Jo’s Place

Eliphaz Continues his Response to Job “Cry for help, Job, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you? Surely, resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. I have seen, that fools may be successful, for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. Their children are abandoned, far from help; they are crushed, in court, with no one to defend them. The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant, after their wealth. But, evil does not spring, from the soil, and trouble does not sprout, from the earth. People are born, for trouble, as readily as sparks, fly up from a fire. “If I were you, I would go to God, and present my case to Him. He does great things, too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. He gives rain, for the earth, and water for the fields. He gives prosperity, to the poor, and protects those, who suffer. He frustrates the plans, of schemers, so the work, of their hands, will not succeed

Eliphaz’s First Response to Job Eliphaz, the Temanite, replied to Job’s speech … where Job was asking that he’d never been born: “Will you be patient, and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out? “In the past, you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those, who were weak. Your words have supported those, who were falling; you encouraged, those with shaky knees. But now, when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified, when it touches you. Doesn’t your reverence, for God, give you confidence? Doesn’t your life, of integrity, give you hope? “Stop and think!  Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? My experience shows that those, who plant trouble, and cultivate evil, will harvest the same. A breath, from God, destroys them. They vanish, in a blast, of His anger. The lion roars, and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth, of strong lions, will be broken. The fierce lion will starve, for lack of prey, and the cubs, of the lioness, will be

Job Yearns for Death Job continued his diatribe of self-pity to his friends… Had I died, at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep, and at rest. I would rest, with the world’s kings, and prime ministers, whose great buildings now lie in ruins. I would rest with princes, rich in gold, whose palaces were filled with silver. Why wasn’t I buried, like a stillborn child, like a baby, who never lives, to see the light? For, in death, the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. Even captives are at ease, in death, with no guards, to curse them. Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free, from his master. “Oh, why give light, to those in misery, and life, to those who are bitter? They long for death, and it won’t come. They search, for death, more eagerly, than for hidden treasure. They’re filled with joy, when they finally die, and rejoice, when they find the grave. Why is life given, to those with no future, those God has surrounded, with difficulties? I canno