Job 4: "Hey Job, Only The Wicked Suffer"

In the friends' attempt to diagnose what has happened to Job, Eliphaz is the first one out of the box.  He begins by gently asking for permission to speak, but then poses a series of troubling and provocative questions to Job.

Eliphaz reminds Job that he himself has often played the role of comforter and instructor (vs. 3 and 4).  He then points out that Job out to remember that the world is simple: the wicked suffer and the righteous are rescued.  Since Job is unquestionably suffering, he must have done something wicked to deserve it!

What is even more bizarre than Eliphaz's black-and-white logic is the basis for his thinking on this matter.  In verses 12-16, he describes a night-time encounter with some kind of spirit.  Eliphaz attributes this messenger to be a heavenly angel; the opposite conclusion, however, might be equally valid.  Could this have been Satan, coming to sow doubt and arguments against Job in Eliphaz's mind?

Consider the kinds of things that this being says, and decide if you think it is a holy or unholy messenger:

• An attempt to put human beings in their place - just who do they think they are? (vs. 17)
• A reminder that God finds fault even among His angels and servants, a fact that might be particularly galling to Satan (vs. 18).
• A claim that human beings are insipid and weak - they ought to be despised for their weakness (vs. 19).
• A verdict that humans are mortal and ultimately foolish (vs. 20 and 21).

The general lack of respect and love for human beings seems - to me - to argue that this is not a messenger sent from God.  Satan seems to be pulling out all the stops to spiritually defeat Job and incite his anger against the Lord, even going so far as to use the people in Job's life (Job's wife, Eliphaz) to make his case for him.