Why did Eliphaz think God was disciplining Job? (Job 5:17–18) ESV 17 “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.
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In addition to "discipline", other translations of this verse use such words as "chastening", "rebuke", or "correction" to express what Eliphaz was saying. Eliphaz (like Bildad and Zophar) believed that Job must have deserved the adversities that he had experienced (even though they could not find or name anything specific that Job had done), and (if for no other reason) just because of deceiving himself by claiming that he had not done anything wrong. They were all expressing (in one form or another) the common human belief that "what goes around comes around". (Of course, they were unaware of the prior dialogue between God and Satan, and did not consider Satan's role in the situation.) Therefore, even though they ascribed some correct attributes to God, they did not think of the possibility of His acting in ways or for purposes that are not obvious, or that do not conform to human reasoning, and they also did not acknowledge His right to do so.
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