”“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?“

Job 4:3-6 NLT

It is so much easier to encourage others rather than apply the same or similar advice to yourself. I have this problem

” 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.“

Job 5:8-9 NLT

” But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.“

Job 5:17 NLT

THE GOOD:
In a few places, Eliphaz’s advice is solid.
We can and should go to God in our trials, He is just, merciful, and simply good.
God’s discipline is good because His discipline is from love. This is also a concept discussed in Proverbs and Hebrews
This much Eliphaz gets right.

THE BAD
Eliphaz has some good theology, but also some bad, like his ideas about why bad things happen
Eliphaz (and spoiler, all Job’s friends) assumes that Job has done something evil to be deserving of such a punishment. THIS IS NOT HOW GOD WORKS.

Evil in the world, sickness, and just the general bad things that happen are not directly correlated to our sinfulness and all the good we do does not contribute to our salvation.

Our salvation is not works-based.

”Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.“

Galatians 6:1 NLT

”So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.“

Galatians 6:9-10 NLT

We must be graceful and kind in how we correct others. This does not mean being indirect, or diminishing the evil of sin. Being direct and showing compassion are not mutually exclusive