Job 5:12–16

He smashes the plans of the crafty, so that they achieve nothing. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and He overturns the advice of the cunning. By day they run into darkness, and at noon they grope about as if it were night.

It is certainly true that God "takes the wise in their own craftiness," and that "Happy is the man whom God corrects." But we can see that all these facts are put in a way that turned them against poor Job… He had appeared to be wise, but now he was caught in his craftiness — so it seemed to Eliphaz.

He does not at first accuse Job of deceit, but he hints that this might be the case, since Job's plans had failed. Eliphaz had noticed that such things happen to crafty men. But why did he not also notice that righteous people often see their plans fail in the same way?

You only have to look at the words of Eliphaz to see that in themselves they contain nothing but truth. But weigh them as applied to Job, and they are wrong beyond excuse… The New Testament quotes the words of Eliphaz, both in the first letter to the Corinthians and in the letter to the Hebrews. There the application is perfectly good. In the Old Testament history the application was wrong, and God reproved the speakers for it.

But people often mistake inspiration for revelation, that is, for the infallible statement of divine truth. We have the inspired record of what Satan said to Eve and to our Lord, and of the words of wicked men like Pharaoh and Rabshakeh. Yet no one thinks of these words as the truth of God. In the same way, here we have an inspired record of what Job and his three friends said. Most of it was true, but it was out of place and wrongly applied.

The wisdom of this world wins the respect of the natural man. At times it may look very attractive even to the Christian, as it did to the believers at Corinth. Still, it is foolishness with God. The very wisdom of the world becomes its undoing, for it is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." The wisdom of this world is mere craft, and it traps those who boast in it.

"The temple of God" is in view. As I come up to this building — and it is God's building — I see these words written over the entrance, as it were: "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." That says this to me: if you bring the wisdom of the world into this building, you will be found out.

Yes, God will triumph over evil, and He will make His people "more than conquerors through Him that loved them." But it will not be in man's way, and He alone will be exalted.

Every word may be true in itself. He says it all with great dignity and force. Yet it is misapplied and one-sided, and so, in effect, wrong as a whole. Eliphaz assumes that God is displaying His government right now, measuring prosperity or trouble exactly to what people deserve. That is false ground, and it spoils the way he applies it — above all to a man like Job, who was handed over to be attacked by Satan.

There can be no question that this book is inspired. But people often mistake inspiration for revelation, that is, for a statement of divine truth that cannot fail. We have the inspired record of what Satan said to Eve, and to our Lord. We have the recorded words of wicked men, like Pharaoh and Rabshakeh. But no one thinks of these words as the truth of God. In the same way, we have here an inspired record of what Job and his three friends said. Most of it was true, but it was out of place and misapplied.

Some of the things Eliphaz says in this chapter are perfectly true. It is certainly true that God "catches the wise in their own craftiness"... But we can see that he brings all these facts in so that they turn against poor Job... It is obvious that all these remarks carried a hint of accusation against Job. He had appeared to be wise, but now he was caught in his craftiness — so it appeared to Eliphaz.

At first he does not accuse Job of deceit. He hints that it might be true, since Job's plans had come to nothing. Eliphaz had noticed that such things happen to crafty men. Why did he not also notice that righteous people often suffer the same kind of frustration?

No matter how man may plan, no matter how cunning the enemy may be, it will all come to nothing, for the Lord is above all. Eliphaz the Temanite expressed this truth well when he said: "He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end."

What a morning of bewilderment, humiliation, and terror for Daniel's enemies! They had worked at evil, planned trouble, and given birth to lies. They dug a pit and fell into the hole they had made. The harm they planned came back on their own heads... They became easy victims of the hungry beasts of prey. How true it is that "He catches the wise in their own craftiness."

Ezekiel among the prophets, and James among the apostles, confirm the life, trials, and death of Job. Paul confirms the divine character of the book by quoting from it. He introduces the quotation with the usual formula, "it is written" (1 Cor. 3:19, with Job 5:13).

"The temple of God" is in view. As I come up to this building — and it is God's building — I see these words written over the entrance, as it were: "He catches the wise in their own craftiness." This is what it says to me: if you bring the wisdom of the world into this building, you will be found out.

He breaks the plans of the crafty to pieces, so that they can achieve nothing. He takes the wise in their craftiness, and He overturns the advice of the cunning. By day they run into darkness, and at noon they grope as if it were night.

The wisdom of this world wins the respect of the natural man. At times it may look very attractive even to a Christian, as it did to the believers at Corinth. Still, it is foolishness with God. The very wisdom of the world becomes its undoing, for it is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness". The wisdom of this world is mere craft, and it traps those who boast in it.

Some of the sayings of Eliphaz in this chapter are perfectly true. It is certainly true that God "takes the wise in their own craftiness." But we can see that he brings all these facts forward in a way that turned them against poor Job… Job had appeared to be wise, but now he was taken in his craftiness — so it appeared to Eliphaz.

Eliphaz had noticed that such things happened to crafty men. But why did he not also notice that righteous people often suffered the same kind of frustration?

Every word may be true in itself. He says it all with great dignity and force. Yet he misapplies it, and it is one-sided, so the whole thing is wrong in effect. Eliphaz assumes that God is displaying His government now, and measures out prosperity or trouble exactly as men deserve. That is false ground, and it spoils the application — above all to a man like Job, who was handed over to be attacked by Satan.

So this is what is left. In all the New Testament there is one somewhat doubtful reference to Job's own words, and this single quotation of the words of Eliphaz, in 1 Corinthians 3:19: "He takes the wise in their own craftiness."

Someone puts it like this: "The speaker is Eliphaz, whose reading of God's dealings with Job was condemned. His abstract principles were right, though his application of them in Job's case was wrong." But this is not true. God's own words draw a clear distinction between Job and his three friends: Job had spoken what was right about Him, and they had not.

Eliphaz begins his speech partly as a reply to Job's sad complaint, but mainly to give the help he thinks Job's spiritual condition needs. The speech, in chapters 4 and 5, has great dignity and beauty of language, and holds much truth that is plain to see. It falls into seven parts … (5) Eliphaz urges Job to seek God (verses 6-11). (6) God's triumph over evil (verses 12-16). (7) The uses of affliction (verses 17-27).

He had also observed that the Lord saves the needy from the sword, from the mouth of powerful men — that is, from their cruel accusations — and from their persecution. So the poor have hope, and injustice is silenced (verses 15-16). This is true in the long run: God will certainly silence injustice. But in the meantime injustice often seems to prevail, and for this Eliphaz had no answer.

Every word may be true in itself. He says it all with the greatest dignity and force. Yet it is misapplied and one-sided, so as a whole it is in effect wrong. Eliphaz assumes that God is displaying His government right now, and measures out prosperity or trouble to match exactly what people deserve. That is false ground, and it spoils the way he applies his words — above all to a man like Job, who was handed over to be attacked by Satan.

Eliphaz is putting together his theory: "Be good, and you will be happy in the long run." Job would then be cleared, and all evil would have to shut its mouth. Eliphaz and his friends do have to learn this later, and these words read like a prophecy of what happens when Job prays for them. Yes, God will triumph over evil, and will make His people "more than conquerors through Him who loved us." But it will not be in man's way, and He alone will be exalted.

It is hard to imagine anything more crushing to the spirit of a godly man. There is no plain, definite charge, and they bring no facts to lay on his conscience. The judging spirit that ruled them kept their hearts from waiting until God showed the truth of things. It made them quick to seize, without even knowing it, on the sufferer's wild words, and to build on them the suspicion of worse deeds behind it all.

Oppression and slander are very hard to bear, and twice as hard when they come from friends. When his friends slandered him, Job felt it deeply. But for a long time he fought for his own good name instead of committing his way to the Lord. When at last he did commit it, God soon brought forth His righteousness as the light and His judgment as the noonday.

The address, in chapters 4 and 5, has much dignity and great beauty of expression, and contains much self-evident truth. It falls into seven portions: … (4) Experience of God's ways (Job 5:1-5). (5) Exhortation to Job to seek God (vv. 6-11). (6) God's triumph over evil (vv. 12-16). (7) The uses of affliction (vv. 17-27).

He had also seen that the Lord saves the needy from the sword. He saves them from the mouth — the cruel accusations — of powerful men, and from their persecution. So the poor have hope, and injustice is silenced (vv.15-16). This is true in the long run: God will certainly silence injustice. But in the meantime injustice often seems to win, and Eliphaz had no answer for this.

Eliphaz is working out his theory: "Be good, and you will be happy in the long run." Job would then be cleared, and all iniquity would have to stop its mouth. Eliphaz and his friends must indeed find this out later. These words are like a prophecy of what happens when Job prays for them. Yes, God will surely triumph over evil, and will make His people "more than conquerors through Him who loved them." But it will not be in man's way, and He alone will be exalted.

You only have to look at the words of Eliphaz to see that in themselves they contain nothing but truth. But if we weigh them as applied to Job, they are inexcusably wrong… The New Testament quotes the words of Eliphaz, both in the first letter to the Corinthians and in the letter to the Hebrews. There the application is perfectly good. In the history given in the Old Testament the application was wrong, and the speakers were reproved for it.

But we can see that he brings all these facts forward in a way that turned them against poor Job… It is obvious that all these remarks carried a hidden charge against Job. He had seemed to be wise, but now he was caught in his own craftiness — or so it looked to Eliphaz.

"Do not judge by appearances," said the law. We are bound to wait for solid fact. Sometimes a bad man puts on a good appearance, and we are not at all deceived by that. Sometimes a good man is in such circumstances that appearances are very much against him. There we have to take great care. So judging by appearances is very dangerous ground. That is exactly where they were.