Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
“Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise person benefit him?
What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.
You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
though you were a powerful man, owning land—
an honored man, living on it.
And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
“Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?
Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’
Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked have trod?
They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,
‘Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.’
“Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.
He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
- Job 22:1-30
Job 22:2-4, 12-14 ”This counselor repeated the emphasis on the almighty nature of God, saying that God was so lofty and transcendent that He had no direct concern at all with Job. God didn’t care personally about his complaints and claims to righteousness. God was not involved in the trivia of his life.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
The Message
This starts the third round of accusations. They beat around the bush for a while. Then they started chopping away at the bush. Now they are going in for the kill.
In military training, I was interrogated to see how hard it would be to get me to crack. Was there abuse involved? Yes. The instructor was only limited in not making lasting marks. I wonder if my breathing problems are caused by scar tissue from the cartilage between the ribcage and breastbone being loosened and then healed a couple of times. Sure, given time, it heals on its own, but is there scar tissue?
In getting this far into these accusations, it reminds me of those times. Keep beating the dead horse and maybe the dead horse will decide to change his story.
But the first question is profound for the third interrogation by Eliphaz. Does God need us?
God is complete. God needs nothing. But what did God have? He had angels that could not sin against Him. Yes, one third of the angels fell with Satan, but the two-thirds had unfailing loyalty to God.
And God loved so much that He was not satisfied with beings that obeyed simply because that was their nature. God wanted to create something that would choose to love Him in return. Thus, Adam and Eve had to have a choice. And in choosing unwisely, the earth, mankind, and everything God created was sent off course. And the only way to individually get our individual course back on track is to freely come to God and beg for forgiveness and surrender to Him. We are saved by believing and trusting in Jesus because Jesus paid the price that should have been paid by us. We owe Him everything.
So, the question by Eliphaz should make us think. God does not need us, but He created us for His own glory. For when we truly turn our back on this world and turn to Him, He is glorified.
So, are we a benefit to God? Yes, for we, of our own choice, worship and praise Him, and God enjoys the sweet aroma of that worship. But God does not need us. For even our worship comes from the gifts that He freely gives us.
And then, Job is accused of withholding water from those in need and demanding security. If those things were true, then the praises God said of Job to Satan in the first chapter would be false and God does not lie. Thus, we know Eliphaz is not telling the truth. But has Eliphaz heard this from gossip? Eliphaz may be repeating what he heard from people who were not friends of Job and were jealous of Job’s wealth.
But after the 14th verse, Eliphaz thinks he has brought charges against Job that will condemn him. So, will Job continue on this folly that he is innocent? The true innocent will sit back and see the destruction of the wicked.
I do not think we would hear this argument today, especially not from Hollywood. Their message is that wickedness is not bad. It is simply misunderstood. Hollywood is doing the work for Satan. They make some sin ambiguous and then praise other sin. Isaiah 5:20 states, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Eliphaz is not in that camp. He feels that the wicked will fall, and Job must be suffering as part of the fall from his wicked ways.
But Eliphaz leaves an olive branch for which Job could clasp, if he only returned to God, and of course, confessed his wrongdoing. Eliphaz ends the chapter dreaming of the riches that Job has in store by confessing. But since Job had not done what Eliphaz accused him of doing, would it not be wrong to make a false confession?
And now let us sing.
The following song is I Set My Hope. This is from Keith and Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom. Lord, we suffer. You are just, Lord. The wicked will not prosper in the end. And confessing falsely is an injustice. Yes, we have sinned. We do not deserve the gifts from You. That is why it is called Grace. You deserve You judgment without Christ’s cleansing blood. That is called Your Mercy. Praise Your Holy Name. In thy Name we pray.
Amen
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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