The Bible Says
Job 5:17-27 Meaning

In Job 5:17-27, Eliphaz waxes eloquent about another biblical principle—that God’s discipline is for our good—while continuing to represent a flawed premise that Job’s calamity must certainly be God’s judgment upon his misdeeds. This speech of Eliphaz demonstrates how we can believe scripture and still misapply it because we hold perspectives that are untrue. Eliphaz’s flawed premise causes him to improperly apply things that are true and thus speak wrongly about God (Job 42:7).

Scripture instructs us in a manner that equips us to avoid this mistake. It tells us to renew our minds to align them with God’s perspective, rather than allowing them to continue to be conformed to the perspectives held by this world (Romans 12:2, 1 John 2:15-16).

Eliphaz opens with a beatitude: Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves (v. 17).

The Hebrew word translated happy here is usually rendered “blessed.” This then does not refer to a surface emotion, but rather describes a condition of well-being. Thus, this is similar to the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12). Those who are disciplined by God and learn to follow His ways will greatly benefit. So, they are blessed because their lives will gain substantial spiritual improvement. And whether or not that is attended with material progress, spiritual treasure is the only kind we can take with us.

Eliphaz’s point is sound. Scripture openly teaches that the LORD corrects those He loves (Proverbs 3:11-12). The New Testament repeats this proverb in Hebrews 12:5-6. Further, Jesus asserts in Revelation 3:19 that He chastises and corrects those whom He loves. Since this is such a biblical truism, then why does God say Eliphaz did not speak of Him as is right, as Job did (Job 42:7)?

The problem is not Eliphaz’s belief that God disciplines—He does. The problem is his false premise that all suffering is a result of God’s judgment for misdeeds. Also, that His judgment is immediate. Eliphaz is using true statements to bolster a false premise. This demonstrates the importance of looking through what people say to discern the premise. True statements can be used to prop up a flawed premise.

Job’s story has already shown the reader something Eliphaz does not see: Job’s trials are not a result of God judging Job, as Eliphaz insists. We saw that Job did not sin either in word or deed (Job 1:22). Rather, God is allowing a faithful man to play a key role in a larger, unseen conflict—where Job’s righteous actions and faithful endurance is silencing Satan’s accusation (Job 1:9-11). This fulfills a grand purpose for which God created humans (Psalm 8:2).

So Eliphaz is about to apply a true principle, that God disciplines those whom He loves, to a false premise, that human actions trigger an immediate judgment from God, as though He was a vending machine. Eliphaz now lists a number of assertions to demonstrate the blessing that comes from embracing God’s chastening. His point to Job is, “If you will repent and turn, these blessings will be available to you.”

But once again, this treats God like a vending machine, as though humans can obligate God. God will always be true to His promises, but no man can obligate Him and make Him indebted. All rewards given by God are an act of His mercy. So, again in this manner Eliphaz is speaking wrongly of God, as God asserts in Job 42:7:

• For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal (v. 18).

Eliphaz notes God’s goodness. His chastisement is difficult, it inflicts pain and wounds in His judgment. But His purpose is to heal. However, it is implied from the overall context of Eliphaz’s remarks that in order to gain this healing Job needs to repent. Eliphaz opened this section with an assertion that blessing comes through God’s discipline. But benefit of discipline only comes to the subject if they alter their behavior. Discipline reproves rebellion, but only brings benefit if the rebellion ceases.

We will see in the next chapter that Job does, indeed, interpret Eliphaz’s comments in this manner, and defies Eliphaz’s assertion that he has sinned and therefore deserves the calamities that came upon him (Job 6:24, 30).

Eliphaz spends the rest of this chapter ticking off a number of great benefits Job will gain if he is willing to repent.

• From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you (v. 19).

If Job will repent, Eliphaz claims that God will deliver him from evil. The “six…seven” pattern is a wisdom-literature way of saying “again and again…completely.” It is true that God delivers. However, He does so in His own time and His own way. Eliphaz implies here that it is automatic and occurs in a predictable manner, as though human actions control God’s, which is not true.

Eliphaz claims: In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword (v. 20).

This assertion is consistent with God’s covenant promise to Israel. If Israel kept their covenant promise to obey God’s commands, He promised to deliver them from their enemies (Deuteronomy 28:7). He also promised to bring the rains of heaven to bless their crops (Deuteronomy 28:12).

We can observe that when Israel was disobedient to God, He invoked the cursings provision of the covenant, as was agreed to by all parties (Exodus 19:8, Deuteronomy 28:15-68). In spite of this promise, Israel interpreted that their blessings came from worshipping a false God, in at least one instance the “queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 44:18). Thus, many centuries after having access to the lessons in Job, they still held a concept that God was transactional, and the goal was to manipulate or appease Him in order to gain a specified benefit that was desired.

We can also observe that God led Israel into the wilderness for their good, that they would learn that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3). This does not fit Eliphaz’s tidy formulation where God always performs based on our actions.

The LORD is a deliverer who can rescue from the brink (Psalm 34:19). And in the grand story of Scripture, redemption culminates in Jesus, who redeems from the ultimate enemies—sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). But deliverance often takes forms that we would not choose, such as Jesus suffering death on the cross in order to defeat sin and death (Matthew 26:39).

Again, Eliphaz’s assertions of certainty (“If you do this then God is obligated to do that”) contradict his earlier statement that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Job 5:9). The deeper promise is not “you will never be touched,” but “God will be faithful and will finish His good work,” even when the road passes through affliction (James 1:2-3, 5:11; Romans 8:28-29).

Eliphaz adds protection from social violence: You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes (v. 21). A scourge is a whip and the tongue is the instrument of speech. So, the scourge of the tongue is speech that injures. This might be accusation, slander, mockery, or reputational harm. Words can beat a person down, especially when they come from confident voices claiming spiritual authority.

It is striking that Eliphaz speaks of protection from the tongue while he himself is, in effect, beginning a long series of verbal blows—insisting Job must be guilty and has brought punishment upon himself.

Job is experiencing the very pain Eliphaz describes, ironically at the hands of Eliphaz, who thinks he is helping. This shows that religious speech can become a scourge of the tongue when it gives false explanations and solutions rooted in a false perspective. We will see in the next chapter that Job expresses that these words from Eliphaz sting. Job further challenges his premise, insisting that he has nothing of which to repent (Job 6:25-30).

In the end, God will silence unrighteous conclusions and vindicate what is true (Job 42:7-9). Eliphaz will end up eating humble pie (Job 42:8). Regardless of what men might claim, God alone is the judge over all the world.

Eliphaz promises inner steadiness in the face of scarcity and threat: You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of wild beasts (v. 22). Eliphaz’s claim is that if Job will repent and be restored, God will endow him with the kind of fortitude and strength that causes him to laugh at a threat of violence or of being attacked by wild beasts.

This security would presumably be due to having been endowed with great wealth that can purchase and sustain military strength. The ability to also laugh at famine would likely be due to a great store of provisions. The ability to laugh at a threat of violence or wild beasts would be due to having sufficient well-armed men to stave off any such attack.

The inference is that if Job would repent then he would have his great wealth restored. Before his calamity he was the greatest man of the east, having great wealth (Job 1:3). It is true that God endowed him with such wealth in the first place (Job 1:10). And it is true that God desired to bless Job because he was righteous, and will again (Job 42:10).

However, it is also true that God desired to bless Job through allowing him to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, to allow him to endure great difficulty for his greater benefit (Deuteronomy 8:3). Eliphaz describes a condition of prosperity that he claims will attend Job if he will repent: For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you (v. 23).

To be in league with the stones of the field is to say, “Even the hard features of the land will no longer work against you.” This might be due to his farming operation being so proficient that all lands are plowed and made fertile. That the beasts of the fields will be at peace with Job could indicate that he has sufficient productivity in his farming operation that there is no need to hunt in order to add to the needed provisions.

The phrase—the beasts of the field will be at peace with you—extends the promised harmony to the animal world that will result from Job’s repentance. It’s a snapshot of “shalom,” a peace or wholeness where a person can live without constant threat. In the broad arc of Scripture, this kind of peace points forward to the kingdom hope where creation is brought into proper order under God’s righteous rule (Isaiah 11:6-9). Due to the great prosperity Job would have if he repents, according to Eliphaz, he can enjoy the wild animals rather than having to hunt them.

Eliphaz expands the portrait of prosperity he is painting to Job’s home: You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your abode and fear no loss (v. 24).

A tent represents Job’s dwelling, his home and family. Again, if his fortunes were restored, his tent is secure. He has military protection and ample stores of goods laid up to endure famine. He will visit his home or abode and have no worries of loss when he sees the ample security in which he dwells.

It is worth remembering that not too long before, Job lost much of his estate to raiders (Job 1:15, 17). Eliphaz is saying, “If you will repent, you won’t have to worry about this happening again.” Eliphaz likely is saying that this will be not only because of Job’s physical prosperity but also because God will protect Job.

Previously, Eliphaz accused Job of deserving his loss as well as causing ruin to his own children by virtue of his sin (Job 4:7, 5:4). Eliphaz insists Job will fear no loss if he will live correctly. The only problem is that Job is the most righteous man on the earth, and that is according to God Himself (Job 1:8).

But in spite of his righteousness, Job lost everything. So, while Eliphaz is speaking what is true of God’s justice in the long run, by connecting God’s goodness as a response to our actions, he causes God to become like a genie in a bottle. And that is not right, which is likely why God was sufficiently irritated with Eliphaz and his two friends to mention twice, for emphasis, that they did not speak truly of Him as Job did (Job 42:7-8).

The book will eventually chronicle Job’s restoration. But it will also record his receipt of something even greater: a deeper knowing of God that becomes a greater experience of life from knowing God by faith (Job 42:5-6, 10, John 17:3).

Eliphaz promises generational flourishing: You will know also that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth (v. 25). Eliphaz earlier implied that Job’s sin brought about the death of his children (Job 5:4).

The promise here is that if Job will repent, then God will restore his family. As we will see, God will restore, giving Job seven sons and three daughters. However, it will not be due to Job repenting, but rather it will come after Job intercedes for Eliphaz and his two friends in order to prevent them from having God do to them as they accused Him of doing to Job (Job 42:8).

It is interesting to note that Job did get to see offspring even to the fourth generation, just as Eliphaz stated. But it was not because he gained prosperity through performance, rather, he endured in faith through suffering (Job 42:16).

Eliphaz describes a full life completed in peace: You will come to the grave in full vigor, Like the stacking of grain in its season (v. 26). The image is harvest-time: grain gathered when it is ripe, not torn up early, not wasted, not spoiled. The crop is gathered in due time, not prematurely. The point is that Eliphaz asserts that Job will live to a full age rather than dying prematurely if he will repent and live righteously. He will not slowly deteriorate. Rather, he will reach old age in full vigor before he passes.

Again, that is what will transpire. Job will live another 140 years after he is restored. But just as with his children, this prosperity will not be due to performance. It will be due to faithful perseverance through trials (James 5:11).

The spiritual application of Job’s story is stated by Paul. He asserts in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that any suffering we endure in this life as a faithful witness is “momentary” and “light affliction” to when compared to the immense reward God gives to those who are faithful. Paul calls this reward an “eternal weight of glory beyond comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). We can all behold that Job was greatly blessed, getting to see four generations of children and enjoying a great expansion of prosperity. But this is nothing compared to the future blessing God has in store for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Eliphaz closes with confident authority: Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself (v. 27).

Eliphaz is highly confident in his erroneous conclusions. He is “often wrong but never in doubt.” He appeals to collective wisdom—“we” have studied life. He has seen a true cause-effect, that bad choices create bad consequences and good choices lead to good consequences. But his extrapolation of this observation to apply to God essentially reduces Him to a divine power we control with our actions.

This book of Job opened with a heavenly scene that removes any doubt whether the idea that God predictably reacts to human actions might be true. Clearly, God has reasons that go beyond human comfort for the decisions He makes. And at the same time, even though His ways are higher than our ways, the good He intends far exceeds the comfort we prefer.

Sometimes experience is a faithful teacher. But Job shows that experience can also lead us to construct a “box” in which we attempt to fit God. Eliphaz’s certainty becomes a problem when it leaves no room for God’s hidden purposes, no room for righteous suffering, and no room for a cosmic dimension beyond what we have investigated. God is the creator and sustainer of all that is, and will never fit within any “box” of human understanding (Colossians 1:16-17).

We are invited to learn a better kind of knowing: not the arrogance of “we’ve solved it,” but the humility of “God is unsearchable, and His ways are higher” (Romans 11:33-36). The tension of recognizing our limits properly leads us to faith.

When Job finally arrives at the end of his trial it does not end with him saying: “Now I understand all the mechanics.” Rather, he says, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). Our proper goal is not to master God with explanations, but to know Him by faith.

Jesus said that the greatest experience of life (“eternal life”) comes through knowing God, and through knowing Him, which is why He prayed for us to know Him (John 17:3). This life is our one and only opportunity to know by faith. Job shows us the immense opportunity we have. This understanding should lead us to make every effort to take full advantage of the fleeting few moments we have while life on this earth lasts (James 4:14), recognizing that it is only this brief life in which we will have the opportunity to know by faith.

For the New Testament believer, faith begins by believing Jesus died for our sins (John 3:14-15). Scripture reveals Jesus as the One who sympathizes with weakness (Hebrews 4:15-16) and as the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). Eliphaz’s advice to manage God through knowledge will be defeated. But in Christ, New Testament believers have the fullest hope to approach Him for help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).