I. Wrong in relation to man. In regard to the charge which he here brings against Job, it is worthy of note that whilst most expositors regard Eliphaz as speaking in his own name, others, amongst whom Dr. Bernard, regard him as indicating merely the charges which the Almighty might bring against him. What is the charge that he brings? It is Job’s flagrant inhumanity.
1. He was rapacious.
2. He was inhospitable.
3. He was tyrannical.
II. Wrong in relation to God. “Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can He judge through the thick cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven.” His charge here against Job in relation to God, is a denial of the Divine inspection and superintendence of individual man. This error, which he falsely charges on Job, was the leading error of the old Epicureans, and the leading error of deists in all ages. If all men felt God to be in conscious contact with them, idolatry, immorality, dormancy of soul, could not exist. Many causes have been assigned for man’s tendency to regard God as remote, such as--
(1) The mediatory method of Divine operation. He does not deal directly with man.
(2) Man’s power of spontaneous action. He is left free, he does not feel the hand of God on the springs of his being.
(3) The unbroken regularity of natural laws. Nature shows no changes, indicates no interruption.
(4) The disorders of the moral world. But the grand cause is dread of God. Men have sinned, and their guilty consciences invest the Almighty with such attributes of vengeance that they turn away in horror from Him. The language of each man is, “Depart from me, for I desire not a knowledge of Thee.” Learn--
1. That in natural religion the ill-treatment of our fellow men is regarded as a great crime. There is no reason to believe that Eliphaz had any revelation from God but that which nature supplies; and yet in his language to Job he expresses in a strong and unmistakable manner his conviction, that to be, not only cruel, but even inhospitable to our fellow men is wicked. The obligation to be socially sympathetic, loving, and kind, the God of love has written on the human soul.
2. That men often denounce evils in others of which they themselves are guilty. Strong as was the implied denunciation of Eliphaz against unkindness in Job, was he not himself unkind in tantalising him now when he was overwhelmed with suffering, by charges that were utterly false? (Homilist.)
Our sins infinite in number and enormity
Eliphaz was led to ask this question by a suspicion that Job was a hypocrite. He was sure that Job was a wicked man, so he endeavoured to convince him that this was his character. The text is a proper question to be proposed to all who are ignorant of themselves. We must show the meanings which attach to the terms sin and wickedness in the Word of God. By wicked men the Scriptures mean all who are not righteous; and by sin a violation of the Divine law, which requires us to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves. This law branches out into various and numerous precepts, prescribing, with great minuteness, our duties towards all the beings with whom we are connected, and the dispositions which are to be exercised in every situation and relation of life; and the violation and disregard of any of these precepts is a sin. When we do not perfectly obey all God’s commands, in feeling, thought, word, or action, we sin.
1. The sin of our hearts, or of our disposition and feelings. The sins of this class alone are innumerable. Yet most men think nothing of them, if they do not gain expression in overt acts. But what the law of God and the Gospel of Christ principally require is right feelings and dispositions. What they chiefly forbid and condemn is feelings and dispositions that are wrong. If, then, we wish to know the number of our sins, we must look first and chiefly at the feelings and dispositions of our hearts. Then we shall soon be convinced that our sins are numberless.
2. The sinfulness of our thoughts. These are the offspring of the mind, as feelings are the offspring of the heart. Men’s characters are determined by their thoughts and purposes. If vain, foolish thoughts are sinful, who can enumerate his sins?
3. The sins of the tongue. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. If sin prevails in the heart, it will flow out through the lips. Of every idle word man shall give account. Every idle word then is a sin. Idle words are all that are unnecessary, and which do not tend to produce good effects. How innumerable then are the sins of the tongue.
4. Our sinful actions. Sins of omission and commission. If men’s thoughts, words, and feelings are numberless, so are their sins.
5. Our sins are infinite not only in number, but also in criminality. Every sin is, in fact, infinitely evil, and deserving of infinite punishment.
(1) Because it is committed against an Infinite Being, against God, a Being infinitely powerful, wise, holy, just, and good.
(2) Because it is a violation of an infinitely perfect law.
(3) Because it tends to produce infinite mischief.
(4) Because committed in defiance of motives and obligations infinitely strong.
Inferences--
1. If our sins are thus infinite in number and criminality, then, of course, they deserve an infinite or everlasting punishment.
2. God is perfectly right in inflicting an infinite punishment upon stoners.
3. If it is just to inflict infinite punishment upon impenitent sinners, God is bound by the strongest obligations to inflict it.
4. Hence we see why the atonement made by Christ was necessary. (E. Payson, D. D.)
