Job 22:1-30
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the nakeda of their clothing.
7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mightyb man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars,c how high they are!
13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20 Whereas our substanced is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:e thereby good shall come unto thee.
22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,f and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence,g and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humbleh person.
30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Here begins the third cycle in the controversy, and again EIiphaz is the first speaker. His address consisted of two movements. First, he made a definite charge against Job (1-20); and, second, he made his final appeal to Job (21-30). He approached his charge by practically declaring, in a series of questions, first, that a man's righteousness is no direct gain to God, and consequently that it is inconceivable that God punishes a man for his goodness. He then proceeded to declare the sins which, according to his philosophy, would naturally account for the suffering through which Job had passed. By adroit quotation of some of the things Job had said he attempted to account for the sins Job had committed.
Here Eliphaz made his great mistake. Without proof, save such as he was able to deduce from his own reasoning, he had charged Job with the most terrible crimes. Had his deductions been correct, the advice he now gave would indeed have been the highest and the best. What man needs in order himself to be blessed and to be made a blessing is the knowledge of God. This truth is declared, first, by the statement of human condition, and, consequently, by the declaration of the issues of fulfilment. The whole matter is first stated in the great words:
Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good shall come unto thee.
The method by which the conditions are to be fulfilled is described. The law is to be received. There is to be return by putting away unrighteousness. All human treasure is to be abandoned as worthless. Then the answering God is described. Instead of earthly riches, treasure will be possession of the Almighty. In Him there will be delight, and communion with Him; through Him there will come triumph, and the result will be ability to deliver others.