Job 15:23 Commentary and Bible Study

Eliphaz continues to describe the mind of the wicked as deeply troubled and ill at ease. His conscience will not allow him to forget the debt he owes to God, and he cannot believe that he can ever be free from it. He needs bread on a daily basis but he expects the worst, and so constantly questions whether he will have the supply that he needs. This is true even though he currently possesses great riches by this world’s standard. Such insecurity comes from a comparison between the eternal needs of his soul and the limited supply which he can obtain for himself. This is in contrast with the mind of the believer who trusts God to provide his most basic needs and is delivered from ceaseless anxiety. The wicked know that the worst is yet to come and that the future holds terrible secrets that cannot be avoided. The Day of Judgment awaits him and how can it mean anything other than a day of terror and dread?Trouble and anguish make him afraid because they are only the beginning of the matter; they are harbingers of something worse to follow. His conscience tells him that they have not come without reason; they are the just consequences of the life he has lived, and justice demands much more than this. They are like the first clouds that blow over when a great storm is coming. He might be able to cope with a few isolated troubles but not with the torrent that will follow. Besides he knows that he doesn’t really have any defence against them, for they are like an army organised by a hostile king and set in array before him. How will he cope with this? If he retreats then the enemy will come after him; if he engages in battle he will be crushed by a superior force. One such terror is death which patiently waits for us as a foe which we must face without any adequate defence. What will be the outcome of that great battle?