​(No 42) Eliphaz’s Final Speech 

 

He’s Still Doing It!

Eliphaz is still digging deep into Job's soul. We saw it in Chapter 4 and 5―his first speech. We saw it in Chapter 15―his second speech. And it continues here in his third and final speech.

 

Job 22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said

Job 22:2 Can a man be profitable unto God,

as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

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?

Yes, Eliphaz, a man can be profitable to God. A wise man does profit from the proper use of his wisdom. That’s why wisdom should be sought after.

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom,
and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge,
and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver,
and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord giveth wisdom:
out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding (Prov 2:2-6). 

Yes, Eliphaz, it does bring pleasure to God when His people do righteousness.

Let them shout for joy, and be glad,

that favour my righteous cause:

yea, let them say continually,

Let the Lord be magnified,

which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant (Psa 35:27).

 

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
in those that hope in his mercy (Psa 147:11).

 

For it is God which worketh in you both

to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). 

 

God delights in setting forth His righteous before the scrutinizing eyes of the watching ones in heaven. We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men (1 Cor 4:9). God delights when the righteous show forth His character. Remember, it was the Lord Himself Who set Job forth in the councils of heaven. God drew attention to Job from the very outset of this book. God initiated the challenge (subsequently brought on by Satan). God knew Job would stand righteously and faithfully. Yes, Eliphaz, God is pleased when His righteous stand righteously.

 

Job 22:4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee?

will he enter with thee into judgment? 

Job 22:5 Is not thy wickedness great?

and thine iniquities infinite?

Again, Eliphaz is certain Job’s great wickedness, which is presently unseen by those around him, is seen by God―Who sees everything. In his mind, nothing could account for the horrid things which have happened to Job except Job’s great sin (for which God is punishing him). Eliphaz has been singing this song all along through his three speeches.

Job 22:6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought,
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
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 22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

What Eliphaz does now do differently is name the sins which he believes Job may have forgotten that he has done, or, being fully aware of them, is deliberately hiding them from people’s eyes.

a.) You have stolen from people.

b.) You have stripped the naked of their clothing.

c.) You have not given water to the thirsty.

d.) You have not provided bread to the hungry.

e.) You have paid bribes to the mighty and wealthy.

f.)  You have not assisted the widows.

g.) You have not taken care of the orphans.

To make his point, Eliphaz is covering all his bases.

 

Job 22:10 Therefore snares are round about thee,

and sudden fear troubleth thee; 

Job 22:11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see;

and abundance of waters cover thee.

Eliphaz is pleased to assure Job that he has finally fallen into God’s trap. This is why Job is afraid. This is why he cannot see beyond the mess of his own making. “God has finally caught up with you,” Eliphaz is quick to assert.

 

Job 22:12 Is not God in the height of heaven?

and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! 

Job 22:13 And thou sayest, How doth God know?

can he judge through the dark cloud? 

Job 22:14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not;

and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. 

Eliphaz wants to remind Job that “God sees everything even though He is way, way up in heights of heaven. From even beyond the stars, God can see your sin. There is nothing you could ever do, Job, to hide your sins from God. Even though He is busy with the affairs of running the universe, He still sees what you don’t want Him to see.” 

 

Job 22:15 Hast thou marked the old way

which wicked men have trodden? 

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?

Eliphaz continues, “Just like the people before the Flood thought they could get away with their sinning and living a life apart from God, they crossed the line they never should have crossed. Even they thought God was too far away to see them.”

 

Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things:

but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 

Job 22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad:

and the innocent laugh them to scorn. 

Job 22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down,

but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. 

“Yet God went right on taking care of the rebels, providing for their daily needs, until the time came when they passed His threshold―He had marked out a certain amount of time for them to change their ways―and they didn’t.” Eliphaz admits he cannot understand the logic of a sinner’s way of thinking, but acknowledges they were only exercising their choice. The righteous see the wisdom of accepting God’s mercy, and so live accordingly, while sinners laugh at them for their foolishness. The sinners go on their merry way until it’s too late. They ultimately realize they spurned their opportunity for eternal life as fire falls to consume them.   

 

Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: 

thereby good shall come unto thee. 

And now Eliphaz speaks one of the most memorable of verses in all of Scripture. Eliphaz begs Job to come back to God and make things right with Him and be at peace. “End your rebellion, Job. End the warfare. Lay down your weapons. Be at peace with God. You say you know Him, but it is obvious to all around you that you do not.” 

 

Job 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth,

and lay up his words in thine heart. 

Job 22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,

thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 

Job 22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,

and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 

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 22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee,

and thou shalt pay thy vows. 

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 22:29 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.

The final appeal to his friend Job’s heart is “If you really, really knew Him you would love Him. He would forgive you for your sins, and make everything right between the two of you. Then, good things would happen to you―not the bad things as you have been experiencing. You will be built up again. You will delight in God and live a happy life again. You will know that He hears your prayers. You will again enjoy doing good for people again, not hurting them. You will be satisfied with your life, once more.”  

 

What Eliphaz Did not Know

Eliphaz thought he knew Job’s heart so well.

Eliphaz did not know Job at all.

Eliphaz thought he knew God so well.

Eliphaz. perhaps, did not know God as well as he thought he did.

Eliphaz did not know Satan at all―and that is certain!

Eliphaz did not know what was going on in this story at all.

Eliphaz pleaded with Job to put an end to all his evil.

Job had no evil (to be put away).

Eliphaz affirmed that if he was innocent God would gladly hear his prayers.

Job was innocent.

Eliphaz reminded Job to do what was right.

Job was doing what was right. 

 

What Eliphaz Did Wrong

Eliphaz accused Job of walking in the paths of evil people.

Eliphaz asserted that Job had rejected God, when, in fact, Job had not.

Job had never challenged God.

Eliphaz implored Job to humbly return to God.

Job had never left God.

Eliphaz was trying to manipulate Job into repenting falsely.

Job did not need to return to God.

Job had no unrighteousness to be removed.

 

Job was Living Close to God  

The beauty of the Book of Job is that Job was living closer to God than anyone can imagine. The heart of God and the heart of Job beat as one. There was nothing betwixt them. What Job enjoyed in his day-by-day experience with God is what we may enjoy. Job had nothing we can't have. God is wishing that all His people would live as Job did. God has wished that for His people through all time. And He is wishing it still. The message of Job to you and me is―if Job could do it―we can too. All God's people in the last days will be doing it.

 

This is my prayer. Won’t it be your prayer as well?

 

 

Please send questions or comments to Will Hardin at P O Box 24 Owenton KY 40359 or use the comments via Google section below. (You must be signed in to Google to do so).