Priest Daniel Sysoev - Job 15
The second cycle of speeches of Job's friends begins, they try to persuade him, to convince him that he is suffering, that is, “whoever is not guilty, he does not suffer,” you know, there is such a wonderful logic. Eliphaz, the first of his friends, begins, who is his friend - a mystic who receives some revelations, but not from God. Eliphaz, who saw a certain spirit, he said:
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel
or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3Should he argue with useless words
or speeches that serve no purpose?
4But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.
5For your iniquity instructs your mouth,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;
your own lips testify against you.
Eliphaz says that you claim that you are wise, but at the same time your words that you speak are empty knowledge, and you fill your belly with a scorching wind that burns you. If your facts contradict my theories, then what should you do? Skip the facts, as people say, let's reject facts for the sake of theory. As many say that as something does not work out, Christianity contradicts reality, then let's deny reality. Christianity embraces all reality, not only earthly, but also heavenly, therefore true facts never contradict, only a false theory contradicts. Eliphaz is trying to act on this principle: you have no right to say so? Why?
4But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.
5For your iniquity instructs your mouth,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
The fact that you are trying to learn from God His will is already a sign of wickedness. Then he says:
6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;
your own lips testify against you.
Doesn't this remind you of anything? He is directly accused, as well as Christ. Christ was accused of being a blasphemer, that He said that He was equal to God. Why did he say so? Because he really was equal to God. Job is also accused of wanting to know the will of God, and considers himself correct, from the point of view of God himself this is so. But, what is the principle here? Don't you dare ask anything, don't dare not learn anything, you have to shut up, as they say, stop thinking. Do you think it is convenient for God to give up the mind? Look, a certain prophet comes who prophesies, and does not understand what he is prophesying, do you think the same is with God? Not.
And why? Because God created the Mind of man, if he gave it, then will He really cancel this mind? When an evil spirit acts, it begins to destroy the Mind. Why? Reason is his enemy. For Christians, reason is a friend; with the help of reason, the process of repentance begins. Important: repentance must begin with the mind, not with the heart, as many begin, the mind must change. On the basis of the mind, to conquer the mind of the heart, the will, and thus, to become a true person, will be restored to the original integrity, as it was intended by God. And not like they come to confession and begin to quarrel with someone, although thought is sins, they are stronger against God than against neighbors. Eliphaz says that it is necessary to give up reason, it is necessary for God's sake to humbly become a fool. Indeed, when God speaks, you must obey Him, but Eliphaz says that you must obey any word. Inwardly, obedience and submission only to the word of God, do you understand? The Word of God is the truth, God is the truth that never fails. And this is shown in practice. What do you think is the correct phrase: you need to obey people? Not. Why is Job wrong? How does Eliphaz substantiate this?
7Were you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8Do you listen in on the council of God
or limit wisdom to yourself?
9What do you know that we do not?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—
men much older than your father.
11Are the consolations of God not enough for you,
even words spoken gently to you?
12Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,a
13as you turn your spirit against God
and pour such words from your mouth?
14What is man, that he should be pure,
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15If God puts no trust in His holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?
Job is mistaken because, as he says, only the first man could have had true knowledge, or the one who was born before the Creation of the world could see the plan of God and in it could see all the ways of God. Job does not say that he knows God's plan, He wants to find Him. Eliphaz makes a mistake, says that a person does not have knowledge now, because he initially does not see the plan of God and it follows that he will never know this. Is it logical? Not! Why can't God reveal it to him? Maybe Job actually wants God to reveal to him.
Is it normal for a husband to be unable to explain to his wife what is happening in the temple? Not. What the wife does not understand in the church, she is obliged to ask her husband. Therefore, it is the husband's duty to give a reasoned answer.
- And if he doesn't know anything?
- This is a sin, it does not correspond to that calling.
Thus, such a big problem arises in fact, that people do not know, do not have sound knowledge, in order to say: "I do not know now, but I will find out and say!". This is logically honest, and in no way diminishes anyone's dignity. The question of true and false is a question that stands outside the relationship between parent and children, etc. Truth is what connects a person with God. The Lord God is our truth. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. Therefore, what unites us with God should also be decided accordingly, and there is no humiliation of dignity here. It is a normal human right if there is a question about life, because there is such a question about truth between parents and children. Truth is more important than anything in the world, a person without truth is in darkness. Eliphaz is offended here, he says in order to give an answer, in fact, he begins to press with authority. Such an interesting logic: I am telling you because you are such and such. Valor does not give righteousness. Then Eliphaz says:
12Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash
He accuses him of pride, of trying to ascend over him supposedly. Job realizes himself as a straw that breaks. Leads Job to slander. Moreover, it is interesting that he himself is proud, he himself is offended and blames the other for the same! A very well-known phenomenon, when a person accuses another person of something, then he himself is most often to blame for this. Then he says:
13as you turn your spirit against God
and pour such words from your mouth?
14What is man, that he should be pure,
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
Question: can a person be righteous? Can a woman be born righteous? Can. Eliphaz again has such an idea, which he put forward for the first time - a man cannot be a saint, because he is a man. So who is to blame? Creator. Again there is a grudge against God:
15If God puts no trust in His holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?
Again, God is to blame that some angel abandoned him - you see, what an insult. Whose offense? There is a direct thing here in fact Lucifer, who hid, betrays through the lips of friends. It is known, for example, that the devil does not want people to be free from God's judgment. Do you know? The devil does not want people to be free from this judgment. He wants to be judged, he does not want to be forgiven. Do you understand the difference? He wants people to be treated justly, but not out of mercy. This is one of the main ideas of the devil. On this principle: I was offended, let others be offended.
17Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,
18what was declared by wise men
and was not concealed from their fathers,
19to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigner passed among them.
20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21Sounds of terror fill his ears;
in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
22He despairs of his return from darkness;
he is marked for the sword.
See, it says here that the wicked torment himself all his days. For Eliphaz, the main reason for punishment is that the person himself tortures himself. Part of this, however, agree. Who is to blame that a person has a headache after a stormy feast? Is God to blame? Is God tormenting him with a headache? Not. But, here the question arises: is this always the case? Interestingly, Chrysostom says: "Do not think that God does not punish, He punishes freely, according to his own will." Do you know the difference between punishment and punishment? Punishment is what a person teaches, and punishment is what does not teach. For example, the Flood, is teaching someone? He taught no one from the drowned. For the Lord, any person is valuable! He wants all people, without exception, to comprehend the knowledge of God.
20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21Sounds of terror fill his ears;
in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
How can we distinguish the rich from the poor? The rich are always surrounded by bodyguards. The oppressor carries the punishment within himself by the fact that he remains, and the person builds fortifications, tries to buy locks farther away, in order to establish himself in such a way, so that he can escape somewhere. In the midst of the world, a destroyer comes to him Eliphaz says, but not always.
22He despairs of his return from darkness;
he is marked for the sword.
23He wanders about as food for vultures;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24Distress and anguish terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
25For he has stretched out his hand against God
and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
26rushing headlong at Him
with a thick, studded shield.
27Though his face is covered with fat
and his waistline bulges with flesh,
28he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions will not overspread the land.
30He will not escape from the darkness;
the flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God’s mouth
will carry him away.
31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,
for emptiness will be his reward.
32It will be paid in full before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.
33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
Job tells Eliphaz that a person who does wickedness must be punished here on earth. Such things happen, otherwise it would be unfair. He describes a situation that a person will suddenly die and there will be no way out for him. In biblical language, obesity is an image of the soul, which is covered with a layer that prevents it from reaching God. This is not about physical fat, but about spiritual. There is an expression greasy, which comes from a greasy, greasy soul, a soul that is overgrown with grease from all sides. Such a fat person, he fences off from God, and believes that everything will be fine with him. Here Eliphaz actually connects Job with him, but not yet directly. Eliphaz says that he should not trust vanity, evil, it is not durable. This is a pure truth. But, evil is more durable than a person. In the history of the world, evil fizzles out quickly enough, but in the history of an individual person, evil happens to outweigh, very often. Here, look the Soviet Union, how much was it? 70 years old. Evil has been burning for 70 years. Several lives have passed. Yes, Evil destroyed itself from within. Eliphaz is right, evil ate itself. People who lived under the Soviet Union, they were not guided by God, they could be deceived by lies. Everything happens due to the fact that retribution is not an earthly thing. Why does the Bible so harshly reject earthly retribution? Because the Lord says that the earth is not a home for man. And therefore, full reward would be on earth, and then a person would not seek heaven, there would be no need for judgment, and for a person to seek the Kingdom of God. That is why there are bad governments? As Blessed Augustine said: "So that people do not forget about the Heavenly Kingdom." Not only for sins, but so that people would not be too strongly attached to the earth.
After what happened the revolution in 1917? There was a maximum rise in the Russian economy, and secondly, there was a maximum rise in patriotism in 1914-1915, and then a revolution took place. Why is there such a connection? The fact that people stuck to the ground, to Russia, forgetting God, decided to make an idol from Russia. If they loved God, then nothing bad happened.
Comments
Post a Comment