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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 14 February 2026:
Job 15:1-6 — Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge…?
“As Job becomes more vehement, his friends become more severe. At first Eliphaz was gentle and courteous (Job 4:2). Now his politeness diminishes, and he bluntly accuses Job of folly and impiety.” (Francis Andersen)
Eliphaz returns, and his tone hardens. The courtesy of chapter 4 is gone. He no longer probes; he prosecutes. He accuses Job of undermining reverence itself: “You are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God.” In Eliphaz’s mind, Job’s lament is not grief — it is spiritual danger.
There is a partial truth here. Sin does hinder intimacy with God. Rebellion dulls meditation. Pride suffocates reverence. But Eliphaz assumes what he cannot see: that Job’s anguish must be rooted in hidden sin. He mistakes lament for irreverence. He hears Job’s pain and calls it impiety.
“Your own mouth condemns you.” Eliphaz believes Job’s words prove his guilt. There is a difference between exposing error with God’s word and condemning a person as if we see their heart. Christians are not called to pronounce verdicts from suspicion. We are called to bring behavior into the light of Scripture with humility and care. There is a vast difference between discernment and accusation.
Eliphaz speaks confidently but without knowledge of the heavenly reality. His certainty is misplaced. Again, this should serve as a warning to us that it isn’t enough to know God’s word – we must apply God’s word in accordance with His heart and will, with comes by the Spirit.
Job 15:7-13 — Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills? Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
Eliphaz challenges Job’s knowledge in much the same way God will in chapters 38 and 39, yet from completely different perspectives, completely different understandings, and completely different hearts.
Eliphaz mocks Job’s claims to insight. He appeals to tradition and inherited wisdom. In his framework, suffering always follows sin, and restoration always follows repentance. There is no room for mystery, testing, or redemptive pain.
He also exposes his core assumption: Job’s anger must reflect arrogance toward God. Eliphaz cannot conceive of faith wrestling honestly without rebellion. But Scripture will later reveal that wrestling is often the pathway to deeper trust.
Eliphaz confuses emotional intensity with spiritual corruption. That mistake is common. Grief is not automatically godlessness. Yet when we equate the two, we silence lament and misrepresent God.
Job 15:14-16 — What is man, that he can be pure?
Here Job and his friends agree on foundational theology: humanity is not pure; God is holy. “If even the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who drinks iniquity like water?” Eliphaz is right about human sinfulness and divine holiness.
But this truth cuts both ways.
If no one is righteous on their own, then Eliphaz himself stands condemned by the same standard he applies to Job. This passage highlights the impossibility of self-generated righteousness. If even angelic beings are not trusted absolutely, if one-third of them fell, what hope does a mortal have of meeting God’s standard independently?
This is where the gospel becomes essential. We cannot meet God’s righteousness on our own. Even if someone could begin living flawlessly today, past sin would remain unpaid. The only hope is imputed righteousness — the righteousness of Christ credited to the believer. The New Testament makes clear that justification is not earned; it is granted.
Job senses this need deeply. He knows he cannot stand before God on personal merit. That awareness prepares the heart for grace.
Job 15:17-35 — The wicked writhes in pain all his days….
Eliphaz now paints a vivid portrait of the wicked. Fear, instability, insecurity, and destruction follow them. He describes a life driven by defiance, ending in collapse. In many cases, Scripture affirms that sin has consequences. Rebellion corrodes. Pride isolates. Violence returns upon itself.
The problem is not Eliphaz’s theology of judgment — it is his misapplication. He assumes Job fits the portrait. He sees suffering and concludes wickedness. That equation is flawed. The righteous may suffer. The wicked may prosper — for a time. The cross itself dismantles simplistic cause-and-effect theology.
Eliphaz’s mistake warns us. Biblical truths misapplied become instruments of harm. The danger is not ignorance of Scripture; it is confident misuse of it.
Job 15:14-16 and Job 16:19-21 — My witness is in heaven….
The tension deepens when we read Job’s own words later: “Even now, my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.” Job confesses human corruption and divine holiness, yet he also expresses hope in an intercessor he does not yet fully know.
Job understands that he cannot justify himself. He needs an advocate. He needs someone to plead his case before God as a friend pleads for a friend. This anticipates Christ powerfully. Jesus stands as the mediator between God and man—the righteous advocate who pleads on behalf of sinners.
Unlike the Pharisees centuries later, Job does not trust in his own righteousness. The Pharisees built visible kingdoms of security, comfort, and reputation. They justified themselves before men. Jesus warned them plainly: no one can serve both God and wealth. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
This invites sober self-examination. What does my bank statement reveal about the condition of my heart? Where does my security truly rest? If righteousness cannot be earned, then wealth, influence, and appearance are fragile substitutes.
Eliphaz is correct about human sinfulness and God’s holiness. He is wrong about Job’s guilt. Theology detached from compassion becomes cruelty. The friends speak of righteousness, but they lack mercy. They defend God while misrepresenting Him.
Job’s hope rests not in personal innocence, but in relational trust. He does not deny human depravity. He denies that his suffering proves hidden wickedness. And in doing so, he clings to the only hope any sinner has: an advocate in heaven.
- 1 Timothy 2:5 — For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- Hebrews 8:6 — But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
- Hebrews 12:24 — And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Galatians 3:20 — Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
- 1 John 2:1 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
- Hebrews 7:25 — Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 14 February 2026: Examine whether you tend to defend God at the expense of loving people. Ask yourself: Do I use biblical truth to heal or to accuse? Where might I be assuming motives I cannot see? Identify one relationship where you need to replace suspicion with humility and condemnation with gentle clarity grounded in love.
Pray: “Father, You are holy beyond measure, and I am not. Guard me from trusting in my own righteousness or judging others from limited understanding. Give me a heart that loves truth and applies it with gentleness. Thank You for Christ, my Advocate and righteousness. Keep me from building security in what impresses others. Let my life reflect gratitude for grace rather than confidence in self. Teach me to fear You rightly and to love others well. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 