Job 5:1

1 Call [qara'] now, if there be [yesh] any that will answer [`anah] thee; and to which of the saints [qadowsh] wilt thou turn [panah]? KJV-Interlinear

1 'Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? NASB

Eliphaz has finished his first speech with a very mild reprimand of Job's complaints. Eliphaz has also finished delivering the details of his personal vision.

So, when anyone has a complaint, to whom do you call for help? Job has called on the timelines of history to reclaim his beginnings. He has called on the sorcerers of his day, to curse the night of his conception. He has wished for an early death, or even for his own non-existence. But of course, all of that was to no avail.

None of us can reverse the calendar, or our birth, or our history.

So Eliphaz points out quite clearly, that there is no created being, to whom Job can call for complaint or help.

The holy ones is a reference not to the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, for they are in fact the only ones who can help. But, this is a reference in plural to former believers, as well as the elect angels or beings of higher creation. He has already stated that the angels have failed, therefore they are not a valid source for petition.

We do not pray to angels, by the way.

Likewise, this reference can be applied to those people in history who have demonstrated their faith, but have now passed on to the next life. Therefore the saints, as believers are generally called, are also not a source for petition.

We do not pray to dead relatives, or to anyone who has passed on to the next life. They cannot hear you. They are not forms of deity. They receive no supernatural powers in death. Recall that in death, the body remains behind to rot, and the soul and spirit are withdrawn out of the body and sent on to Paradise, when it was in effect, or to Heaven, or to Torments. The dead are either resting or in torment, depending on their spiritual status.

Eliphaz does however, try to comfort Job, by suggesting that, since God and only God can hear his petition, that only God can reverse the problems that Job is experiencing, therefore call on God for that help.

Repent and recover, in effect.

Now, for our study, this is a valid suggestion for most folks. Certainly probably all of us.

But in Job's case, and in your case at some point in your spiritual life, this suggestion is not valid.

Why?

Because we are also studying suffering for spiritually growing believers. A type of suffering that will meet everyone sooner or later, if you are advancing in your spiritual life.

There are four types of suffering in this world. The first comes from this world, and that is suffering from the jungle. Live in the jungle and you'll get burned by the jungle. The objective of this suffering is to get you to listen to the gospel and become saved.

The second type of suffering is from God and that is through disciplinary action against you for your errors. This discipline is intended to get you onto a daily study, and into a spiritual growth pattern for your life.

The third type of suffering is suffering that occurs through spiritual growth. This third type is intended to keep you on track in your growth. To prevent arrogance from entering into your life and derailing you away from your spiritual growth.

The fourth type of suffering is judgment and the Lake of Fire, and that is the ultimate penalty for rejecting Christ, from which there is no recovery.

Job is getting his eyes opened as to just who God really is. This eye opening up process will go on for several more chapters, but will eventually come to an end, when God finally speaks.

In life there is no room for second-guessing as with Eliphaz. There is no room for presumption of innocence as in the case of Job. And we might add, there is no room for boasting in any aspect of your life, for it is God who provides or does not provide, who gives or takes away as He sees fit.

To look at life with the attitude that you will do this or that, or with the attitude that you will have this or that, might very well get you a very big and humbling, if not humiliating, surprise from God.

Regardless of your circumstances in life, if you pursue your spiritual life, then whatever hammering you might encounter, should not have any impact on your spiritual growth, or faith. What others think about you should be of no consequence. And certainly you should not easily fall prey to the 'poor me' attitude.

Whether you are the town jerk or the town saint, pursue your spiritual life, and God will sort your life out to your spiritual benefit. Any cursing you are suffering will be turned to blessing, and any suffering you are experiencing will serve to accelerate your spiritual growth to maturity.

Previous Page

Table of Contents

Donation

Next Page

Now is the time to post a prayer.