Commentary on the Book of Job part twenty four

                                    Job 15:1-35

Eliphaz became angry with Job because Job claimed that God had told Job that He can remove Job's sin and raise him from the dead a new man. Eliphaz also became envious of Job because Job seemed to have become less fearful and more peaceful with God. Eliphaz accused Job of not being fully honest with God when he talked with Him.

Eliphaz was afraid to talk to God. Eliphaz was a deist. Like many of the ancients, he did not believe that even God was righteous. Eliphaz charged Job with being wicked and that God had no desire to do anything about it. Eliphaz contended that God does not care about those who try to be righteous, and He does nothing about cleansing heaven or mankind of the filth of sin.

Satan then inspired Eliphaz to mock Job by telling him that he was hopelessly wicked, and God could not help him. Eliphaz turned against Job and angrily predicted that Job would remain in darkness and suffering and emptiness forever. Eliphaz was doing to Job what his wife had done. In effect, Eliphaz told Job that his faith in God was useless and that he might as well "curse God and die."

That which the Devil attempted to do to Job through Eliphaz symbolizes that which the Devil wants to do to the whole human race. Satan desires to completely destroy the image of God which He has put into every man by causing every bit of that image to become totally evil. The Devil seeks to annihilate a part of God's creation. Should the Devil succeed with even one person, then he would prove that God's Almighty Love for His creations had failed, and that putative weakness in God would give the Devil the crack in God's armor that the Devil needed to finally defeat God and assume power over His universe. Ecclesiastes 3:14; Romans 11:29.

But God's Love will never fail. I Corinthians 13:8. God has put His good image into every person, and though that image has become soiled by sin and evil, nevertheless, God will eventually cleanse that sin in every person and recover His living image for Him to recreate, some by His grace and all others still in their graves by His use of His consuming fire. John 5:24; I Corinthians 3:11-15; Luke 20:38; Luke 23:34; I Corinthians 15:22.