Testing the Spirits

After Job has finished lamenting the suffering he has endured, his friends who were sitting quietly to comfort him (2:13), now begin to respond and converse with Job. The first friend to offer a word to Job is Eliphaz the Temanite. The other two friends, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, will add their two cents shortly. This speech and response cycle will occur three times before the young Elihu adds his commentary (32:1ff) and God steps in to give the final word (38:1ff). Throughout the cycle of speeches and Elihu’s as well, Job’s friends will attempt to diagnose Job’s condition, concluding that the remedy to Job’s suffering is repentance. Much of what the friends say are quite orthodox, especially if there was no context. But it will become obvious that the friends’ diagnosis is wrong.

During Eliphaz’s first speech, the friend attempts to show support for his words by recounting a vision that he had. In this vision, the messenger confirms what Eliphaz has already stated to Job. But there is an issue: there is lack of support in Eliphaz’s words to support that the vision came from God. Instead, the description that is given would lead one to hold that the vision did not come from God at all. First, the vision received came as a great secret, for it came to Eliphaz “stealthily” (4:12). In general, when God sends His messengers, though they may come to a single individual, there is no sense in which the message is secretive. Secondly, the vision brought great fear and dread to Eliphaz (4:13-14). In general, when one of God’s messengers brings news, the awe and fear is due to the angel themselves and not necessarily because of the word that is relayed. Lastly, the “spirit” that was in Eliphaz’s presence was not discernible, to the point in which he calls it a “form” (4:16). These descriptions of the visionary messenger is not similar to the ways in which we hear of God’s messengers throughout Scripture.

Though the depiction of the vision is questionable, the message itself makes it clear that the vision is not from God. The vision proclaims the same theme rampant throughout the speech cycles: Job’s suffering is due to his own sin. The very message that God will rebuke the friends for (42:7). The unsupported confidence of Eliphaz should remind us of the Apostle John’s words: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Even more, we need to be mindful that the Satan is lurking in the shadows, at times using words that sound truthful and logical, only to be in opposition to the Lord. Peter, thinking he was in the right, rejected the idea that Jesus would need to suffer, only to be met with “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23).

May the misplaced confidence of Eliphaz, the three friends, and even Peter, keep us humble. May we remember that our knowledge is not exhaustive, and therefore wisdom may look like remaining quiet, looking to the Lord for both comfort and answers.