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Commentary on Job 5 verses 6–16
Eliphaz, having touched Job in a very tender part, in mentioning both the loss of his estate and the death of his children as the just punishment of his sin, that he might not drive him to despair, here begins to encourage him, and puts him in a way to make himself easy. Now he very much changes his voice (Gal 4:20), and speaks in the accents of kindness, as if he would atone for the hard words he had given him.
I. He reminds him that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be attributed to second causes: It doth not come forth of the dust, nor spring out of the ground, as the grass doth, Job 5:6. It doth not come of course, at certain seasons of the year, as natural productions do, by a chain of second causes. The proportion between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed by Providence as that between day and night, summer and winter, but according to the will and counsel of God, when and as he thinks fit. Some read it, Sin comes not forth out of the dust, nor iniquity of the ground. If men be bad, they must not lay the blame upon the soil, the climate, or the stars, but on themselves. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God, nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves; so that, whatever trouble we are in, we must own that God sends it upon us and we procure it to ourselves: the former is a reason why we should be very patient, the latter why we should be very penitent, when we are afflicted.
II. He reminds him that trouble and affliction are what we have all reason to expect in this world: Man is brought to trouble (Job 5:7), not as man (had he kept his innocency he would have been born to pleasure), but as sinful man, as born of a woman (Job 14:1), who was in the transgression. Man is born in sin, and therefore born to trouble. Even those that are born to honour and estate are yet born to trouble in the flesh. In our fallen state it has become natural to us to sin, and the natural consequence of that is affliction, Rom 5:12. There is nothing in this world we are born to, and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble; both are as the sparks that fly upwards. Actual transgressions are the sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption; and, being called transgressors from the womb, no wonder that we deal very treacherously, Isa 48:8. Such too is the frailty of our bodies, and the vanity of all our enjoyments, that our troubles also thence arise as naturally as the sparks fly upwards - so many are they, so thick and so fast does one follow another. Why then should we be surprised at our afflictions as strange, or quarrel with them as hard, when they are but what we are born to? Man is born to labour (so it is in the margin), is sentenced to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, which should inure him to hardness, and make him bear his afflictions the better.
III. He directs him how to behave himself under his affliction (Job 5:8): I would seek unto God; surely I would: so it is in the original. Here is, 1. A tacit reproof to Job for not seeking to God, but quarrelling with him: "Job, if I had been in thy case, I would not have been so peevish and passionate as thou art. I would have acquiesced in the will of God." It is easy to say what we would do if we were in such a one's case; but when it comes to the trial, perhaps it will be found not so easy to do as we say. 2. Very good and seasonable advice to him, which Eliphaz transfers to himself in a figure: "For my part, the best way I should think I could take, if I were in thy condition, would be to apply to God." Note, We should give our friends no other counsel than what we would take ourselves if we were in their case, that we may be easy under our afflictions, may get good by them, and may see a good issue of them. (1.) We must by prayer fetch in mercy and grace from God, seek to him as a Father and friend, though he contend with us, as one who is alone able to support and succour us. His favour we must seek when we have lost all we have in the world; to him we must address ourselves as the fountain and Father of all good, all consolation. Is any afflicted? let him pray. It is heart's-ease, a salve for every sore. (2.) We must by patience refer ourselves and our cause to him: To God would I commit my cause; having spread it before him, I would leave it with him; having laid it at his feet, I would lodge it in his hand. "Here I am, let the Lord do with me as seemeth him good." If our cause be indeed a good cause, we need not fear committing it to God, for he is both just and kind. Those that would seek so as to speed must refer themselves to God.
IV. He encourages him thus to seek to God, and commit his cause to him. It will not be in vain to do so, for he is one in whom we shall find effectual help.
1.He recommends to his consideration God's almighty power and sovereign dominion. In general, he doeth great things (Job 5:9), great indeed, for he can do any thing, he doth do every thing, and all according to the counsel of his own will - great indeed, for the operations of his power are, (1.) Unsearchable, and such as can never be fathomed, can never be found out from the beginning to the end, Ecc 3:11. The works of nature are mysterious; the most curious searches come far short of full discoveries and the wisest philosophers have owned themselves at a loss. The designs of Providence ar much more deep and unaccountable, Rom 11:33. (2.) Numerous, and such as can never be reckoned up. He doeth great things without number; his power is never exhausted, nor will all his purposes ever be fulfilled till the end of time. (3.) They are marvellous, and such as never can be sufficiently admired; eternity itself will be short enough to be spent in the admiration of them. Now, by the consideration of this, Eliphaz intends, [1.] To convince Job of his fault and folly in quarrelling with God. We must not pretend to pass a judgment upon his works, for they are unsearchable and above our enquiries; nor must we strive with our Maker, for he will certainly be too hard for us, and is able to crush us in a moment. [2.] To encourage Job to seek unto God, and to refer his cause to him. What more encouraging than to see that he is one to whom power belongs? He can do great things and marvellous for our relief, when we are brought ever so low.
2.He gives some instances of God's dominion and power.
(1.)God doeth great things in the kingdom of nature: He gives rain upon the earth (Job 5:10), put here for all the gifts of common providence, all the fruitful seasons by which he filleth our hearts with food and gladness, Act 14:17. Observe, When he would show what great things God does he speaks of his giving rain, which, because it is a common thing, we are apt to look upon as a little thing, but, if we duly consider both how it is produced and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work both of power and goodness.
(2.)He doeth great things in the affairs of the children of men, not only enriches the poor and comforts the needy, by the rain he sends (Job 5:10), but, in order to the advancing of those that are low, he disappoints the devices of the crafty; for Job 5:11 is to be joined to Job 5:12. Compare with Luk 1:51-53. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, and so hath exalted those of low degree, and filled the heart with good things. See,
[1.]How he frustrates the counsels of the proud and politic, Job 5:12-14. There is a supreme power that manages and overrules men who think themselves free and absolute, and fulfils its own purposes in spite of their projects. Observe, First, The froward, that walk contrary to God and the interests of his kingdom, are often very crafty; for they are the seed of the old serpent that was noted for his subtlety. They think themselves wise, but, at the end, will be fools. Secondly, The Froward enemies of God's kingdom have their devices, their enterprises, and their counsels, against it, and against the loyal faithful subjects of it. They are restless and unwearied in their designs, close in their consultations, high in their hopes, deep in their politics, and fast-linked in their confederacies, Psa 2:1, Psa 2:2. Thirdly, God easily can, and (as far as is for his glory) certainly will, blast and defeat all the designs of his and his people's enemies. How were the plots of Ahithophel, Sanballat, and Haman baffled! How were the confederacies of Syria and Ephraim against Judah, of Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, against God's Israel, the kings of the earth and the princes against the Lord and against his anointed, broken! The hands that have been stretched out against God and his church have not performed their enterprise, nor have the weapons formed against Sion prospered. Fourthly, That which enemies have designed for the ruin of the church has often turned to their own ruin (Job 5:13): He takes the wise in their own craftiness, and snares them in the work of their own hands, Psa 7:15, Psa 7:16; Psa 9:15, Psa 9:16. This is quoted by the apostle (Co1 3:19) to show how the learned men of the heathen were befooled by their own vain philosophy. Fifthly, When God infatuates men they are perplexed, and at a loss, even in those things that seem most plain and easy (Job 5:14): They meet with darkness even in the day-time: nay (as in the margin), They run themselves into darkness by the violence and precipitation of their own counsels. See Job 12:20, Job 12:24, Job 12:25.
[2.]How he favours the cause of the poor and humble, and espouses that. First, He exalts the humble, Job 5:11. Those whom proud men contrive to crush he raises from under their feet, and sets them in safety, Psa 12:5. The lowly in heart, and those that mourn, he advances, comforts, and makes to dwell on high, in the munitions of rocks, Isa 33:16. Sion's mourners are the sealed ones, marked for safety, Eze 9:4. Secondly, He delivers the oppressed, Job 5:15. The designs of the crafty are to ruin the poor. Tongue, and hand, and sword, and all, are at work in order to this; but God takes under his special protection those who, being poor and unable to help themselves, being his poor and devoted to his praise, have committed themselves to him. He saves them from the mouth that speaks hard things against them and the hand that does hard things against them; for he can, when he pleases, tie the tongue and wither the hand. The effect of this is (Job 5:16), 1. That weak and timorous saints are comforted: So the poor, who began to despair, has hope. The experiences of some are encouragement to others to hope the best in the worst of times; for it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless. 2. That daring threatening sinners are confounded: Iniquity stops her mouth, being surprised at the strangeness of the deliverance, ashamed of its enmity against those who appear to be the favourites of Heaven, mortified at the disappointment, and compelled to acknowledge the justice of God's proceedings, having nothing to object against them. Those that domineered over God's poor, that frightened them, menaced them, and falsely accused them, will not have a word to say against them when God appears for them. See Psa 76:8, Psa 76:9; Isa 26:11; Mic 7:16.
Look! This is what God does, so the weak may hope for happiness and the powerful may not become proud. In fact, he said above, “Call for help in order to see whether you will be listened to,” so that you may not think that there are things that escape providence.… Eliphaz dedicates the beginning of his speech to the defeat of Job. Indeed, God is accustomed to exalt the weak, to bring the powerful down and to confound the cunning. Now draw your own conclusions.
36. For when the poor man is rescued, ‘the needy’ is restored to hope, for the lowly people of the faithful is shaken with dismay at our Redeemer dying, but is established firm by His rising again, for the very first poor ones of His people, viz. the chosen Preachers, were smitten by the sight of His death, but restored by the manifesting of His resurrection. When, then, the poor man is saved, ‘the needy’ recovers hope, for by the Lord rising again in the flesh, every faithful soul is strengthened to have a confident expectation of eternal life. But, now, the Truth has already come in an open manifestation, He has already undergone the death of the flesh, and destroyed the same by rising again, already the glory of the Ascension has ennobled His Resurrection, and yet the tongue of the Hebrews does not yet cease to urge Him with insults; and He indeed suffers them with patience, that by such sufferance He may turn some, and others that refuse to be turned He may one day visit with severer punishment. For the tongue of unbelievers will then be struck dumb from their habit of unbridled speech, when it shall see Him coming as a just Judge, Whom now it has judged unjustly. And hence it is well added,
And iniquity shall stop her mouth.
37. For now iniquity still opens wide her mouth, in that the tongue of unbelievers never ceases to urge with insults the Redeemer of the human race. But she shall then ‘stop her mouth,’ when this same, which she will not shut in good will, she shall shut in punishment. Yet this may also be well understood of the conversion of the persecutors. For when ‘the poor is saved,’ whilst ‘the needy’ returns to hope, iniquity is struck dumb, her mouth being stopped, in that by the miracle of His Resurrection shining out, whilst a full number of unbelievers is brought to the faith, it has ceased from the mocking and abuse of its Redeemer. For its mouth, which it opened in mocking God, it has now shut in the dread of Him.
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SUMMARY
Job 5:16, a declaration from Eliphaz the Temanite, articulates a fundamental principle of divine justice: the downtrodden and afflicted find hope in God, while wickedness is ultimately silenced and prevented from prevailing. Although Eliphaz's broader theological framework in the Book of Job is later critiqued as simplistic, this particular verse conveys a timeless truth about God's character as a compassionate defender of the humble and an ultimate vanquisher of evil, offering a profound basis for trust amidst adversity.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 5:16 employs several potent Literary Devices to convey its message. Most prominently, Personification is used when "iniquity" is depicted as having a "mouth" that can be "stopped." This gives an abstract concept a concrete, active quality, making the defeat of evil more vivid and impactful. The phrase "stoppeth her mouth" is a powerful Idiom, conveying the idea of being silenced, shamed, or rendered powerless to speak, boast, or accuse. Furthermore, the verse uses Antithesis or Juxtaposition by contrasting the "poor" who gain "hope" with "iniquity" which is "silenced." This stark contrast highlights the divergent fates of the humble (or righteous) and the wicked, underscoring the moral order of the universe as perceived by Eliphaz. The statement also functions as a Proverbial Statement, presenting a general truth or principle about divine justice, even if its application in Job's specific case is ultimately flawed.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 5:16, despite its origin in Eliphaz's ultimately flawed theological framework concerning Job's suffering, encapsulates a profound and enduring biblical truth about God's character and His interaction with humanity. It affirms that God is not indifferent to suffering or injustice; rather, He actively champions the cause of the vulnerable and ensures the ultimate defeat of evil. This principle underscores the moral fabric of the universe, where righteousness will ultimately prevail and wickedness will be exposed and silenced. It offers a foundational basis for hope for those who are oppressed, reminding them that their current circumstances do not dictate their ultimate destiny under God's sovereign hand. This divine commitment to justice provides a powerful antidote to despair, even when the immediate reasons for suffering remain obscure.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 5:16 offers enduring encouragement to all who face adversity, oppression, or the apparent triumph of injustice in the world. It serves as a powerful reminder that even in the midst of profound suffering, there is a promise of hope for those who are humble and look to God. Our circumstances, no matter how dire or unjust they may seem, do not define our ultimate destiny when we place our trust in divine justice. This verse invites us to cultivate a deep-seated patience and unwavering faith, knowing that God is sovereign over all evil and will, in His perfect timing, bring about justice and vindication. It challenges us to maintain hope not in human strength or immediate vindication, but in the unwavering character of God, who champions the cause of the oppressed and will ultimately silence all forms of wickedness. This truth provides a solid foundation for resilience and perseverance in a world often marked by inequity and moral chaos.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is Eliphaz's theology in Job 5:16 entirely correct, given the overall message of the Book of Job?
Answer: While Job 5:16 expresses a general truth about divine justice and the ultimate fate of the righteous and the wicked, Eliphaz's application of this truth to Job's specific situation is flawed. The Book of Job ultimately challenges the simplistic retribution theology held by Job's friends, which asserts that all suffering is a direct result of personal sin. God Himself later rebukes Eliphaz and his friends for not speaking what is right about Him (Job 42:7). So, while the principle that God gives hope to the poor and silences iniquity is biblically sound and a foundational truth, Eliphaz errs in concluding that Job's suffering must therefore be due to his iniquity. The verse highlights a truth about God's character, but not necessarily a correct diagnosis of Job's affliction.
What does "iniquity stoppeth her mouth" imply about the nature and ultimate fate of evil?
Answer: The phrase "iniquity stoppeth her mouth" is a powerful personification implying that evil, despite its temporary power, boastfulness, or loud accusations, will ultimately be rendered speechless, shamed, and unable to prevail. It suggests that wickedness will be exposed for what it is, its lies will be silenced, and its influence and power to harm, deceive, or boast will be decisively ended. This is not merely a cessation of speech but a complete cessation of its power and authority. It speaks to the certainty of divine judgment and the triumph of God's justice over all forms of moral wrong and injustice, ensuring that evil will not have the final word.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 5:16 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. He is the very embodiment of hope for the "poor" in every sense—the spiritually poor who recognize their need for God, the humble, the marginalized, and those broken by sin and suffering. Jesus explicitly declared His mission to "preach good news to the poor... to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18-19). He identified deeply with the least of these, promising that acts of compassion shown to them are shown to Him (Matthew 25:40), and He promised the kingdom of heaven to the "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). Furthermore, Christ's death on the cross and His glorious resurrection represent the definitive silencing of "iniquity." Through His triumph, He disarmed the spiritual forces of evil and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross (Colossians 2:15). The accuser of the brethren, representing all forms of iniquity and accusation, is ultimately cast down and silenced by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:10-11). Thus, in Christ, the poor find eternal hope and true riches, and all forms of iniquity are ultimately defeated, their mouths forever stopped by His sovereign victory and the establishment of His righteous kingdom.