where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
Subject: Hope
In this section of Job, Eliphaz, Job's friend, has once again told Job that the reason he is in the condition he is in is because he has sinned in some grave way before God. This pain and suffering is God's judgment on Job for past sins and transgressions. Once again Eliphaz is mistaken and has mad assumptions based upon God's character without knowledge of God's plan. Job, the subsequent chapters, defends himself, as most of us would do. That puts Job in the wrong place as well. (False counsel will always lead to false behavior.). Job's defense does, however, bring him to the above question (or, conclusion): Where is my hope? The Hebrew word for "hope" here is used 32 times in the O.T. In the book of Job it is used 17 times. Note, in a couple of chapters what Job says about his "hope:"
Job 19:10 (ESV Strong's)
He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
Job is keenly aware that the pain and suffering he is experiencing is cutting off his hope. Man without hope is lost and in deep despair. Depression is a life that has lost its hope. God, of course, is our ONLY hope. God has given us hope. The N.T. is full of hope because of what Christ can and does do. Eliphaz's words should have brought some measure of hope to job, as his friend and as a counselor for God. Instead, Eliphaz used bad doctrine, assumption and ignorance to talk to Job. Instead of saying to Job he didn't know WHY Job was in the position he was in, but that he did know that God is still there for him, Eliphaz offered no hope. Job, hence, had no hope. The worst thing we can do, when others are in a bad place, is take away their hope in God. God is the God of hope. Even when we feel all is lost, we must remember we have hope in God.
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