Identify with the Weak and Don't Judge

 Job 4

¹²  "Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it.
¹³  In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,
¹⁴  Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵  Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
¹⁶  It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying:
¹⁷  'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
¹⁸  If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error,
¹⁹  How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth?
²⁰  They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding.
²¹  Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.'

 

(bible blog entry for March 9, 2021

I'm now in the Book of Job, the great book about perseverance.  The only reference I know of the Book of Job in the New Testament refers to his perseverance (James 5:11).  The traditional author of the Book is Moses, in addition to the five books of Moses at the beginning of the Old Testament.  I suspect that the story of Job may have existed for some time as oral tradition, memorized carefully by scribes for many years on end.  In the story Job, a prosperous man who suffers one disaster after another, is visited by friends to try to make sense of his suffering but consistently come to the wrong conclusion; that is, Job must have done something wrong and is being punished.  There is a long debate between Job and his friends until God shows up at the end of the book.  In the first speech in the long conversation among Job and his friends, a young man, Eliphaz, tells of a vision he had in the night.

 

What was the spirit that Eliphaz saw?  An angel?  The Holy Spirit?  I would imagine an angel.  This happened "when deep sleep falls on men", similar to the sleep in which Abram encountered God in Genesis 15.  In one way or another he had a riveting encounter with the righteousness of God.  It was true, but did not fit the situation for Job was not being judged.   Eliphaz speaks and makes an erroneous application of a theological truth.  No one is righteous before God, which is true, compared to the holiness of God.  He also states that people suffer misfortune only because of sin, which isn't true.  The innocent suffer misfortune all the time and the unrighteous often prosper (cf. Habakkuk 2).  The questions the spirit asked Eliphaz are questions we do better to ask ourselves than to ask  others, especially if they are suffering.

 

The Spirit Filled Life Bible study note for verse 17 is helpful.  "Mortal" in this verse is one of four words for humans.  One refers to man in his full strength, or man as a champion of his people.  The other refers to "man" as a species.  There is also a word for "man" meaning man as an individual.  Then there is the word for "man" as a mortal, literally meaning one that is weak, sick, frail, sad and in need.  It is this last word used in this verse.  Later, Daniel 7:13 will use the Aramaic equivalent "son of man" as a title for the Messiah.  Jesus often called Himself the "Son of Man".  He identifies with humans even in their weakest and most frail.