ChristadelphianBooksOnline
David Baird
The Education of Job

Chapter 22 - The Third Cycle of Speeches - Eliphaz

	22:1-5	God is judging Job's wickedness
	22:6-11	A description of Job's wickedness
	22:12-20	Warning against arrogance before God
	22:21-30	Final appeal - make your peace with God
	22:1-5	God is judging Job's wickedness

It is all too much for Eliphaz. He starts his final assault with five verses of questions and these questions, while betraying his frustration, declare his limited thinking.

Can man be profitable unto God? The answer, as implied, is "No." Man's conduct does not affect God in a way that He needs it. The person who suffers or gains from his conduct is the man himself. Does God derive pleasure from a man, such as Job claims to be, who is righteous? The implied answer is "No" but the correct answer is "Yes." Eliphaz has placed God in a box of Eliphaz's making. God definitely took pleasure in the righteousness of Job (1:8) and there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7). There are also powerful verses that declare that God has no delight in certain people (Jer 22:28; Hos 8:8; Mal 1:10). Therefore, by inference, there are people in which God derives pleasure (Isa 66:2).

"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you?" (22:4 NIV). Would God afflict a righteous man? Indeed He would and He does. Job surely wouldn't be suffering because of his fear of God? He is. However, that did not mean, as Eliphaz is saying, God cares little for human virtue.

Such a harsh, inflexible point of view leads to no other conclusion except, "Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?" (22:5).

22:6-11 A description of Job's wickedness

According to Eliphaz, Job's sins were infinite. They were endless. One could imagine Job's perplexed reaction to this astonishing twist added by Eliphaz. These are the words of a desperate man who wishes to scramble victory in the face of overwhelming defeat. He will prove that Job is a continual sinner even though he seemed incapable of providing examples in his previous two speeches, especially after Job had challenged them to do so (13:23). Now the examples, albeit general and lacking specifics, flow from the imagination of Eliphaz. According to Eliphaz, Job had:

Exploited the poor (22:6);
Ignored those in desperate need of food and water (22:7);
Dispossessed his poorer neighbours of their land (22:8); and
Neglected the fatherless and the widow (22:9).

There is absolutely no evidence to support these accusations. Job was sorely wounded by these words and vigorously protests his innocence in chapters 29 and 31. But Eliphaz is convinced. Job had done all this and that is why he suffers, and why he fails to comprehend what has happened to him. Not only was Job a gross sinner, he was blind to his hideous failings.

22:12-20 Warning against arrogance before God

As well as being blind to his wickedness, Job, according to Eliphaz's next outburst, does not appreciate the greatness of God. Job is like those of Psalm 94:7 who say, "The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it." Eliphaz indignantly exclaims, "You said, 'What does God know? Can he peer through the shadowed darkness?'" (22:13 JB).

Job never said this, nor is there any semblance of a hint in this direction. Eliphaz conjures up an impious and irreverent Job who does not adequately regard God and is like those who told God to "Depart from us" (22:17). Perhaps Eliphaz is overreacting to Job's assertion that God cannot be taught knowledge (21:16). But Job is not deriding God. He is exulting Him as He who "judgeth those that are high." God cannot be taught what He already knows. Eliphaz in clutching at straws is perverting Job's position.

Eliphaz is incensed that Job could suggest that the wicked may well prosper despite their impiety (21:14-16) but his attempt to destroy this suggestion borders on the unintelligible. One thing is for sure, Eliphaz is convinced that he is not one of the wicked and he cites Job's words of 21:16 (22:18). Furthermore, these wicked men will inevitably meet with ruin, much to the amusement of the righteous. Such is the lot of the arrogant who tell God to go away.

22:21-30 Final appeal - make your peace with God

There is no point in continuing. Eliphaz has exhausted the depth of his argument. He has accused Job of unsubstantiated evil behaviour and attributed words to him that no record affirms Job uttered. All that is left for Eliphaz to do is to give Job some words of advice. After all, he is Job's friend and he genuinely desires to see Job's glory days return. Despite his dogmatic adherence to a flawed philosophy, Eliphaz is a good man. His outbursts in this speech should be considered as aberrations. They cannot be condoned but they should not be considered to be representative of Eliphaz's normal mode of speech. He is not a malicious person but his frustration had obviously boiled over.

It seems that he now takes a deep breath and calms himself down. This is the last time he will speak to the afflicted Job so he strives to encourage and help his friend. All Job has to do is make his peace with God, listen to what God has to say and keep God's Word in his heart (22:20-21). There is absolutely nothing wrong with this advice. The fault lies not in the advice but in its courier. Eliphaz believed that he spoke God's Word and if Job humbled himself Job would be lifted up (22:23).

Verses 24 and 25 present as a puzzle especially as they are translated in the Authorised Version. The Revised Standard Version is probably closer to the mark with:

"If you lay gold in the dust,
and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent bed,
and if the Almighty is your gold,
and your precious silver,
then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
and lift up your face to God."

(22:24-26 RSV - see also JB, NIV)

There is no denying the lilting beauty and soothing symmetry of these words. If Job made God as his gold and silver and turned his total focus towards God then Job will find pleasure in God. Job will be able to lift his face rather than cower in shame. Such advice holds true in any age. It is hard to fathom its proximity to the harsh accusations thrust so crudely at Job just a few sentences earlier. Perhaps Eliphaz in noting Job's dismay at his earlier remarks decided to conclude with these palliative utterances in order to mollify Job's hurt.

Eliphaz continues by describing how this humility and devotion to God will bring Job into a special intimacy with the Almighty. God will hear his prayers. Job will be animated to perform his vows. God will shine a light on Job's path. It is, to say the least, an idyllic picture, as well as being ironical because it was due to Job's relationship with God that Eliphaz was not dealt with "after his folly" (42:8).

He concludes his speaking with a dose of conventional wisdom from his manufactured religion. The original is awkward but the message, simply put, is "God abases the proud and saves the innocent" (see RSV, JB - this is also the gist of the more literal variation favoured by NIV, NKJV, Delitzsch etc). If Eliphaz had not misjudged Job (22:5), this proclamation of forgiveness for the repentant would have been among the brightest of the words uttered by the friends. There is intrinsic truth in what was said. The only problem was that the words did not adapt to Job's situation. Eliphaz's formulated approach, besides being based on a simplistic and friable foundation, was confounded by the unique circumstances of Job's case. Job had prevented the doctrine of exact retribution from advancing beyond the status of a theory. It could not be empirically validated.

The words of Eliphaz are ended.