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v19 A good man is glad when evil men suffer. An innocent man laughs. v20 He says, God has punished our enemies. So, fire burns their possessions. Verses 4-5 At last, Eliphaz accused Job clearly. He said that God was punishing Job for his evil deeds. But Eliphaz was wrong. Job was a good, honest man (Job 1:1). Verses 6-9 Eliphaz began his list of Jobs evil deeds. Job did not really do any such things. Eliphaz had no evidence, so he was guessing. Many people today would say that such deeds are not evil. These people would agree that it is wrong to steal. Or to murder. Or even to lie. But they think that a businessman should be clever. And they think that a wealthy person does not need to be generous. And that an important person does not need to use his power to help other people. Verses 10-11 Jobs friends realised that such behaviour is evil. They thought that such behaviour was the reason for Jobs troubles. Verse 12 God is in heaven, so he sees all our actions (Psalm 139). And his knowledge is perfect. So he knows our errors. Verses 13-14 Evil people imagine that God cannot see their evil deeds (Psalm 14:1). Verse 15 The three friends told Job to learn from ancient advice (Job 8:8-9; Job 15:10; Job 20:4). But Eliphaz knew that some ancient advice is wrong. Verses 16-17 Perhaps this refers to Noahs flood (Genesis chapters 6-8). God destroyed the ancient world by a flood, because its people were very evil. Verse 18 Eliphaz agreed that God gave good things to these evil people. But they would not serve God, so God punished them. In the second line, Eliphaz repeated Jobs words in Job 21:16. Eliphaz refused to obey the advice of wicked men because they do not appreciate Gods good gifts. But Job refused to obey their advice because he respected God. Verses 19-20 Job was afraid when he thought about the lives of wicked people (Job 21:6). But Eliphaz was glad to think about their troubles. He was sure that God would soon punish them.
v29 When someone is sad, you will pray, God, help that person! And God will help that person. v30 You will even pray for someone who is guilty. And God will rescue that person. God will answer your prayer because you will be innocent. Verses 21-23 Eliphaz did not accuse Job in order to upset him. Eliphaz wanted to help his friend. So Eliphaz hoped that Job would confess his evil deeds to God. Then God would forgive Job. And Job would have a successful life again. But Eliphaz was still wrong. Job was an innocent man. And Job already was a true servant of God. Verses 24-25 These are good words. Eliphaz realised that real success is not money. Nobody should trust their wealth. We should trust God. Eliphaz emphasised his ideas with humour. Men used to find gold in the rocks (Job 28:6; Job 28:10). So Eliphaz told Job that his gold belonged in the rocks. Job should return his gold and trust God instead. Verses 26-28 Job wished that God did not watch him (Job 7:19). But Job hoped for the day when he could speak with God (Job 14:15). Eliphaz promised a good life to Job, if only Job would confess his evil deeds. And Eliphazs advice would be good advice if Job were an evil man. But Job was a good man. Job already trusted God. Verses 29-30 Eliphazs words were sincere. But they had a meaning that Eliphaz did not expect. Job was already a good man (Job 1:8). And Jobs prayers mattered to God (Job 40:1-5), although Job did not yet realise this. In fact, Jobs troubles would end when Job prayed for his friends (Job 42:7-8). In the end, God told the three friends that he was angry about their unfair words. God told them to ask Job to pray for them. And God forgave them when Job prayed. God forgave them because Job was a true servant of God.