Job 5:1-5 - Homilies By R. Green

The lot of the foolish.

By a skilful turn of thought, Eliphaz exhibits the consequences of human folly—

1. AS THEY AFFECT THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL FOOLISH ONE . "Wrath killeth and envy slayeth" him. By his folly he excites the wrath or the envy of others, or his folly leads him into deadly courses.

II. AS THEY AFFECT HIS LOT AND CONDITION . His prosperity, even if it begin, is but of temporary duration. If he take root, suddenly his habitation is cursed.

III. AS THEY AFFECT HIS FAMILY . His children are in danger—"far from safety." They are condemned by the judge sitting in the gate; are crushed, and are not found. "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off."

IV. AS THEY AFFECT HIS SUBSTANCE . He soweth, but a stranger reapeth his harvests; his toil may be productive, but a "robber swalloweth" his substance. Dark is the picture thus presented of the judgments which fall upon the ungodly, the foolish, and the vain. If Eliphaz intended this to be a reflection upon Job, it was unmerited and uncalled for. The Divine judgment upon Job was, "My servant Job, a perfect and an upright man." Eliphaz argued from the particular to the general. However true it may be that the foolish suffers, it is not equally true that every sufferer is foolish. This was the error in Eliphaz's mode of arguing. It is a common error. We know it may be said, "He whom thou lovest is sick."—R.G.