Blessed is the one whom God corrects
Job 5:17 - There’s a lesson in here for us — we can believe Scripture, but misapply its teachings because of our misunderstanding of what it says!
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
““Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.”
Job 5:17 NIV
Our devotional today studies a single verse from the Book of Job. I’ve written a handful of devotionals on this Old Testament book, but if you’re not familiar with it from your Bible studies, it helps to understand the structure of the book and a little background into this Job character…
Job is a righteous man, and quite wealthy, with a large and happy family. God discusses Job’s pious lifestyle with a character called “the adversary”, also known as שָׂטָן (śāṭān) — yes, the character we know as satan, although the Hebrew pronunciation is closer to “saw-tawn”. What was God doing chatting with Satan? Well, in Job 1:6-7 we find that:
“One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.””
Now, God knows this fallen angel, and He can’t help but point out to Satan that there is at one man on Earth — Job — who is righteous and pious, definitely beyond reproach in God’s estimation, and who “fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8) Satan, being the embodiment of evil that he is, can’t help but see Job as a challenge:
““Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”
Things go very badly for Job after this point in this prologue chapter, which tells us of his character and the source of his suffering. All of his livestock (about 1,100 head in all) die in horrible ways, his sheep and his servants are burned to death in a fire, and a house filled with his many sons and daughters collapsed, killing them all. Job’s suffering begins in earnest at this point, and Satan afflicts him with “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.” (Job 2:7)
After the prologue providing the back, the Book is filled with poetic dialogues (actually debates) between Job and three friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) who have come to comfort him, chapters with Job lamenting his suffering, and speeches by God. Spoiler alert! In the last chapter (42), Job’s fortunes are restored by God as he has — despite much complaining and questioning about why God has seemingly forsaken him — remained faithful.
In today’s verse, the person delivering the monologue is Eliphaz. Despite having known Job very well and presumably for many years, he assumes that Job has done something to offend God and is receiving his just punishment for that offense. In other words, Eliphaz believes he knows more about Job than God does!
Eliphaz is correct in saying “Blessed is the one whom God corrects,” but he’s totally wrong about Job’s misfortune coming about as a result of God’s judgment on his misdeeds. There’s a lesson in here for us — we can believe Scripture, but misapply its teachings because of our misunderstanding of what it says! By assuming that Job obviously sinned badly and repeatedly, Eliphaz is improperly applying Biblical truth and speaking wrongly about God.
Had Eliphaz been around in New Testament times, he might have been able to avoid this mistake. Here are a couple of verses that explain what Eliphaz should have done, which is to renew his mind and align it with God’s perspective rather than continuing to conform with the perspectives held by the world:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Commentary from The Bible Says explains the very human trap that Eliphaz has fallen into:
The problem is not Eliphaz’s belief that God disciplines—He does. The problem is his false premise that all suffering is a result of God’s judgment for misdeeds. Also, that His judgment is immediate. Eliphaz is using true statements to bolster a false premise. This demonstrates the importance of looking through what people say to discern the premise. True statements can be used to prop up a flawed premise.
We can all learn from the mistake that Eliphaz makes in this verse. To him, it made sense that Job’s suffering was the result of sinning and that Job was being punished by God. He was wrong — Job is the perfect example of how the totally innocent can sometimes suffer. God can use suffering to strength the lives of believers and change the lives of others for His glory.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, this verse from the Book of Job contains the truth of Scripture, but also serves as a reminder to us to never assume that when someone is suffering, it is because of something they did. May You continue to transform my mind so I may properly discern Your will rather than apply the false perspectives of the world to all I see. AMEN.