Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,
Eliphaz ends his second speech with a portrait of a man who lifts his fist at God and charges at Him like a soldier. He paints it so that Job will see himself in it — and the verse forces one question: does the picture fit Job at all?
The man who fights God
The verse sits inside a long description of the wicked that Eliphaz offers as settled wisdom. One writer starts where that description starts — inside the man.
William KellyThe wicked man has an inner tormentor in his own conscience even now, and it does not fail to embitter his short allotted time. He is always expecting death in the middle of life, and want in the middle of plenty. The voice of alarm never leaves his ears... even though he plays the hero against God, and rushes at Him as if he could fight it out. But God is not mocked, and the end, if it delays, comes.
A shield raised against the Almighty
The picture is of a soldier charging behind a shield. One commentator reads that shield as the man's own wickedness, then points out who Eliphaz has in mind.
Samuel RidoutThis imaginary wicked man had stretched out his hand against the Almighty. With a stiff neck, and his own wickedness held up like the thick studs of a shield, he dared to defy God!... his wealth fails, the darkness falls, the fire reaches him, and he dies at the breath of God! A frightening picture indeed — and he thinks he is describing Job!
The charge laid on a suffering man
Eliphaz is not describing a stranger. He takes Job's own words and turns them into evidence.
Leslie M. GrantSince Job admitted he was afraid because of his great suffering, Eliphaz took this as another proof of Job's wickedness... These were things that Eliphaz saw in Job, so he felt he was right to compare Job to wicked men. Certainly in all this Eliphaz showed a painful lack of discernment and unfeeling cruelty.
The faulty rule behind the accusation
The friends worked from one rule: trouble measures guilt. Applied to Job's unmatched losses, that rule could only reach one verdict.
William KellyIs that the whole case as it stands? Is there nothing but man suffering for his abominations in the world? Is there no room for a righteous man to suffer in this world? Is there no enemy to afflict, no God to chasten? To them there was only the one thought of judging sins... They had narrowed their minds to the one thought that whenever severe blows fell on a man, they were the sure sign of something uncommonly bad. So if unequalled troubles had fallen on Job — and who could deny it? — it must be that Job was the worst of men.
Where the image is true
Misapplied to Job, the picture still describes something real. Another writer applies the same picture to a day still ahead, when men will rush at God openly.
Edward DennettOnce more in the world's history it will be clear that if man, in his daring contempt for God, dares to rush at the thick studs of God's shield, it only brings his instant and complete destruction.
What Eliphaz never said
The friends had plenty to say about judgment. One commentator asks what their speeches never once mention, and names what the silence cost.
William KellyWhy is it that they never once touch on that blessed One who was to make good and show the superiority of grace over all evil? Why was it that they could not rise above the fear of evil underneath?... Their conclusion was that his evil was finding him out, that judgment was pursuing the hypocrite. Sadly, not one man among them knew what it is to overcome evil with good. But grace overcomes evil with good. Why did they not?
Summary
- The picture. Eliphaz describes a man who plays the hero against God and rushes at Him as if he could win. But God is not mocked, and the end comes.
- The shield. The raised hand and the shield stand for a man's own wickedness. With a stiff neck he dares to defy God.
- The target. Eliphaz aims every line at Job. He treats Job's fear under suffering as proof of guilt, and shows a painful lack of discernment.
- The error. The friends assumed heavy trouble always measures hidden sin. That left no room for a righteous man to suffer, no enemy to afflict, no God to chasten.
- The missing word. The one thing absent from the whole speech is grace: they knew how to judge evil, but not how to overcome evil with good.