he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields;
Job 5:10 sits inside the first speech of Eliphaz, one of the friends who came to comfort Job and ended up accusing him. He presses Job to turn to God. To back his advice, he paints a God so generous that He waters every field on earth. The picture is true. The case Eliphaz builds on it is not.
The God Eliphaz describes
Verses 9 and 10 belong together. God's greatness shows up not in something far away, but in water falling on ordinary farmland. One commentator names the conclusion Eliphaz wants Job to draw from it.
William KellySo Job should accept his suffering from God and turn to Him in prayer. God is not only great beyond anything a creature can search out. He is also generous, and generous in a moral way to those brought lowest, as surely as He defeats the crafty and the strong.
Advice that is good in itself
Taken by itself, the advice Eliphaz gives is sound, and the picture of rain fits it. Rain is exactly what dried-out ground needs.
Samuel RidoutIt is always good to advise men to trust in God; for He never fails those who trust in Him. "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him." "Cast your burden on the LORD." He is powerful, good and kind. He can lift up those who are bowed down, refreshing their parched spirits as the rain refreshes the thirsty land.
Rain does not only bless
Eliphaz's evidence looks unanswerable until you notice what he has left out. The same rain that grows a harvest can ruin one, and a man who has just lost everything knows it.
William KellyBut does not God sometimes try people? And the rains are not merely for fruitful seasons, but to destroy the fruit. The rains may be such as to greatly try the poor farmer; and it may all turn out quite the other way. What we find in these men is entirely one-sided pleading. It is not the whole case at all; it is never the full case. This is not the judge speaking; it is only the advocate — and in this case Job was the poor defendant.
The hidden accusation
Read verses 10 and 11 together and the trap appears. God waters the fields and lifts up the lowly. So a man left crushed must be blocking the blessing somehow.
Leslie M. GrantHe goes on to speak rightly of how great God is. God does great things, unsearchable and marvellous. He sends rain to bless people, and He lifts the lowly to places of dignity (vv.9-11). But Job at the time was not lifted up, so Eliphaz thought Job was not right with God!
True words, wrong target
God later said Eliphaz had not spoken rightly of Him — yet the New Testament quotes his words. The answer is to separate what he said from the man he aimed it at.
William KellyYou 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 inexcusably wrong… In the Old Testament history the application was wrong, and God reproved the speakers for it. In the New Testament the application is as right as the words themselves; all is in place.
Rain given to everyone
Set the accusation aside and one fact remains. Rain falls on the fields of people who never thank the One who sends it. God does that on purpose.
W. W. FeredayGod is Creator and Governor of the universe, and it delights Him to pour His good gifts on people, despite their unworthiness and ingratitude. "The LORD is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made" (Ps. 145:9). The Lord Jesus, telling His disciples to love their enemies, said, "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). Paul and Barnabas told a crowd in the city of Lystra about the one true God: "He did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). The seasons, as they come and go, are lasting evidence of God's gracious interest in His creatures.
Summary
- Rain proves God. Eliphaz points to water on ordinary fields. It is the visible evidence that God does great and unsearchable things, and that He is generous as well as mighty.
- Rain refreshes. The advice behind the image is good. God can lift up those who are bowed down, as rain refreshes thirsty land.
- Rain also ruins. Rain is not always for fruitful seasons; sometimes it destroys the crop. Eliphaz argues as an advocate, not a judge, and leaves half the evidence out.
- Rain is not a scoreboard. Job was still not lifted up, so Eliphaz concluded he was not right with God. That is a wrong reading of a true verse.
- Rain falls on everyone. God sends rain on the just and the unjust, so no one can read the weather as a verdict on his standing with God.