Meditation Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Revived by His Word - chapter of the Job 22 Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness 22 Then aEliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 “Can ba man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? 4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you? 5 Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? 6 For you have ctaken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have not given the weary water to drink, And you dhave withheld bread from the hungry. 8 But the 1mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, And the 2strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10 Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, 11 Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of ewater covers you. 12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13 And you say, f‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? 14 gThick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’ 15 Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, 16 Who hwere cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? 17 iThey said to God, ‘Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to 3them?’ 18 Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 “The jrighteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: 20 ‘Surely our 4adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’ 21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and kbe at peace; Thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive, please, linstruction from His mouth, And mlay up His words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. 24 Then you will nlay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 25 Yes, the Almighty will be your 5gold And your precious silver; 26 For then you will have your odelight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. 27 pYou will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. 28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. 29 When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then qHe will save the humble person. 30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.” Comments Now Eliphaz takes his turn. He wishes to put what belongs to the last days and apply it to the present lives of people. In this chapter Eliphaz is following a pattern of thinking that was common in the days of Job and he raises several questions: “If a man teaches others wisdom, will God benefit from it?” (v. 2); and “does God care if a man is righteous?” (v.3). These questions about God are similar to those raised by Lucifer during his rebellion in heaven. This is totally unbiblical since we know God said “be righteous for I am righteous.” Since Job is suffering, Eliphaz concluded that God punished him. “Is not your evil great?” (v. 5). Then he lists the evil of Job: he did not honor the pledges he made and he has taken the garments of the naked ones (v. 6); the thirsty were not given water (v. 7); and the hungry were not fed (v. 7). One gets a glimpse of Eliphaz’s thinking: “A man that is strong - to him is the earth, and the respected one dwell in it” (v. 8). Job was wealthy and respected, now he is not. Then Eliphaz continues with the list of Job’s vices: widows you sent away empty (v. 9); and the strength of orphans is crushed (v. 9). According to Eliphaz, the qualities of an “Ideal Ruler” was overlooked by wealthy Job. So now there are traps around Job (v. 10) such as fear and darkness (v. 11). Eliphaz reveals to us his understanding of God. He says that God is on high and sees the stars and galaxies. He is not like what Job seemed to say that God cannot know what’s going on here on earth because the “thick clouds are a concealment to Him” (vv. 13-14). Eliphaz misinterpreted Job’s words. He then challenges Job: Will you keep to the old way which other wicked men have walked? Don’t forget that God had filled their houses with good things, yet they had told God to depart from them. Then they were swept away by the flood. The wicked are cut off and their abundance the fire consumes. May the thinking of the wicked be far from me (vv. 16-20). If Job repents and “acquaints himself with God, he would be at peace.” Job should “receive instruction from His mouth and place His words in his heart” (vv. 21-22). He should return to the Almighty (conversion) and then he shall be built up but he should distance injustice from his tents (v. 23). A long list of present material blessings are mentioned by Eliphaz that will follow such as Ophir [gold], and precious silver (vv. 24-25). With material blessings such as these, Job will have delight in God (v. 26). Pray to Him and pay your vows and He will listen to you (v. 27). “You will make a decision and it will be accomplished for you, and upon your ways light will shine” (v. 28). Eliphaz tells Job to cheer up because exaltation will come to those who are humble (v. 29). Even those who are not innocent but who turn to God will be delivered by the purity of His hands (v. 30). Dear God, This world is not our home and our relationship with You keeps us preparing to leave, not to live eternally here. Like Job, keep us focused. Amen. Koot van Wyk Kyungpook National University Sangju, South Korea
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:11:24 +0000
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