I had a Dream ... You Should Listen to Me! Job 3-5

 Job 4:12-16 (ESV)

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received the whisper of it.

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

14 dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

16 It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard a voice:

I Had a Dream ... You Should Listen to Me!!

Job is in a bad place.   God has allowed Satan to do anything he wants except to take Job’s life.  In chapter three, that is exactly what Job cries out to happen.  He is so depressed by the events that have taken his livelihood, his children and his safety and status of life, that he even cries out that he wishes he was never born (chapter three).   On top of this, the three friends who were not able to speak, are willing to respond to Job’s lament.  They are not necessarily moved to speak to Job’s condition, but rather what Job says about his condition.   The first up to speak is Eliphaz.   It should be noted that all three of Job’s friends are rebuked by God at the end of the book (Job 42:7-9).   Eliphaz’s main point is that everyone sins and therefore Job is suffering due to his many sins.   Remember, God has claimed that Job was righteous, three times (Job 1:1,8; 2:3).  Eliphaz, however, has a different source of truth.  In the above passage we read that he has had a dream.  This dream become authoritative for him and he believes it best explains Job’s plight.    Perhaps this is why God is not pleased with Eliphaz and his two friends.   Eliphaz has a dream and the dream actually has some truth that is supported by other passages of Scripture.  But, what we will find in reading the three friend’s words to Job is that they truth has no application to Job’s situation.  They are really good with truth, but do not have the entire truth to make a real “judgement” as to what is happening with Job.   We typically can’t argue with the dreams of others.  If someone tells us they had a dream and they believe that dream is from God, it is tough to disprove their subjective thoughts on the dream.  We do know that God’s word is the final authority for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17).   But, in Job’s day the Old and New Testament were not completed.  So, someone’s dream was what they had.  The dream is not the issue (as it does contain some truths).  The issue is the application. Job is in this mess, not because of his sin, but because of his righteousness.   Therefore, Eliphaz’s dream was not authoritative to Job.   We need to be careful with the truth we hold as we apply it to the lives of others.   These three friends of Job had no place in the heart, mind or theology for “innocent suffering” (that they innocent indeed suffer).   Truth should, today, come from Scripture and application should be handled carefully.