eliphaz the Temanite, who still holds to the view that Job’s suffering is the result of hidden sin. He urges Job to cry out to God, because in his view God will restore the one who repents. Although there is some spiritual truth in Eliphaz’s counsel, his error is in generalizing and failing to understand the context of Job’s suffering.
📌 1. The Fool Reaps Destruction (verses 1–7)
➡️ Eliphaz rebukes: “Who will answer you if you cry out?”
➡️ He says that the foolish and the wicked will perish
➡️ Implying that Job is like them — and that is why he suffers
➡️ He says:
“For trouble does not spring from the dust… man is born to trouble.”
🎯 Eliphaz holds firmly to an absolute sowing-and-reaping theology, without understanding suffering that is not caused by personal sin.
📌 2. Eliphaz’s Counsel: Repent and Cry Out to the Lord (verses 8–16)
➡️ Eliphaz advises:
“But as for me, I would seek God…”
➡️ He praises the greatness of the Lord:
- The Lord does great things
- Sends down rain
- Brings low the proud
- Saves the poor
➡️ He implies that if Job cries out and repents, the Lord will surely help him
🎯 This counsel seems spiritual and true, but it carries the assumption that Job is sinning.
📌 3. A Promise of Blessing for the One Chastened by God (verses 17–27)
➡️ Eliphaz declares that God’s discipline is a blessing:
“Blessed is the one whom God reproves…”
➡️ He speaks of various restorations the Lord would bring if Job accepted the chastening:
- Healing wounds
- Delivering from famine and war
- Protecting from slander and ruin
- Giving long life and descendants
🎯 Eliphaz says many true things, but he applies them wrongly to Job, who is in fact being tested — not punished.
📖 Main Teaching
- God does indeed rebuke those He loves — but not all suffering is chastening
- Good counsel must be rightly aimed and full of love
- Accusing without knowing a person’s heart can wound more deeply than the suffering itself
- Truth spoken with arrogance becomes spiritual poison
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves…”
➡️ This agrees with Eliphaz’s statement — but discipline must be distinguished from testing
“Blessed is the one who endures trial…”
➡️ Eliphaz thought Job was being disciplined, whereas Job was being tested in his faith
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged…”
➡️ Eliphaz gave advice with a judging spirit, not to comfort
“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those…”
➡️ Comfort, not accusation, is the response God desires
🕊️ “Blessed is the man whom God corrects.” – Job 5:17
🕊️ “For He wounds, but He also binds up.” – Job 5:18
🕊️ “But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.” – Job 5:8
🕊️ “Man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward.” – Job 5:7
