Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? – Job 5:1

 Today's Scripture Reading (July 3, 2021): Job 5

Have you ever noticed that whenever someone has an opinion, no matter what that opinion might be, they are always speaking for "a lot of other people?" It's not just me, but I have heard others who believe [enter your opinion here]. It is widespread. Politicians do it all the time. They circulate their beliefs and ideas as if their ideas are common knowledge. I received a phone call not long ago from the opposition party, and they started the conversation with the words, "we know that you are as upset as we are with the actions of those in power. And we want to support you, and all you have to do is support us. We want to enroll you in our monthly donation program, or even have you consider a one-time gift so that we can be the David's in the fight against Goliath." The message was clear; we believe the same things, and most people agree with us. I didn't say, but probably should have, that if that were true, they wouldn't be the opposition party. If everyone agreed with them, they would be the ruling party; the Goliath that the minority parties would have to try to take down.

It is not just politicians; it is everyone. Your next-door neighbor does the same thing. And so do you, and we. We seldom believe that we are in a minority position. We think that the majority agree with us, that we know the truth, regardless of what that theory or idea might be.

In the United States, the news is filled with people who believe that the wrong person is in the White House, not because the majority of people in the country voted wrong, but because of a conspiracy that actually put the loser in the White House and banished the winner to Florida. Others disagree, but I bet that most people on both sides of the issue believe that they are in the majority.

Maybe it is natural to believe that whatever we believe is also what most people consider valid. Eliphaz apparently does. After bringing out his conspiracy theories, he makes this comment. "Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?" Essentially, what he is saying is, "regardless of who you might want to turn to or call, they will tell you the same thing that I am telling you. Listen to my words because I stand with the majority opinion. And because it is the majority opinion, it must be the right opinion."

Except, that is not true. When Jesus fed the five thousand, the majority was with him. They wanted what they saw as manna from heaven, and they declared, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14). But as soon as Jesus began to talk about the commitment that is required to follow him, those who had flocked to him left his company saying, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it" (John 6:60)?

And maybe the classic example of the majority being in the wrong are the spies who were charged with scouting out the Promised Land during the days of Moses at the beginning of Israel's history. Twelve men entered the land, and ten voted to stay in the wilderness and not enter into the place that God had promised them. It was the wrong decision, even though the majority agreed.

Eliphaz is convinced that the majority agrees with him and that Job's wickedness is to blame for the disasters that had fallen on the prophet. But even if Eliphaz is correct and the majority is with him, it still doesn't mean that his interpretation is accurate. God is, and always has been, the only opinion that really matters. He is a majority of one. And God's view of Job is made clear at the beginning of the story. "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8).   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 6