Priest Daniel Sysoev - Job 5

1“Call out if you please, but who will answer?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For resentment kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.

3I have seen a fool taking root,

but suddenly his house was cursed.

4His sons are far from safety,

crushed in court without a defender.

5The hungry consume his harvest,

taking it even from the thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.a

6For distress does not spring from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. 

Here, he says that the result of a person sins will be the punishment that will fall on his children. A second norm is put forward, which is also very common among the pagans. The punishment of parents falls automatically on children. The prophet Ezekiel said: “The soul of sin, it will die; the son will not bear the fault of the father, and the father will not bear the fault of the son, the righteousness of the righteous will remain with him, and the lawlessness of the wicked will remain with him. You see, we are asked all the time to repent for someone. For our grandfathers to repent, for our great-grandfathers, those who went through the revolution, but for themselves it is not necessary. In fact, the question is very difficult. There is indeed a connection between people. A person is not a naked entity that lives in a soulless space. He lives as a member of the clan, as a member of humanity, as a member of a single body such as the door is enlightened. But at the same time, responsibility for sin is the responsibility of a person personally. As St. Mark: "Ascetic, we do not bear the guilt of Adam, we inherited his mortality." What does mortality mean? Not just bodily mortality, but the death of the soul and the death of the body, but we did not inherit the guilt of Adam, he himself was punished for his guilt. And here Eliphaz says that if the sinner is not punished now, then everything remains with his children. This theory is very convenient, it is actually very explicable. Obviously, sinners are not all punished. And if you scatter it for many generations ahead, then you try to change it. It's impossible. It is said that:

6For distress does not spring from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

It is normal for a person to suffer like sparks to fly upward. The Greek text says: 7 but a person is born for work, the soup chicks soar high. This is a normal fate with which he must come to terms. The Christian knows that on earth we must suffer on earth. Is this the norm? Blissfully crying - put a full stop or a comma? Comma. The Lord did not create man to suffer. He wants people to laugh with divine laughter. But, here on earth, they cannot do this, because here they must be healed. And Eliphaz says it's not normal. Why is suffering taking over the world? Why is death engulfed in radiance? Where is the justice of God? How can God be justified in this? Eliphaz further explains:

8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God

and lay my cause before Him—

9the One who does great and unsearchable things,

wonders without number.

10He gives rain to the earth

and sends water upon the fields.

11He sets the lowly on high,

so that mourners are lifted to safety.

12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty,

so that their hands find no success.

13He catches the wise in their craftiness,b

and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

14They encounter darkness by day

and grope at noon as in the night.

15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth

and from the clutches of the powerful.

16So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.

17Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.c 

What advice? He says that God rules the world. He delivers the humble to the heights, and the mourners ascend to salvation. This also happens often. He destroys the designs of the insidious, and their hands do not complete the enterprise. It also happens. He catches the wise men with their own craftiness, and the advice of the cunning becomes vain. He makes the wise men destroy their own affairs. What is Eliphaz's mistake here? Eliphaz says that the norm of God’s government is that He watches for righteousness. The sage sins - sin already contains the punishment. God is just watching over it. He doesn't interfere. Suggests: you call yourself a sinner and say that you don't need anything and that's it… What Eliphaz essentially proposes, he says: agree that the state of peace is normal. That's right, you don't need to change anything. Recognize the one who rules this world. Who rules the world? Not the universe! Devil! This is the same temptation that Christ had. The first - bread, led to the loss of property. Second - by a miracle, jump down, as the wife says: say something to God and die. The devil tries to worship God and put himself in place of God. Initially, this is the idea that all the worship of God was on him. The last enemy will not be some villain, but instead of Christ (substitution of Christ). Not an enemy of Christ, but instead of Christ. Similar, but not HE. This is the difficulty. Many say look, there are many similarities between Christianity and sects. Christianity gives life, and the sect gives death. There are similar things, but the more similar they are, the more dangerous. When the poison is like a medicine, it is extremely dangerous. Then he says:

17Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.c

18For He wounds, but He also binds;

He strikes, but His hands also heal.

19He will rescue you from six calamities;

no harm will touch you in seven.

20In famine He will redeem you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

and will not fear havoc when it comes.

22You will laugh at destruction and famine,

and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24You will know that your tent is secure,

and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.

25You will know that your offspring will be many,

your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26You will come to the grave in full vigor,

like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

27Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true!

So hear it and know for yourself.”

Agree that God punished you. Admit it wasn't God. Who brought the disease to Job? The God? Satan! Satan brought sickness, Satan brought fire, Satan did everything. And Eliphaz says: say that God did it! Do you understand ?! Here Job disagrees. Pay attention to what Job promises as a reward to Eliphaz, he says: In six troubles he will save you, and in the seventh evil will not touch you. In time of hunger, he will deliver you from death, and in war - from the hand of the sword. This is clear. We will protect you in earthly conditions. You will hide yourself from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not be afraid of devastation when it comes. You will laugh at desolation and hunger, and you will not fear the beasts of the earth, for you have an alliance with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field are at peace with you. That is, you will have the only animal that Adam had before the Fall. Offers the kingdom of God on earth, offers to rely on someone who can organize bliss on earth. An interesting idea. And you will know that your tent is safe, and you will look after your house, and you will not sin. And you will see that your seed is numerous, and your branches are like grass on the earth. You will have bliss on earth, there will be peace with animals, heaven on earth, and in the end You will enter the coffin at maturity, as sheaves of wheat are laid in due time.

He does not offer to get rid of death. He says what a beautiful death you have. There is one episode in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament that shows a similar promise: there was a man who died and said to be buried beautifully, the same thing that Eliphaz promises. And he ended up in hell. Here Job offers to exchange. When you read carefully, you see what insidious subtle substitutions - repent to God, you are bad…. You will be rewarded with complete earthly well-being. What a temptation for people. People fell for him. We must carefully read the Scriptures, otherwise we simply will not notice it. First you read, and you think that everything seems to be correct, everything is fine. Everything is neatly disguised. It's amazing, such a topic that a person should be with God the Son. Such a subtle temptation that the devil offers to Job. It is proposed with reference to some kind of revelation, demonic. Therefore, you must remember that based on this experience, not everything that is revealed, not every humble thought is from God. Very often a humble devil. Real humility gives a person courage, and deceitful humility gives a person to be content with a bestial life. People possessed by devilish humility say “Well, we don’t need much from God, let him help us now, drive the sorcerer away…”. God wants us to seek Him, fight for Him, live with Him and learn more and more.

 God rules the world, and therefore you have to close your mouth and turn on your brains, turn off your heart, open your eyes, say: "Everything is fine!".