Job 4:7-8 – Those Who Sow Trouble Reap the Same

Summary

Eliphaz, early in his first speech, sets the tone for much of the following dialogues by introducing the theory that suffering is the result of sin.

Analysis

When persons disobey God and do wicked things, they will have to pay the consequences. Many texts in the biblical history and the prophets have laid out this formula for making sense of the ups and downs in the history of Israel. It may work in a general way as an overview of the nation's history. When it is applied to individual lives, it becomes very problematic. It is, of course, often true that misdeeds lead to bad outcomes. People do bring suffering on themselves through self-destructive behavior. That does not mean, however, that one can look at a sufferer and assume that the reason for the suffering can be traced back to some sinful action on the part of the sufferer.

This doctrine of suffering as retribution for sin lies in the background of the lengthy conversations between Job and his friends. Job's is a tough case because he looks like a good man who does not deserve such a fate. Job believes in this doctrine as much as the others. His problem is that he does not think it is working, because he is innocent. For him, the problem is with God who is not acting justly. On the other hand, the counselors look for some sin in Job that would justify his terrible experience. Their idea of suffering as retribution can be upheld if they can demonstrate that Job, outward evidence to the contrary, really is a sinner worthy of his fate.

• Job 1:1-5
  The Pious and Affluent Job Is Introduced
• Job 1:6-12
  The First Encounter between God and Satan
• Job 1:21
  God Gives and God Takes Away
• Job 2:11-13
  Job’s Well-Intentioned Friends
• Job 3
  Job Curses the Day of His Birth
• Job 4:1-5
  Easy Answers Fade When Reality Contradicts Them
• Job 5:17-21
  Accept Suffering as the Discipline of the Almighty
• Job 6:14-27
  Job’s Rebuke of His Counselors
• Job 7:1-6
  Nights Are Too Long and a Life Is Too Short
• Job 8:8-10
  Trust the Spiritual Teachings of the Past
• Job 9:13-20
  How Can One Win an Argument with God?
• Job 9:22-24
  God Is Unjust
• Job 10:8-12
  Job Remembers That God Lovingly Created Him
• Job 11:7-12
  God’s Ways Are beyond Human Understanding
• Job 13:1-12
  Do Not Lie for God
• Job 14:7-17
  If Mortals Die, Will They Live Again?
• Job 16:18-19
  My Witness Is in Heaven
• Job 19:20
  Job Escapes by the Skin of His Teeth
• Job 19:23-27
  I Know That My Redeemer Lives
• Job 28
  Only God Knows Wisdom
• Job 29:1-6
  Job Longs for the “Good Old Days”
• Job 31:35-37
  If Only I Knew the Indictment, I Would Wear It Proudly
• Job 33:13-18
  God May Be Speaking to Job through His Suffering
• Job 38:1-18
  God Finally Speaks to Job
• Job 39:1-8
  God Cares Even for the Offspring of Wild Animals
• Job 41:1-11
  Humans Are Helpless before the Ferocity of Leviathan
• Job 42:1-6
  Job Accepts His Limits and Will Not Continue to Protest
• Job 42:10
  Job Receives a Double Restitution