Can a man be profitable unto God? Job 22:1-4 The third speech of Eliphaz Homilist. Two general truths. I. That the great God is perfectly INDEPENDENT OF MAN'S CHARACTER, WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG. "Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to Him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?" 1. He is so independent of it that He is not affected by it. No hellish crimes can lessen His felicity; no heavenly virtue can heighten His blessedness. He is infinitely more independent of all the virtues in heaven than the orb of day is independent of a candle's feeble rays, more independent of all the crimes of hell than noontide brightness is of a mere whiff of smoke. He is not worshipped with men's hands as though He needed anything. This fact should impress us —(1) With the duty of humility. He is independent of the most righteous services of the highest intelligence in the universe. None are necessary to the carrying out of His purposes.(2) With the benevolence of His legislation. Why does He lay down laws for the regulation of human conduct? Simply and entirely for our own happiness. 2. He is so independent of it that He will not condescend to explain His treatment of it. "Will He reprove thee for fear of thee? Will He enter with thee into judgment?" One great cause of Job's murmuring was that God had sent punishment upon him without any explanation. For this Eliphaz here reproves him, and virtually says, "Is it not in the highest degree absurd to expect that the Maker should be willing to explain His doings to the creatures He has made?" II. MAN'S CHARACTER IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO HIMSELF. "He that is wise may be profitable unto himself." Eliphaz means to say that the wise and pious man is profitable to himself. To the man himself, character is everything. The wealth of Croesus, the strength of Samson, the wisdom of Solomon, and the dominion of Caesar are nothing to a man in comparison to his character. His character is the fruit of his existence, the organ of his power, the law of his destiny. It is the only property he carries with him beyond the grave. ( Homilist. ) The independence of God Henry Melvill, B. D. The question, "Can a man be profitable unto God?" requires, in order to its thorough discussion, that it be resolved into two, — Can anything which a man does be injurious to God? Can anything which a man does be advantageous to God? When human actions are considered in reference to the Almighty, their consequences it appears can in no degree extend themselves to one infinitely removed from all that is created. Not, indeed, that we must so represent the independence of God, as that it involves indifference to men, or totally disregards their actions. Scriptures declare that God is dishonoured by our sinfulness, and glorified by our obedience. But we glorify Him without actually rendering Him any service, and we dishonour Him without doing Him any actual injury. I. THY IMPOSSIBILITY THAT MEN SHOULD BE PROFITABLE UNTO GOD. Think of the greatness of God, how inaccessible He is, how immeasurably removed from all created being. Thinking of this, you can scarcely indulge the idea, that the services of any creature, however exalted and endowed, can be necessary to God. If you examine with the least attention, you must see that, supposing God injured by our sin, or advantaged by our righteousness, is the equivalent to supposing our instrumentality necessary in order to the accomplishment of His purposes. II. THE INFERENCES WHICH FOLLOW FROM THIS TRUTH. Note the perfect disinterestedness of God in sending His own Son to die for the rebellious. It cannot be that God redeemed us because He required our services. The only account which can be given of the amazing interposition is, that God loves us; and even this evades, rather than obviates, the difficulty. Remember that, though you can do nothing for God, He is ready in Christ to do everything for you. ( Henry Melvill, B. D. ) The doctrine of merit Robert South, D. D. It is a matter of no small moment for a man to be rightly informed upon what terms and conditions he is to transact with God, and God with him, in the great business of his salvation. St. Paul tells us that eternal life is the "gift of God." Salvation proceeds wholly upon free gift, though damnation upon strict desert. Such is the extreme folly, or rather sottishness, of man's corrupt nature, that this does by no means satisfy him. When he comes to deal with God about spirituals, he appears and acts, not as a supplicant, but as a merchant; not as one who comes to be relieved, but to traffic. This great self-delusion, so prevalent upon most minds, is the thing here encountered in the text; which is a declaration of the impossibility of man's being profitable to God, or of his meriting of God, according to the true, proper, and strict sense of merit. Merit is a right to receive some good upon the score of some good done, together with an equivalence or parity of worth between the good to be received and the good done. I. IT IS IMPLIED THAT MEN ARE NATURALLY VERY PRONE TO ENTERTAIN AS OPINION OR PERSUASION, THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO MERIT OF GOD, OR BE PROFITABLE TO HIM. The truth of this will appear from two considerations. 1. It is natural for men to place too high a value both upon themselves and their own performances. That this is so is evident from universal experience. Every man will be sure to set his own price upon what be is, and what he does, whether the world will come up to it or no; as it seldom does. 2. The natural aptness of men to form and measure their apprehensions of the supreme Lord of all things, by what they apprehend and observe of the princes and potentates of this world, with reference to such as are under their dominion. This is certainly a very prevailing fallacy, and steals too easily upon men's minds, as being founded in the unhappy predominance of sense over reason, No marvel then, if they blunder in their notions about God, a Being so vastly above the apprehensions of sense. From misapplied premises, the low, gross, undistinguishing reason of the generality of mankind, presently infers that the creature may, on some accounts, be as beneficial to his Creator as a subject may be to his prince. Men are naturally very prone to persuade themselves that they are able to merit of God, or be profitable to Him. II. SUCH A PERSUASION IS UTTERLY FALSE AND ABSURD, FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MEN TO MERIT OF GOD. Show the several ingredients of merit, and the conditions necessary to render an action meritorious. 1. That an action be not due; that is to say, it must not be such as a man stands obliged to the doing of, but such as he is free either to do or not to do, without being chargeable with any sinful omission in case he does not. But all that any man alive is capable of doing, is but an indispensable homage to God, and not a free oblation; and that also such an homage as makes his obligation to what he does much earlier than his doing of it, will appear both from the law of nature, and that of God's positive command. 2. It should really add to and better the state of the person of whom it is to merit. The reason of which is because all merit consists properly in a right to receive some benefit, or the account of some benefit first done.(1) God offers Himself to our consideration as a Being infinitely perfect, infinitely happy, and self-sufficient, depending upon no supply or revenue from abroad.(2) On the other hand, is man a being fit and able to make this addition? Man only subsists by the joint alms of heaven and earth, and stands at the mercy of everything in nature, which is able either to help or hurt him. Is this now the person to oblige his Maker? 3. That there be an equal proportion of value between the action and the reward. This is evident from the foundation already laid by us; to wit, that the nature of merit consists properly in exchange; and that, we know, must proceed according to a parity of worth on both sides, commutation being most properly between things equivalent. Can we, who live by sense, and act by sense, do anything worthy of those joys which not only exceed our senses, but also transcend our intellectuals? 4. He who does a work whereby he would merit of another, does it solely by his own strength, and not by the strength or power of him from whom he is to merit. III. THIS PERSUASION IS THE SOURCE AND FOUNDATION OF TWO OF THE GREATEST CORRUPTIONS OF RELIGION THAT HAVE INFESTED THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. These are pelagianism and popery. Pelagianism is resolvable into this one point, that a man contributes something of his own, which he had not from God, towards his own salvation. IV. REMOVE AN OBJECTION NATURALLY APT TO ISSUE FROM THE FOREGOING PARTICULARS. Can there be a greater discouragement than this doctrine to men in their Christian course? Answer — 1. It ought not to be any discouragement to a beggar to continue asking an alms, and in doing all that he can to obtain it, though he knows he can do nothing to claim it. 2. I deny that our disavowing this doctrine of merit, cuts us off from all plea to a recompense for our Christian obedience from the hands of God. It cuts us off from all plea on the score of strict justice. But God's justice is not the only thing that can oblige Him in His transactings with men. His veracity and His promise also oblige Him. ( Robert South, D. D. ) Does religion enrich God B. J. Gibbon. ? — These withering questions were addressed to a humiliated man, with the object of crushing him more completely. Eliphaz was, of course, right in defending the justice of the Divine government. But was the argument he used — that man's religion is a matter of indifference to God — a sound one? I. UPON THE SURFACE, THE QUESTIONS ADMIT OF NO ANSWER BUT A NEGATIVE. "Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?" We cannot conceive of the Deity as other than perfect, self-contained and self-sufficient. His power is omnipotent, and His years eternal. What can man do to enhance such adorable perfections? Will the light of a candle add to the glory of the sunshine at midday? Will a single drop of water perceptibly increase the volume of the ocean? Our Christian activities do not enrich God, as the work of shop assistants enriches their employers. Nor do our religious offerings add to His wealth. All is already His, and of His own do we give Him. The gain is on our side; not God's. We profit by our holiness of character, our Christian zeal, and our religious offerings. Nothing can be more sublimely ludicrous than the patronage which some men accord religion. They give to religious objects in the spirit of monarchs dispensing alms to the needy. They graciously allow their names to be printed as patrons of religious institutions. II. YET, LOOKING AT HIS WORDS AGAIN, WE FEEL THAT THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO PASS WITHOUT QUALIFICATION OR AMENDMENT. They are true to a certain extent, and in that limited degree may be usefully employed. Eliphaz in his laudable attempt to exalt God above the deities of the heathen, who according to the conceptions of their worshippers were enriched or impoverished by their piety or the lack of it, elevated Him to a pinnacle of remoteness and indifference which He does not occupy. In his extremely proper endeavour to magnify God he belittled man, which is both unnecessary and wrong. Is it the case that religion is merely an insurance? Is godliness nothing more than prudence? Do our saintliest serve God only for what they can get? Well, religion is less attractive than it seemed if the struggles that won our admiration and the sacrifices that moved us to tears were only prompted by self-interest. It is an insufficient explanation. Again, is it true, as Eliphaz insinuates, that human righteousness gives no pleasure to God? It is a crushing suggestion. The Eternal is high above you and cares nothing for your little concerns, even for your small virtues and petty victories over sin! It is a crushing suggestion. And surely it is a fallacious one. We may take the good He has given us or we may leave it, He does not care! His eternal calm is unruffled, His ineffable completeness unbroken, by the fortunes of mortal men! "Can a man be profitable unto God? No, he that is wise is profitable unto himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? or is it gain to Him that thou makest thy ways perfect?" Oh, it is a repellent picture. We are prepared to hear that there is a fallacy in it. III. ITS EFFECT IS TO DEMORALISE AND DEBAUCH MAN. And it really does not magnify God. While professing to exalt Him, it lowers Him. Is God too great to notice man? That is not real greatness which can only condescend to notice great affairs. The answer to it lies in the book which records it. We see the Almighty contemplating with satisfaction the uprightness of a man. We see Him defending that uprightness against the malicious insinuations of His own enemy and man's, Satan. A better reply still is furnished by the teaching of Jesus. He revealed God. He was God. And in beautiful similitudes He spoke of the Divine concern for the soul of man and the Divine joy in its salvation. God, if we may reverently say so, has given His case away by the revelation of His fatherhood. We cannot argue upon the ground of majesty, but on this level we are at home. We know how a father hungers for the love of his child. So we can please God: we can wound Him. For love craves a return, and love lies bleeding from indifference. Jesus, yearning over Jerusalem, is the answer in the affirmative to the questions of Eliphaz. But the supreme answer lies not in the teaching of Jesus, convincing though that is, but in Jesus Himself. That answer is final. Is the moral condition of man of no concern to God? Then come with me to Bethlehem, to a stable behind the village inn. Is the soul of man uncared for by God? Then come with me to Calvary. Do you see that Man dying, amid throes of unutterable agony, on a cross of wood? ( B. J. Gibbon. ) Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Job 22:3 God's pleasure in man's righteousness G. J. Proctor. To this Eliphaz we cannot take kindly. There is so much in him that reminds us of the Pharisee of our Lord's day. With all his conscientiousness — and it is remarkable what sins against God and our brother are committed under the garb of conscientiousness — he seems to be one of those who "speak wickedly for God." Looking at the argument of the Temanite in this chapter, it is, at best, a piece of sophistry. The words of the text seem humble words, so calculated to move us in the direction of self-repression; but we are not required to build humility upon a lie. 1. This verse is but an expansion of the thought contained in the previous verse, which reads thus, "Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?" The force of this comparison tends to disarm criticism, for the least taught among Christian people can never think they are doing God the service they are rendering themselves. In those cases in which men think they are in some way doing God a splendid service, their presumption is its own condemnation. But such a thought does not enter Christian believing minds. What are they to say to the challenge of the next verse? Is there not something true within us that rises up against its merciless and terrible conclusion? A man may be far from as profitable to God as unto himself. He must feel that all the weight of obligation is on his side, since God alone is the source of all his goodness and power; and yet he may, I think he must, if he have a spark of the Divine life and light in him, resist so fearful and disheartening a conclusion as that God has no pleasure in his rectitude, and that he is all loss and no gain to God.(1) Such a conclusion is most disheartening to endeavours after goodness. Practically carried into the inner life of men, it would be fatal to that goodness. There can be little faith in a goodness that is not nurtured by love and fed by willing cheerfulness. The difference between a Divine compulsion and the sort of thing called compulsion among men, is that the former is made up of affection, the other of necessity. A Divine compulsion, beginning with love, creates an obedience which becomes more and more congenial and native to the soul of the subject of it. We all need educating in virtue and goodness. Human nature has to be raised and sanctified by the energy of Divine grace. The "righteous" man is the creation of that Divine grace which comes to the aid of the struggling one in his contest with dark, evil forces. And the more successful will he be in that contest, the more clearly he discerns what that Divine force is which is helping him. Most discouraging is it to all endeavours after a better life that we should doubt the pleasure of the Eternal in those endeavours. If we do so, we misjudge our relation to the Infinite. It will be as new life to us when we learn to believe in the words of Jesus about the Father. Against the unfaith of men in this Divine Fatherhood, we have constantly to contend.(2) Such a conclusion is also dishonouring to God. It is against the entire scope and tone of Divine revealings from age to age, up to the day when John, the latest seer of the New Testament, spoke of the God of love. It dishonours Him, because it takes away from Him some of those finer instincts which all men worthy of the name have. We take pleasure in endeavours to please us — else we are scarcely human. We allow for infirmity and frailty; and it were indeed a hard and cruel faith about God to deny Him such instincts. And surely God must be pleased with that work into which He throws most of His own pure soul and Spirit. The more of the Divine self in anyone, the truer and more complete the Divine satisfaction. 2. Consider what of truth we can find in these words.(1) It would be vastly mischievous were we to come to look upon that righteousness as our own, and so try to sever the stream from the fount. It is ours only because it is God's gift. All our righteousness is of God.(2) There may be a high-mindedness in Christian service which finds needed correction in the thought that God is not so much served by us as we are served by Him. 3. We need to feel that all the weight of obligations is on our side. When we think of the Divine pleasure and gain, we cannot but think how beneficent that pleasure is. We cannot serve God without a recompense. Yet there are many who shrink from God, as though He were the receiver, instead of the Giver, of all good. They start back from duty as though it would be fatal to their joy. Nothing He commands but for your good. Nothing He orders but for your eternal delight. ( G. J. Proctor. ) Is not thy wickedness great? Job 22:5-14 The charge against Job Homilist. I. Wrong in relation to MAN. In regard to the charge which he here brings against Job, it is worthy of note that whilst most expositors regard Eliphaz as speaking in his own name, others, amongst whom Dr. Bernard, regard him as indicating merely the charges which the Almighty might bring against him. What is the charge that he brings? It is Job's flagrant inhumanity. 1. He was rapacious. 2. He was inhospitable. 3. He was tyrannical. II. Wrong in relation to GOD. "Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can He judge through the thick cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven." His charge here against Job in relation to God, is a denial of the Divine inspection and superintendence of individual man. This error, which he falsely charges on Job, was the leading error of the old Epicureans, and the leading error of deists in all ages. If all men felt God to be in conscious contact with them, idolatry, immorality, dormancy of soul, could not exist. Many causes have been assigned for man's tendency to regard God as remote, such as —(1) The mediatory method of Divine operation. He does not deal directly with man.(2) Man's power of spontaneous action. He is left free, he does not feel the hand of God on the springs of his being.(3) The unbroken regularity of natural laws. Nature shows no changes, indicates no interruption.(4) The disorders of the moral world. But the grand cause is dread of God. Men have sinned, and their guilty consciences invest the Almighty with such attributes of vengeance that they turn away in horror from Him. The language of each man is, "Depart from me, for I desire not a knowledge of Thee." Learn — 1. That in natural religion the ill-treatment of our fellow men is regarded as a great crime. There is no reason to believe that Eliphaz had any revelation from God but that which nature supplies; and yet in his language to Job he expresses in a strong and unmistakable manner his conviction, that to be, not only cruel, but even inhospitable to our fellow men is wicked. The obligation to be socially sympathetic, loving, and kind, the God of love has written on the human soul. 2. That men often denounce evils in others of which they themselves are guilty. Strong as was the implied denunciation of Eliphaz against unkindness in Job, was he not himself unkind in tantalising him now when he was overwhelmed with suffering, by charges that were utterly false? ( Homilist. ) Our sins infinite in number and enormity E. Payson, D. D. Eliphaz was led to ask this question by a suspicion that Job was a hypocrite. He was sure that Job was a wicked man, so he endeavoured to convince him that this was his character. The text is a proper question to be proposed to all who are ignorant of themselves. We must show the meanings which attach to the terms sin and wickedness in the Word of God. By wicked men the Scriptures mean all who are not righteous; and by sin a violation of the Divine law, which requires us to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves. This law branches out into various and numerous precepts, prescribing, with great minuteness, our duties towards all the beings with whom we are connected, and the dispositions which are to be exercised in every situation and relation of life; and the violation and disregard of any of these precepts is a sin. When we do not perfectly obey all God's commands, in feeling, thought, word, or action, we sin. 1. The sin of our hearts, or of our disposition and feelings. The sins of this class alone are innumerable. Yet most men think nothing of them, if they do not gain expression in overt acts. But what the law of God and the Gospel of Christ principally require is right feelings and dispositions. What they chiefly forbid and condemn is feelings and dispositions that are wrong. If, then, we wish to know the number of our sins, we must look first and chiefly at the feelings and dispositions of our hearts. Then we shall soon be convinced that our sins are numberless. 2. The sinfulness of our thoughts. These are the offspring of the mind, as feelings are the offspring of the heart. Men's characters are deter. mined by their thoughts and purposes. If vain, foolish thoughts are sinful, who can enumerate his sins? 3. The sins of the tongue. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. If sin prevails in the heart, it will flow out through the lips. Of every idle word man shall give account. Every idle word then is a sin. Idle words are all that are unnecessary, and which do not tend to produce good effects. How innumerable then are the sins of the tongue. 4. Our sinful actions. Sins of omission and commission. If men's thoughts, words, and feelings are numberless, so are their sins. 5. Our sins are infinite not only in number, but also in criminality. Every sin is, in fact, infinitely evil, and deserving of infinite punishment.(1) Because it is committed against an Infinite Being, against God, a Being infinitely powerful, wise, holy, just, and good.(2) Because it is a violation of an infinitely perfect law.(3) Because it tends to produce infinite mischief.(4) Because committed in defiance of motives and obligations infinitely strong.Inferences — 1. If our sins are thus infinite in number and criminality, then, of course, they deserve an infinite or everlasting punishment. 2. God is perfectly right in inflicting an infinite punishment upon stoners. 3. If it is just to inflict infinite punishment upon impenitent sinners, God is bound by the strongest obligations to inflict it. 4. Hence we see why the atonement made by Christ was necessary. ( E. Payson, D. D. ) Is not God in the height of heaven? Job 22:12, 13 God brought near Homilist. Is there anything that can make God a present God? Bring Him from the height of heaven beyond the stars into conscious contact with the experience of daily life? There is. What? Philosophic reasoning. Correct reasoning on the subject must indeed convince man that if there be a God, He must be everywhere, and, therefore, ever at hand. But men may reach this conclusion, and yet practically regard their God as distant. Will natural science do it? True natural science must connect God with everything. Will scriptural theology do it? ( Homilist. ) Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Job 22:15-20 The way of the wicked described E. Cooper. It is commonly remarked, how little advantage mankind make of each other's experience. This is surely a striking proof of the folly and presumption of our nature. Eliphaz here is reasoning on the principle stated. Though he misapplied the admonition conveyed in his question, the admonition itself is important, for without marking this way of the wicked, how shall we have knowledge of it; and without knowing it, how shall we avoid it? I. SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE WAY OF THE WICKED. 1. The sameness, or oneness, of the way. There are, indeed, many different kinds of sin in which the wicked are living. But they are all turning their backs on the same objects; they are all proceeding in the same direction; they are all tending to the same end. 2. This way is the old way. Eliphaz so called it in the time of Job. It is a way as old as the fall of man. 3. It is a trodden way. This word gives the idea of a way which has been much used and frequented; a beaten road, in which many passengers are always to be found. II. A MORE EXACT DESCRIPTION OF THE WAY ITSELF. By the wicked, in the Bible, are meant all who are devoid of an inward principle of godliness; who, whatever their lives and characters in the sight and judgment of the world may be, are yet in the sight of God without any practical fear and love of Him in their hearts. The way of the wicked is the way of practical ungodliness. Here men are all guilty. They forget God, and walk after the course of this world. III. THE END TO WHICH THE WAY OF WICKED MEN LEADS. Our Saviour says, "It leadeth to destruction." The end resembles that of the sinners in the days of Noah and Lot. Learn, that you may not be an open sinner, and yet you may be walking in the way of the wicked, as you live a mere sensual, worldly life, without any habitual regard to the will and glory of God. ( E. Cooper. ) The history of wickedness Homilist. 1. It is a history of ancient date. It is an old way — the "track of old." 2. It is a history of terrible calamities. "Which were cut down out of time," etc. There are personal, social, material calamities. 3. It is a history of practical atheism. (1) A guilty conscience makes men dread God. (2) Dread of God makes men hate Him. (3) Hating God prompts men to repel Him. 4. It is a history liable to misinterpretation. Men make misapplication of the history of wickedness — (1) When they conclude that God is indifferent in relation to the moral character of men. (2) When they conclude that, because God does not punish wicked men at once, He will not punish them at all.Yet this history has lessons of great significance. (1) It teaches the vastness of man's power. (2) It teaches the greatness of man's patience. (3) It teaches the energy of human influence. (4) It teaches the magnitude of Christ's work. ( Homilist. ) The way which wicked men have trodden E. Payson, D. D. I. THE WAY ITSELF. Eliphaz calla it an "old way." It is almost as old as the human race, or as the world which they inhabit. In the account of the conduct of the first sinner, we see selfishness, or Eve's preference of herself to God. We see also pride, which produced discontent. We see sensuality, or a disposition to be governed and guided by her senses, and to seek their gratification in an unlawful manner. We see unbelief, a distrust of God's Word, and a consequent belief of the tempter's suggestions. She could believe the tempter's falsehood. From the conduct of Adam and Eve at the close of the day, we may obtain further acquaintance with the way in which sinners walk. They exhibited sullen hardness of heart, impenitence, and despair of forgiveness. They expressed no sorrow, nor penitence, nothing like brokenness of heart. They made no confession of sin; they uttered no cries for mercy; they expressed no wish to be restored to the favour of their offended Judge. They displayed a self-justifying temper. They showed a disposition to reflect" upon God as the cause of their disobedience. In a manner precisely similar have sinners ever since acted. II. ITS TERMINATION. It leads to destruction. That it does so, we might infer from what has taken place in the world. Application — 1. Whether some of you are not walking in this way? 2. Should any of you be convinced that you are in this dangerous way, permit me to urge you to forsake it without delay. ( E. Payson, D. D. ) The old way of the wicked "Hast thou marked the old way?" Antiquity is no guarantee for truth. It was the old way, but it was the wrong way. It was an old way, but they who ran in it perished in it just as surely as if it had been a new way of sinning entirely of their own invention: antiquity will be no consolation to those who perish by following evil precedents. I. THE WAY. First, what it was. There is no doubt that Eliphaz is here alluding to those who sinned before the flood. He is looking to what were ancient days to him. 1. Now this way, in the first place, was a way of rebellion against God. 2. In the next place, the old way was a way of selfishness. 3. The old way was a way of pride. Our mother Eve rebelled against God because she thought she knew better than God did. 4. The old way which wicked men have trodden is a way of self-righteousness. If Abel kneels by the altar, Cain will kneel by the altar also. Beware, I entreat you, for this is the old way of the Pharisee when he thanked God that he was not as other men. 5. The old way which wicked men have trodden was, in the next place, a way of unbelief. Noah was sent to tell those ancient sinners that the world would be destroyed by a flood. They thought him an old dotard, and mocked him to scorn. 6. The old way which wicked men have trodden is a way of worldliness and carelessness and procrastination. What did those men before the flood? They married and were given in marriage till the flood came and swept them all away. Eliphaz says, "Hast thou marked the way?"I want you to stop a little while, and look at that road again, and mark it anew. 1. The first thing I observe as I look into it is, that it is a very broad way. 2. Observe that it is a very popular road. The way downward to destruction is a very fashionable one, and it always will be. 3. It is a very easy way, too. You need not trouble yourself about finding the entrance into it, you can find it in the dark. 4. This old way, if you look at it, is the way in which all men naturally run. For all that, it is a most unsatisfactory road. 5. One thing more, across it here and there Divine mercy has set bars. The angel of mercy stands before you now, and bids you tarry. Why will ye die? II. THE END: "Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood." The end of these travellers was not according to their unbelief, but according to the despised truth. They would not believe Noah, but the flood came. Remember this, then, unbelief will not, laugh as it may, remove one jot of the penalty. The flood, like the destroying fire which will come upon ungodly men, was total in its destructiveness. It did not sweep away some of them, but all, and the punishments of God will not be to a few rebels, but to all. It will find out the rich in their palace

Benson Commentary Job 22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Job 22:1 . Then Eliphaz answered — Eliphaz, in this chapter, charges Job home with particular facts of cruelty and oppression, which he supposes him to be guilty of, though he cannot allege one proof of them; to which he adds the atrocious crime of atheism, and a denial or disbelief of God’s providence; and this latter he assigns as the reason of Job’s obstinacy in refusing to submit and acknowledge his guilt. He compares his wickedness to that of the mighty oppressors of the antediluvian world; to that of the inhabitants of Sodom and the cities of the plain; not obscurely intimating that his end would probably be the same as theirs, unless prevented by a speedy submission and full restitution; to which he therefore earnestly presses him, and endeavours to allure him by placing full in his view the great advantages he would probably reap from such a conduct. — Heath. Job 22:2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Job 22:2 . Can a man be profitable unto God — That is, add any thing to his perfection or felicity? namely, by his righteousness, as the next verse shows. Why then dost thou insist so much upon thy own righteousness, as if thou didst oblige God by it; or, as if he could not, without injustice, afflict thee, who supposest thyself to be a righteous person? As, or because, he that is wise — He that is a truly righteous and good man; may be profitable to himself — Does much good to himself; promotes his own peace, and honour, and happiness, by his goodness. Because a wise man receives great benefit by his virtue, shall we think that God is a gainer by it too? Job 22:3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him , that thou makest thy ways perfect? Job 22:3 . Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? — That is, any such pleasure as he needs in order to his happiness? Heath renders it, any advantage. God, we know, approves of and accepts the good actions of his people, and is often said in Scripture to delight in them; but certainly cannot be advantaged by them. He needs not us or our services. We are undone, for ever undone, without him: but he is happy, for ever happy, without us. Job 22:4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? Job 22:4 . Will he reprove thee — That is, rebuke, chastise, or punish thee; for fear of thee? — Because he is afraid lest, if he should let thee alone, thou wouldst grow too great and powerful for him: surely no. As thy righteousness cannot profit him, so thy wickedness can do him no hurt. Job 22:5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? Job 22:5 . Is not thy wickedness great? — Thy great sins are the true and only cause of thy misery. Or, the verse may be translated, Is not thy evil (thy affliction or punishment) great, because, ??? ?? , ein ketz, there is no end to thy iniquities? Are not thy calamities procured by, and in proportion to thy sins? Thy conscience tells thee they are so. And therefore thou hast no reason to accuse God, or any person but thyself. Job 22:6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Job 22:6 . For thou hast taken a pledge — Or, surely thou hast taken. He speaks thus, by way of conjecture, or strong presumption: as if he had said, When I consider thy grievous and unusual calamities, I justly conclude thou art guilty of some, or all, of these following crimes; and do thou search thy own conscience whether it be not so with thee. From thy brother — Of thy neighbour, or of thy kinsman; for naught — Without a sufficient and justifiable cause. And stripped the naked of their clothing — By taking their garments for a pledge, and thereby rendering them naked; or, by robbing them of their rights, all other injuries being comprehended under this. Job 22:7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. Job 22:8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. Job 22:8 . The mighty man had the earth — That is, he had the firm possession, or free enjoyment of it. Which is meant, either, 1st, of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person: as if he had said, The mighty man Job possessed, enlarged, and enjoyed his estate, without any compassion to the poor. Or, 2d, of other rich and potent men, who had the earth or land by Job’s kindness and courtesy. The rich were always welcome to him; his house was open to them; his land was before them, when the poor were driven away from his house and territories. The honourable man dwelt in it — Either by Job’s sentence or permission, he had a peaceable and sure possession of it, whether he had a right to it or not. Heath renders this verse, But, as for the mighty man, the whole land was for him; and thy particular favourite, he might dwell in it. Job 22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Job 22:9 . Thou hast sent widows — Whose helpless state called for thy pity; away empty — Either by denying them that relief that their poverty required, or that right which their cause deserved; or, by spoiling them of their goods, because thou knewest them to be unable to oppose thee, or to defend themselves. And the arms of the fatherless have been broken — That is, all their supports and rights, a heinous sin, but falsely charged upon Job. Job 22:10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; Job 22:10-11 . Therefore snares are round about thee — For these and the like crimes thou art encompassed with dangers and calamities. And sudden fear troubleth thee — Besides thy present miseries, thou art tormented with the dread of further and greater judgments. Or darkness, that thou canst not see — Such confusion and perplexity of mind that thou canst not discern the true cause and use of thy sufferings; or grievous calamities, often called darkness, which are such that thou canst see no way or possibility of escaping; and abundance of waters cover thee — That is, a variety of sore afflictions, frequently compared to waters. Job 22:11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. Job 22:12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! Job 22:12 . Is not God in the height of heaven? — Surely, he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And, therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that good men suffer as deeply as any others in this lower world, while the vilest of men flourish and are exalted; which would imply that all things are managed here by chance, or without any regard to justice and to just men, and not by the wise and holy providence of God. Behold the stars, how high they are — Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily observe all men and things here below. Job 22:13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? Job 22:13 . And — Or therefore, thou sayest, How doth God know? &c. — From this true and certain principle, thou drawest a false and wicked conclusion, and fanciest, perhaps, that because he is so high he minds not what is done here below: or, that he cannot discern the difference of things so very remote, through those immense and innumerable clouds which lie between the heaven and the earth. Job 22:14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. Job 22:14 . Thick clouds are a covering to him — He is surrounded, thou imaginest, with such thick clouds that they conceal us from his sight. And he walketh in the circuit of the heaven — His delight is in heaven, which is worthy of his care, but he will not burden himself with the care of earth; which was the opinion of many heathen philosophers, and, as his friends fancied, was Job’s opinion also. Job 22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Job 22:15-16 . Hast thou marked the old way? — Hebrew, ??? ???? , orach gnolam, the way of antiquity, that is, of men living in ancient times, or former ages. And, by their way, he either means their course, and common practice, or their end and success. Which were cut down out of time — Before their time; who died a violent and untimely death. Whose foundation was overflown, &c. — Who, together with their foundation the earth, and all their supports and enjoyments, were destroyed by a flood of waters. As the universal deluge was a most signal and memorable instance of God’s displeasure against wickedness and wicked men, and was, doubtless, very well known in those days, Eliphaz takes occasion to enlarge upon it, for five or six verses together, as a proper lesson (so he thought it) for his friend; and then closes it with the mention of another destruction by fire, either past or to be expected, which is described to be as general and as fatal to the wicked. Job 22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: Job 22:17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? Job 22:17 . Which said unto God, Depart from us — He repeats Job’s words, Job 21:14-15 ; but to a contrary purpose. Job alleged them to show that some men prospered, notwithstanding their professed wickedness, and Eliphaz produces them to show that they were cut off for it. And, What can the Almighty do for them? — Thus did that wicked generation, whom Noah had in vain called to repentance, as it were, defy God, contemning both his threatenings and his promises. Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things : but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. Job 22:18 . Yet he filled their houses with good things — Yet it is true, that for a time God did prosper them, but, at last, cut them off in a tremendous manner. But the counsel of the wicked, &c. — He repeats Job’s words, ( Job 21:16 ,) not without reflection: thou didst say so, but against thy own principle, that God carries himself indifferently toward good and bad; but I, who have observed God’s terrible judgments upon wicked men, have much more reason to abhor their counsels. Job 22:19 The righteous see it , and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. Job 22:19 . The righteous see it — Whom God often spares in common calamities, and gives them to see the destruction of the wicked; as Noah, Lot, &c. And are glad — Not that they insult over, or rejoice in, the ruin of any men, but because they delight in the vindication of God’s honour, and justice, and holiness, which is connected with the destruction of his enemies, and which is, and ought to be, dearer to them than all the interests of men. And the innocent laugh them to scorn — Justly deride them, for their vain and strong confidences, which are now destroyed; for their profane contempt of God’s wrath and judgments, which they now feel; and for their deep and crafty counsels, which are now frustrated and turned against themselves. Job 22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. Job 22:20 . Whereas — Or rather, seeing that, or, because, when wicked men are destroyed, they are preserved. He should have said their substance; but he changes the person, and saith, our substance; either as including himself in the number of righteous persons, and thereby intimating that he pleaded the common cause of all such, while Job pleaded the cause of the wicked; or because he would hereby thankfully acknowledge some eminent and particular preservation given to him among other righteous men. The remnant of them — All that was left undestroyed in the general calamity. The fire consumeth — He is thought by some to allude to the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah: as if he had said, Thou mayest find here and there an instance of a wicked man dying in peace. But what is that to the two great instances of the final perdition of ungodly men, the drowning the whole world, and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. It seems, however, much more natural, as Dr. Dodd observes, to understand him as referring to the last general conflagration: “for how could the destroying a little city or two be said, with any propriety, to consume the remnant; that is, the whole remainder of wicked men? when, at the very same time, Chaldea, and perhaps the greatest part of the world, was overrun with idolatry. The dissolution of the world by fire is what St. Peter calls expressly, The day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, 2 Peter 3:7 . And St. Jude, Job 22:14 , seems to say, that this was prophesied of by Enoch before the flood; and if so, must have been known to Noah, and by him, no doubt, transmitted to posterity, and so might be well known to Job and his friends.” Eliphaz, therefore, may be understood as saying, Though the judgment by water, extensive as it was, did not thoroughly purge the world, but wickedness and wicked men again sprung up, spread widely, and abounded; yet know, there shall come a time hereafter when the world shall be consumed by fire, and then the whole race and remainder of wicked men shall be delivered up, once for all, to such an absolute destruction, as that none shall ever spring from their ashes, nor shall the new world and its inhabitants know wickedness, or a defection from God any more. If this view of the passage be admitted, it will appear that the doctrine of the future dissolution of the world by fire, so plainly taught us in the New Testament, and so immediately connected with that of the resurrection, was not unknown in Job’s time, and consequently we shall have a further confirmation of the interpretation we have given of Job 19:25 , and some other passages in this book. See Peters, p. 409; and the 24th, 25th, and 26th chapters of Isaiah, where the prophet seems to speak copiously on this subject, using an expression, Job 26:11 , very like to this of Eliphaz. The fire of thine enemies, which is prepared for thine enemies, shall consume them. Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Job 22:21 . Acquaint now thyself with him — That is, with God, as appears both from Job 22:23 , where he is expressed, and from the nature of the matter in hand, there being no other way to happiness. Renew thy acquaintance with God by prayer, and repentance for all thy sins, and true humiliation under his hand, and hearty compliance with all his commands, and diligent care to serve and enjoy him. It is our honour, that we are made capable of this acquaintance; our misery, that by sin we have lost it; our privilege, that through Christ we may return to it; and our unspeakable advantage, to renew and cultivate it. And be at peace — At peace with God, and at peace with thyself; not fretful or uneasy. Good shall come unto thee — All the good thou canst desire, temporal, spiritual, eternal. Job 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. Job 22:22 . Receive the law from his mouth — Take the rule, whereby thou mayest govern thy thoughts, and words, and whole life, not from idolaters and profane heathen, whose opinion concerning God’s providence thou appearest to have embraced, nor from thy own imaginations or violent passions, which have led thee into thy present errors; but from God, and from his law, which is written in thy own mind, and from the doctrines and instructions of the wise and holy men of God, who are all of our mind in this matter. And lay up his words in thy heart — Not only hear them with thine ears, but let them sink into thy heart, being received there with hearty affection, and fixed by the serious, frequent, and practical consideration of them. Job 22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Job 22:23 . If thou return to the Almighty — The Hebrew phrase, ????? ?? ???? , tashub gnad shaddai, is emphatical, and implies a thorough turning from sin to God, so as to love him, and cleave to him, and sincerely devote a man’s self to his fear and service. Thou shalt be built up — God will repair thy ruins, and give thee more children, and bless thee with prosperity. Thou shalt put away iniquity, &c. — It is either, 1st, A spiritual promise; if thou dost sincerely repent, God will give thee grace effectually to reform thyself and family: or, 2d, A temporal promise, meaning, thou shalt put away the punishment of thy sins, as iniquity is very often used; far from thy tabernacles — From all thy dwellings, and tents, and possessions. Job 22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Job 22:24-25 . Then shalt thou lay up gold — The word ??? , batzer, here rendered gold, is a word of dubious meaning. R. Levi, indeed, makes it parallel to zahab, gold: Ab. Ezra, to cheseph, silver. “In Arabic,” says Chappelow, “it sometimes signifies some particular stones, diversified with white lines. And this, perhaps, is the true sense of the term.” As dust — In great abundance. Or, as ?? ??? , gnal gnaphar, rather means, upon the dust, or ground. It shall be so plentiful, and therefore vile, that thou shalt not lock it up in chests, but scatter it anywhere, and suffer it to lie, even upon the ground; as the stones of the brook — As if pieces of gold were but so many pebble-stones, which are to be found in or near every brook. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence — Against the incursions of neighbouring spoilers: thy wealth shall not then lie exposed, as it did to Sabeans and Chaldeans; God, by his watchful providence, shall protect thee from all dangers and calamities. And thou shalt have plenty of silver — The Hebrew, ?? Š ?????? , cheseph tognapoth, is literally, argentum virium tibi, or, the strength of silver shall be to thee: that is, shall by God’s blessing be thy defence, Ecclesiastes 7:12 ; or, as the phrase may be rendered, silver of heights, that is, high and heaped up like a mountain, Henry very properly calls our attention here to the margin, which reads gold instead of defence in the former clause of the verse, the original word being the same with that rendered gold, Job 22:24 . Thus interpreted the sense is, The Almighty shall be thy gold, and silver of strength to thee; which translation is perfectly agreeable to the Hebrew. On this the same pious author observes, “Worldlings make gold their god; saints make God their gold: they that are enriched with his favour and grace may truly be said to have abundance of the best gold, and best laid up.” Job 22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. Job 22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Job 22:26 . For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty — Thou shalt find delight, not only or chiefly in these outward comforts, but also and especially in God, whose face shall shine upon thee; and who shall give thee these things, not in anger, as he doth to wicked men, but as pledges of his love and favour to thee, and of those greater and eternal blessings which he hath in store for thee. And accordingly thou shalt delight thyself in him as worldly people delight themselves in their money, and shalt find real and continual pleasure in worshipping, obeying, and serving him in and with all his mercies. Thus these words contain a reason why he might confidently expect all those forementioned blessings, because he should set his affections on God, and possess his favour, which is the spring and foundation of all good. And lift up thy face unto God — Look up to him with cheerfulness and confidence. Job 22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Job 22:27 . Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him — Hebrew, ????? ???? , tagnter eelaiv, thou shalt pray earnestly and importunately, or, thou shalt multiply thy prayer. Under all thy burdens, in all thy wants, cares, and fears, thou shalt apply to heaven for wisdom, strength, and comfort. Thou shalt pay thy vows — Thou shalt obtain those blessings for which thou didst make vows to God, and therefore, according to thy obligation, shalt pay thy vows to him. Job 22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. Job 22:28-29 . It shall be established — Thy purposes shall not be disappointed, but ratified by God. And in all thy counsels and actions God shall give thee the light of his direction and governance, and of comfort and success. When men are cast down — When, in a time of general calamity, all are cast down round about thee, cast down in their affairs, cast down in their spirits, sinking, desponding, ready to despair; when men’s hearts fail them for fear, or, rather, according to the Hebrew, (in which there is nothing for men, and which is only ?? ??????? , chi hishpilu, cum depresserint, ) when they have cast thee down, or, when thou art cast down; when God, in the course of his providence, shall bring thee, or suffer thee to be brought, into any trouble which he sees will be good for thee; thou shalt say — Within thyself, with good confidence and assurance; There is lifting up — Or, there shall be lifting up; either, 1st, For them, who, if they repent and humble themselves, shall be preserved and restored: or, rather, for thee and thine: God will deliver thee, when others are crushed and destroyed. Hebrew, Thou shalt say, ??? , gerah, exaltation! an expression to be admired for its conciseness and comprehensiveness. Thou shalt expect exaltation in the time of depression; nay, thy depression shall be in order to, and the means of, thy exaltation. And thou shalt find that consolation in thyself, which will not only bear thee up under thy troubles, and keep thee from fainting, but lift thee up above thy troubles, and enable thee to rejoice notwithstanding them. And he — God, from whom alone cometh salvation; shall save — Temporally from the evils here mentioned, and eternally from other and infinitely greater evils; the humble person — Hebrew, ??? ????? , shach gneinaim, him that hath low or cast-down eyes; which phrase may denote, either, 1st, Humility and lowliness of mind, as pride is often expressed by high or lofty looks; and so this is a tacit reproof of Job, for his confident justification of himself: or, 2d, Lowness of state and condition, as James 1:10 . And so understood, it describes him, whose eyes and countenance are dejected by reason of great troubles and miseries. Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. Job 22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. Job 22:30 . He — Whose prerogative it is to give deliverances; shall deliver — Namely, upon thy request, as the following clause shows; the island of the innocent — Not only thyself, when thou shalt become innocent, or righteous, but, for thy sake, he will deliver the whole island, or country, in which thou dwellest: God will have so great a respect to thy innocence, that for thy sake he will deliver those that belong to thee, or live with thee, or near thee, though, in themselves, they be ripe for destruction. By the pureness of thy hands — By thy prayers, proceeding from a pure heart and conscience. So Eliphaz and his two friends, who, in this matter, were not innocent, were delivered by the pureness of Job’s hands, Job 42:8 . Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Job 22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, XIX. DOGMATIC AND MORAL ERROR Job 22:1-30 ELIPHAZ SPEAKS THE second colloquy has practically exhausted the subject of debate between Job and his friends. The three have really nothing more to say in the way of argument or awful example. It is only Eliphaz who tries to clinch the matter by directly accusing Job of base and cowardly offences. Bildad recites what may be called a short ode, and Zophar, if he speaks at all, simply repeats himself as one determined if possible to have the last word. And why this third round? While it has definite marks of its own and the closing speeches of Job are important as exhibiting his state of mind, another motive seems to be required. And the following may be suggested. A last indignity offered, last words of hard judgment spoken, Job enters upon a long review of his life, with the sense of being victorious in argument, yet with sorrow rather than exultation because his prayers are still unanswered: and during all this time the appearance of the Almighty is deferred. The impression of protracted delay deepens through the two hundred and twenty sentences of the third colloquy in which, one may say, all the resources of poetry are exhausted. A tragic sense of the silence God keeps is felt to hang over the drama, as it hangs over human life. A man vainly strives to repel the calumnies that almost break his heart. His accusers advance from innuendo to insolence. He seeks in the way of earnest thought escape from their false reasoning; he appeals from men to God, from God in nature and providence to God in supreme and glorious righteousness behind the veil of sense and time. Unheard apparently by the Almighty, he goes back upon his life and rehearses the proofs of his purity, generosity, and faith; but the shadow remains. It is the trial of human patience and the evidence that neither a man’s judgment of his own life nor the judgment expressed by other men can be final. God must decide, and for His decision men must wait. The author has felt in his own history this delay of heavenly judgment, and he brings it out in his drama. He has also seen that on this side death there can be no final reading of the judgment of God on a human life. We wait for God; He comes in a prophetic utterance which all must reverently accept; yet the declaration is in general terms. When at last the Almighty speaks from the storm the righteous man and his accusers alike have to acknowledge ignorance and error; there is an end of self defence and of condemnation by men, but no absolute determination of the controversy. "The vision is for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." { Habakkuk 2:3-4 } Eliphaz begins with a singular question, which he is moved to state by the whole tenor of Job’s reasoning and particularly by his hope that God would become his Redeemer. "Can a man be profitable unto God?" Not quite knowing what he asks, meaning simply to check the boldness of Job’s hope, he advances to the brink of an abyss of doubt. You, Job, he seems to say, a mere mortal creature, afflicted enough surely to know your own insignificance, how can you build yourself up in the notion that God is interested in your righteousness? You think God believes in you and will justify you. How ignorant you must be if you really suppose your goodness of any consequence to the Almighty, if you imagine that by making your ways perfect, that is, claiming an integrity which man cannot possess, you will render any service to the Most High. Man is too small a creature to be of any advantage to God. Man’s respect, faithfulness, and devotion are essentially of no profit to Him. One must say that Eliphaz opens a question of the greatest interest both in theology or the knowledge of God, and in religion or the right feelings of man toward God. If man as the highest energy, the finest blossoming, and most articulate voice of the creation, is of no consequence to his Creator, if it makes no difference to the perfection or complacency of God in Himself whether man serves the end of his being or not, whether man does or fails to do the right he was made to love; if it is for man’s sake only that the way of life is provided for him and the privilege of prayer given him, -then our glorifying of God is not a reality but a mere form of speech. The only conclusion possible would be that even when we serve God earnestly in love and sacrifice we are in point of fact serving ourselves. If one wrestles with evil, clings to the truth, renounces all for righteousness’ sake, it is well for him. If he is hard hearted and base, his life will decay and perish. But, in either case, the eternal calm, the ineffable completeness of the Divine nature are unaffected. Yea, though all men and all intelligent beings were overwhelmed in eternal ruin the Creator’s glory would remain the same, like a full-orbed sun shining over a desolate universe. "We are such stuff As dreams are made of, and our little life Is rounded by a sleep." Eliphaz thinks it is for man’s sake alone God has created him, surrounded him with means of enjoyment and progress, given him truth and religion, and laid on him the responsibilities that dignify his existence. But what comes then of the contention that, because Job has sinned, desolation and disease have come to him from the Almighty? If man’s righteousness is of no account to God, why should his transgressions be punished? Creating men for their own sake, a beneficent Maker would not lay upon them duties the neglect of which through ignorance must needs work their ruin. We know from the opening scenes of the book that the Almighty took pleasure in His servant. We see Him trying Job’s fidelity for the vindication of His own creative power and heavenly grace against the scepticism of such as the Adversary. Is a faithful servant not profitable to one whom he earnestly serves? Is it all the same to God whether we receive His truth or reject His covenant? Then the urgency of Christ’s redemptive work is a fiction. Satan is not only correct in regard to Job but has stated the sole philosophy of human life. We are to fear and serve God for what we get; and our notions of doing bravely in the great warfare on behalf of God’s kingdom are the fancies of men who dream. "Can a man be profitable unto God? Surely he that is wise is profitable to himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to Him that thou makest thy ways perfect? Is it for thy fear of Him that He reproveth thee, That He entereth with thee into judgment?" Regarding this what are we to say? That it is false, an ignorant attempt to exalt God at the expense of man, to depreciate righteousness in the human range for the sake of maintaining the perfection and self-sufficiency of God. But the virtues of man, love, fidelity, truth, purity, justice, are not his own. The power of them in human life is a portion of the Divine energy, for they are communicated and sustained by the Divine Spirit. Were the righteousness, love, and faith instilled into the human mind to fail of their result, were they, instead of growing and yielding fruit, to decay and die, it would be waste of Divine power; the moral cosmos would be relapsing into a chaotic state. If we affirm that the obedience and redemption of man do not profit the Most High, then this world and the inhabitants of it have been called into existence by the Creator in grim jest, and He is simply amusing Himself with our hazardous game. With the same view of the absolute sovereignty of God in creation and providence on which Eliphaz founds in this passage, Jonathan Edwards sees the necessity of escaping the conclusion to which these verses point. He argues that God’s delight in the emanations of His fulness in the work of creation shows "His delight in the infinite fulness of good there is in Himself and the supreme respect and regard He has for Himself." An objector may say, he proceeds, "If it could be supposed that God needed anything; or that the goodness of His creatures could extend to Him; or that they could be profitable to Him, it might be fit that God should make Himself and His own interest His highest and last end in creating the world. But seeing that God is above all need and all capacity of being added to and advanced, made better and happier in any respect; to what purpose should God make Himself His end, or seek to advance Himself in any respect by any of His works?" The answer is-"God may delight with true and great pleasure in beholding that beauty which is an image and communication of His own beauty, an expression and manifestation of His own loveliness. And this is so far from being an instance of His happiness not being in and from Himself, that it is an evidence that He is happy in Himself, or delights and has pleasure in His own beauty." Nor does this argue any dependence of God on the creature for happiness. "Though He has real pleasure in the creature’s holiness and happiness; yet this is not properly any pleasure which He receives from the creature. For these things are what He gives the creature." Here to a certain extent the reasoning is cogent and meets the difficulty of Eliphaz; and at present it is not necessary to enter into the other difficulty which has to be faced when the Divine reprobation of sinful life needs explanation. It is sufficient to say that this is a question even more perplexing to those who hold with Eliphaz than to those who take the other view. If man for God’s glory has been allowed a real part in the service of eternal righteousness, his failure to do the part of which he is capable, to which he is called, must involve his condemnation. So far as his will enters into the matter he is rightly held accountable, and must suffer for neglect. Passing to the next part of Eliphaz’s address we find it equally astray for another reason. He asks "Is not thy wickedness great?" and proceeds to recount a list of crimes which appear to have been charged against Job in the base gossip of ill-doing people. Is not thy wickedness great, And no limit to thy iniquities? For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought And stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary. And thou hast withholden bread from the famished. The man of might-his is the earth; And he that is in honour dwelt therein. Thou hast sent widows away empty, And the arms of the orphans have been broken. The worst here affirmed against Job is that he has overborne the righteous claims of widows and orphans. Bildad and Zophar made a mistake in alleging that he had been a robber and a freebooter. Yet is it less unfriendly to give ear to the cruel slanders of those who in Job’s day of prosperity had not obtained from him all they desired and are now ready with their complaints? No doubt the offences specified are such as might have been committed by a man in Job’s position and excused as within his right. To take a pledge for debt was no uncommon thing. When water was scarce, to withhold it even from the weary was no extraordinary baseness. Vambery tells us that on the steppes he has seen father and son fighting almost to the death for the dregs of a skin of water. Eliphaz, however, a good man, counts it no more than duty to share this necessary of life with any fainting traveller, even if the wells are dry and the skins are nearly empty. He also makes it a crime to keep back corn in the year of famine. He says truly that the man of might, doing such things, acts disgracefully. But there was no proof that Job had been guilty of this kind of inhumanity, and the gross perversion of justice to which Eliphaz condescends recoils on himself. It does not always happen so within our knowledge. Pious slander gathered up and retailed frequently succeeds. And Eliphaz endeavours to make good his opinion by showing providence to be for it; he keeps the ear open to any report that will confirm what is already believed; and the circulating of such a report may destroy the usefulness of a life, the usefulness which is denied. Take a broader view of the same controversy. Is there no exaggeration in the charges thundered sometimes against poor human nature? Is it not often thought a pious duty to extort confession of sins men never dreamed of committing, so that they may be driven to a repentance that shakes life to its centre and almost unhinges the reason? With conviction of error, unbelief, and disobedience the new life must begin. Yet religion is made unreal by the attempt to force on the conscience and to extort from the lips an acknowledgment of crimes which were never intended and are perhaps far apart from the whole drift of the character. The truthfulness of John the Baptist’s preaching was very marked. He did not deal with imaginary sins. And when our Lord spoke of the duties and errors of men either in discourse or parable, He never exaggerated. The sins He condemned were all intelligible to the reason of those addressed, such as the conscience was bound to own, must recognise as evil things, dishonouring to the Almighty. Having declared Job’s imaginary crimes, Eliphaz exclaims, "Therefore snares are round about thee and sudden fear troubleth thee." With the whole weight of assumed moral superiority he bears down upon the sufferer. He takes upon him to interpret providence, and every word is false. Job has clung to God as his Friend. Eliphaz denies him the right, cuts him off as a rebel from the grace of the King. Truly, it may be said, religion is never in greater danger than when it is upheld by hard and ignorant zeal like this. Then, in the passage beginning at the twelfth verse, the attempt is made to show Job how he had fallen into the sins he is alleged to have committed. "Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the code of the stars how high they are And thou saidst-What doth God know? Can He judge through thick darkness? Thick clouds are a covering to Him that He seeth not, And He walketh on the round of heaven." Job imagined that God whose dwelling place is beyond the clouds and the stars could not see what he did. To accuse him thus is to pile offence upon injustice, for the knowledge of God has been his continual desire. Finally, before Eliphaz ends the accusation, be identifies Job’s frame of mind with the proud indifference of those whom the deluge swept away. Job had talked of the prosperity and happiness of men who had not God in all their thoughts. Was he forgetting that dreadful calamity? Wilt thou keep the old way Which wickedmen have trodden? Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream: Who said to God, Depart from us; And what can the Almighty do unto us? Yet He filled their houses with good things: But the counsel of the wicked is far from me! One who chose to go on in the way of transgressors would share their fate; and in the day of his disaster as of theirs the righteous should be glad and the innocent break into scornful laughter. So Eliphaz closes, finding it difficult to make out his case, yet bound as he supposes to do his utmost for religion by showing the law of the vengeance of God. And, this done, he pleads and promises once more in the finest passage that falls from his lips:- Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace: Thereby good shall come Unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in thy heart. If thou return to Shaddai, thou shalt be built up; If thou put iniquity far from thy tents: And lay thy treasure in the dust, And among the stones of the streams the gold of Ophir; Then shall Shaddai be thy treasure And silver in plenty unto thee. At last there seems to be a strain of spirituality. "Acquaint now thyself with God and be at peace." Reconciliation by faith and obedience is the theme. Eliphaz is ignorant of much; yet the greatness and majesty of God, the supreme power which must be propitiated occupy his thoughts, and he does what he can to lead his friend out of the storm into a harbour of safety. Though even in this strophe there, mingles a taint of sinister reflection, it is yet far in advance of anything Job has received in the way of consolation. Admirable in itself is the picture of the restoration of a reconciled life from which unrighteousness is put far away. He seems indeed to have learned something at last from Job. Now he speaks of one who in his desire for the favour and friendship of the Most High sacrifices earthly treasure, flings away silver and gold as worthless. No doubt it is ill-gotten wealth to which he refers, treasure that has a curse upon it. Nevertheless one is happy to find him separating so clearly between earthly riches and heavenly treasure, advising the sacrifice of the lower for what is infinitely higher. There is even yet hope of Eliphaz, that he may come to have a spiritual vision of the favour and friendship of. the Almighty. In all he says here by way of promise there is not a word of renewed temporal prosperity. Returning to Shaddai in obedience Job will pray and have his prayer answered. Vows he has made in the time of trouble shall be redeemed, for the desired aid shall come. Beyond this there shall be, in the daily life, a strength, decision, and freedom previously unknown. "Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee." The man who is at length in the right way of life, with God for his ally, shall form his plans and be able to carry them out. "When they cast down, thou shalt say, Uplifting! And the humble person He shall save. He will deliver the man not innocent: Yea he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thine hands." True, in the future experience of Job there may be disappointment and trouble. Eliphaz cannot but see that the ill will of the rabble may continue long, and perhaps he is doubtful of the temper of his own friends. But God will help His servant who returns to humble obedience. And having been himself tried Job will intercede for those in distress, perhaps on account of their sin, and his intercession will prevail with God. Put aside the thought that all this is said to Job, and it is surely a counsel of wisdom. To the proud and self-righteous it shows the way of renewal. Away with the treasures, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, that keep the soul from its salvation. Let the Divine love be precious to thee and the Divine statutes thy joy. Power to deal with life, to overcome difficulties, to Serve thy generation shall then be thine. Standing securely in God’s grace thou shalt help the weary and heavy laden. Yet Eliphaz cannot give the secret of spiritual peace. He does not really know the trouble at the heart of human life. We need for our Guide One who has borne the burden of a sorrow which had nothing to do with the loss of worldly treasure but with the unrest perpetually gnawing at the heart of humanity, who "bore our sin in His own body unto the tree" and led captivity captive. What the old world could not know is made clear to eyes that have seen the cross against the falling night, and a risen Christ in the fresh Easter morning. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.