God is the Judge, Not Us

Job 15:17-35

17 "I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them:
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.

23 He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?'
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.

25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

27 "Though he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28 He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.

29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.

32 It will be accomplished before his time,
And his branch will not be green.

33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit."

Eliphaz continued his verbal assault on God’s servant Job, spreading the supposed wisdom men had told him his whole life.  He spoke of how the wicked suffer in pain (as Job was), and how death, destruction, and darkness pursued such evil people.  All this trouble is a result of opposing God and suffering the consequences in the mind of Eliphaz as he projected these things on Job because he was suffering.  Obviously, his friend must have so offended God to face such adversity, he thought, in defiance of the Almighty.  He imagined stubbornness and reliance on his own strength must be behind it.  Therefore, God would take away his wealth and possessions as Job’s had been.  He was looking at circumstances and not deeper into God’s providence and sovereign grace.  Eliphaz blamed Job for his predicament as a self-deception and resulting sin, in other words.  He judged and condemned his friend without knowing the true reasons of the Adversary’s attacks on the man God called upright.  We must not make the same mistake when we counsel a brother or sister in Christ.  We are not to be judge and jury or even executioner of character, but pray and comfort and lead with scripture to relief from suffering.  Who knows if the enemy is attacking, or if sin’s consequences are bearing fruit?  We are not that judge.  God is in Christ.