Matthew Henry Commentary Job 5:6-16

"For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward. But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause; Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields; So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety. He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth." — Job 5:6-16 (ASV)

Eliphaz reminds Job that no affliction comes by chance, nor is it to be attributed to secondary causes. The occurrence of prosperity and adversity is not as predictably patterned as that of day and night, or summer and winter; rather, it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God, nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves. Humankind is born in sin and therefore born to trouble.

There is nothing in this world we are born with, and can truly call our own, except sin and trouble. Actual transgressions are sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption. Given the frailty of our bodies and the vanity of all our enjoyments, our troubles arise from these things as the sparks fly upward; they are so numerous, and one follows another so quickly. Eliphaz reproves Job for not seeking God instead of quarrelling with him.

Is any afflicted? let him pray. Prayer is a comfort to the heart, a balm for every pain. Eliphaz speaks of rain, which we are inclined to regard as a small matter; but if we consider how it is produced and what is produced by it, we will see it is a great work of power and goodness. Too often the great Author of all our comforts, and the manner in which they are conveyed to us, are not noticed because they are taken for granted.

In the ways of Providence, the experiences of some encourage others to hope for the best in the worst of times; for it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless. And defiant sinners are confounded and forced to acknowledge the justice of God's actions.