Job chapter two introduces us to Job’s friends, who play an integral part of the book. “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him” (Job 2:11). When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.
Each of these three men had a different perspective for Job’s suffering. The interactions between them and Job are enlightening to say the least.
Eliphaz the Temanite was the first to offer Job some insight. Eliphaz was a descendant of Teman (Gen. 36:11). Bible commentators note that Teman was renown for its wisdom. At a glance much of what Eliphaz says sounds wise and insightful. He bases most of his observations on a strange encounter he had. Eliphaz said, “This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep. Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end. The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator.’”
This forms the basis of Eliphaz’s arguments that will continue the rest of the book. In essence, Eliphaz believes that Job’s suffering is due to sin. “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty” (Job 5:17). According to the Temanite, Job is a sinner and God is delivering the judgment.
On the surface Eliphaz’s arguments hold a tinge of truth. God is angry with the wicked (Ps. 7:10-12). Most assuredly God does chasten His children for disobedience (Heb. 12:6). In Job’s case, however, God had already declared that Job was one who walked uprightly and hated evil (Job 1:8).
Eliphaz holds to a very rigid form of the retribution principle, which says God punishes the wicked and blesses those who do good. That Job is suffering is evidence enough that Job is a sinner being punished.
Jesus said, “it rains on the just and the unjust.” Trials and tribulations are part of life. Job’s trial was not based on any wrongdoing. Rather, his trial was based on God’s trust that he was righteous. Like Eliphaz we get it wrong when we believe that someone’s suffering is due to some secret sin, or that God is angry with them. Someone may be going through a difficult season simply because God trusts them to hold fast their faith and integrity.