NOTES for Job 5:17-18

Eliphaz's advice to Job is simple and clear: trust God, and everything will be well. If He punishes, it is only for correction, for the good of the person himself. An old religious truth, long known to the world. In this case, however, it is confirmed by Eliphaz's own spiritual experience: he sensed the nearness of God, and that strengthened his religiosity. Eliphaz's own character also played no small role here: he is not Jacob, after all, to wrestle with God for a blessing. Such a person is forced to be content with religiosity alone in his relationship with God. And from his experience Eliphaz draws a general conclusion: arguing with God is useless.

He is always right because He is stronger. And not merely stronger: He is wiser, more far-seeing, and more authoritative than any human being. So it is simpler and safer to accept everything from Him without questioning anything. The thought is, of course, sound and generally correct. But what is one to do if questions remain, and the situation too obviously does not fit within the framework of religious correctness? The religious answer is: humble yourself. In general, that answer is right. Only, before whom and before what should one humble oneself? Humility is absolutely necessary for spiritual life.

But only when it is humility before God. Not before people, not before circumstances, not before the worn-out maxims of someone else's religiosity, but before God. And another thing: to humble oneself does not mean to retreat, to step aside. Eliphaz, who preaches humility, has not in fact humbled himself before God. Humility is possible only when there are no questions for God. Either because the answer is clear, or because there can be no answer at the moment and the one asking accepts that as a given. But when questions are settled by the principle "let us hush this up for clarity," that is no longer humility, but flight.

Of course, Eliphaz, like any person, had every right to step aside if he was afraid. Neither God nor people would have condemned him. But then he should have spoken of his unreadiness, not of humility. A person often wants to justify in his own eyes what he cannot get rid of. A problem one does not want to work on is often declared not a problem, but an achievement. Only the person who has reached the boundary where the last questions are resolved cannot be deceived in this way: at that boundary everything is seen too clearly.