Job 4:12

Eliphaz describes in the most vivid language a night vision he had experienced in quiet secrecy, one that had a deep effect on him. No doubt God intended by this to awaken the serious attention of Eliphaz, and He succeeded.

In the days of the patriarchs, we may say that God gave no revelation of Himself except to the individual. God made His mind known this way to Noah, to Abraham, and even to those who were largely ignorant of Him, such as Abimelech and Laban (Gen. 20:3, etc.; Gen. 31:24). A dream or vision was often used, but it was a divine revelation. Eliphaz refers to such a communication, in beautiful language, but not as definitely as Elihu does here (see Job 4:12-21). Elihu makes it plain that God speaks to man in this way. When all is silent, He speaks in a still, small voice and makes His mind known. His purpose is to correct wrong thoughts and actions, to draw man back from his own plans, and to hide pride from him.

And now he brings in a vision of the night. He was very serious. And God has often used visions of the night. It is true we have something a great deal better. We have the vision of the day. We have the great vision of Christ shown in human flesh. We have the vision of God showing Himself. He speaks and acts for us in this world of sin and death... "Fear came upon me, and trembling" — clearly he did not have enough of grace; grace does not make people afraid in this way. It is judgment that does so, and this is what these good men are full of; they were full of the spirit of judgment.

Next Eliphaz sets out an oracle of the night, in a mysterious and awesome style. It impressed on his own soul the folly of one claim. Earthly, sinful, weak man claims to be more just than God by putting His dealings on trial.

This is all quite true, and in other settings entirely fitting. But it falls beside the mark, because it does not meet Job's need. Truly, in God's sight all are as an unclean thing. But does that do away with the righteousness found in the children of God? If all are unclean in God's sight, then Eliphaz must take his place beside Job. He is by no means ready to do that. So every explanation of suffering fails.

How true such words are, and how well they apply to all of mankind! But Eliphaz was applying them only to Job, not to himself. He did not consider himself "crushed before a moth" and "broken in pieces."... But a vision or dream is meant to apply directly to the one who has it, and Eliphaz missed that one important fact. In the same way, we may hear good ministry which we think fits others better than ourselves... If Eliphaz had learned the lesson God intended, he would not have spoken to Job the way he did.

From these sentences it seems very clear that Eliphaz belonged to that class of people who argue mostly from their own experience. His motto was, "As I have seen." Now, what we have seen may be true enough, as far as we are concerned. But it is a total mistake to build a general rule on individual experience, and yet it is a mistake thousands make. What, for instance, had the experience of Eliphaz to do with Job?