Job 22

Notes

Imagining that Job had accused God of injustice, in suffering the wicked to prosper and the righteous to be afflicted, Eliphaz, in great anger, replied, 2. Darest thou imagine that God is a gainer by our virtue, as we ourselves are, and so bound to reward us for it? 3. Can it add anything to his joy or profit that thou art ever so righteous and perfect? 4. Dost thou imagine that he corrects thee out of reverence to thee, or for fear thou shouldest hurt him? Will he, for fear of thee, either punish thee or give thee an account of his conduct? 5. Are not thy own monstrous and unnumbered iniquities the true cause of thy fearful sufferings? 6. For without any just cause thou hast taken pledges from thy very brethren, and hast in the cruelest manner deprived the poor of their small remains of the preservatives of life. 7. Most inhumanly thou hast withheld from the weary and starving, the most cheap and common supports of their life. 8. But the man who was high-born, wealthy, and honoured, was thy favourite, and had thy land and estate at his service, and was sure to carry his cause at thy tribunal. 9. Thou hast spoiled widows of their just property, and cruelly oppressed, broken, and crushed the orphans, depriving them of all their supports and comforts. 10. Therefore entangling troubles and dangers are everywhere round about thee, and sudden fears and terrible judgments affright thee. 11. Fearful troubles and perplexities so overwhelm thee that thou hast neither a comfortable sense nor hope of relief left; and multitudes of afflictions have with violence burst forth upon thee. 12. Is not God higher in place and dignity than the loftiest stars which thou observest? 13, 14. But like an atheist, you seem to think that God cannot know, or doth not care, what is done upon earth, but merely amuses himself in walking round the heavens. 15. Hast thou not eagerly followed, rather than prudently observed, the conduct or fate of those companions of vanity and wickedness who lived before the flood? 16. To whose horrid impieties God put a stop, by destroying them before their time, and carrying them off the earth by an overflowing deluge. 17. Who, in the most insolent manner, wished to have nothing to do with God, and imagined that nothing he could do for them could really profit them? 18. Yet it was he who granted them their whole prosperity. But God forbid that I should ever join in either principles, purposes, or practices with such abandoned wretches. 19. The righteous shall with pleasure behold the destruction of such men, as a vindication of the honour, holiness, and justice of God; and shall deride their folly in taking such courses as issue therein. 20. While the estates of such as are truly pious and virtuous remain unhurt by the providence of God, those who imitate these ancient sinners are consumed by thunder, lightning, or some other fearful judgment. 21. But since God hath not entirely consumed thee, try, without a moment's delay, to get the spiritual knowledge of God; accustom thyself to him by repeated supplications; receive peace from him; and quietly submit to him by an unfeigned repentance. Thus shall all manner of blessings, temporal and eternal, come to thee. 22. Receive, and duly meditate on, the instructive revelations which he may be pleased to afford thee. 23. If by a true faith and sincere repentance thou turn to the Lord, thou shalt be again advanced to thy former honours and prosperity; and the punishment which thy sins have brought upon thee shall be removed far from thee and whatever belongs to thee. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold, and fine gold, in such amazing plenty, and with such ease, as if they were the most common things. 25. For the all-sufficient and almighty God shall be thy portion and the protector of thy treasures; and thou shalt have astonishing heaps of silver. 26. Thou shalt delight thyself in the enjoyment of God's love and favour; and shalt with confidence and comfort present thyself at his throne of grace, and hope for his eternal felicity. 27. With sweet pleasure shall he hear thy prayers; and thou shalt pay thy vows of gratitude to him with the warmest affection. 28. Whatever thou hast purposed shall be accomplished; and divine direction, success, and comfort shall attend all thy proceedings. 29. When wicked men around thee are distressed or destroyed, thou shalt confidently expect honour and felicity; and God shall bring to eminent and extensive happiness the person who is cast down in his own eyes. 30. Nay, at thy request he shall marvellously deliver not only many innocents, but even the guilty, and their country, by means of thy prayers, piety, and virtue.

Ver. 2. [Eliphaz charges Job with presumption. He accuses him of magnifying himself in the sight of God. His argument is to this effect:—'Can even a great man (such is the meaning of the Hebrew term) be profitable to God? Thou seemest to think that God is thy debtor, on the ground of thy righteousness. But suppose that thou art righteous, wouldst thou thus be conferring a favour on God? No; by righteousness a wise man is profitable to himself. But I affirm that thou art not righteous, and that thou art injuring thyself by unrighteousness' (Wordsworth). P.]

Ver. 6. [This being a grievous and direct charge, it is probable that Job, in the midst of his charities which his friends cannot deny (ch. 29. 15; 31. 16-22), had, as a man of business, been careful of his rights, righteous exacting being to the poor themselves frequently better than promiscuous and inconsiderate giving, and that Eliphaz now exaggerates this carefulness and justice into this hideous picture of unfeeling oppression. C.]

Ver. 7. [A charge of inhospitality, one of the most grievous in the estimation of the Arabians and their kindred nations. C.]

Reflections.—Nothing can be more absurd than to imagine that we can make God our debtor by anything which we can do. We have nothing good in us, or done by us, but what is God's gift. None are too great for God to humble. And if he spare the wicked, it is not for fear of them, but in patient pity towards them. Even good men, from a pretended regard to God, are apt to charge their neighbour with things which he heartily abhors. But if God's greatness, omniscience, and equity should deter men from crimes, they should also deter us from unjustly charging our neighbour with them. He that condemns the righteous is an abomination to the Lord. How tremendous are the judgments of Heaven, and happy they who can safely rejoice amidst them; or who, in a Christian manner, take warning from them! Through ignorance of and enmity against God, through neglect and contempt of his word, and through obstinate continuance in sin, men lose the greatest blessings and incur the greatest evils. But oh the delight in God, the bold confidence towards him, the intimate fellowship with him, the satisfaction even in managing outward affairs, the safety in times of common calamity, and usefulness towards others—that knowledge of and peace with God, spiritual improvement of God's word, and sincere repentance do produce!