Like any effective attorney, Eliphaz had the case well in hand and his brief all prepared. He made three serious accusations against Job: he is a sinner (Job 22:1–11), he is hiding his sins (vv. 12–20), and he must confess his sins and repent before God can help him (vv. 21–30).
Job is a sinner (Job 22:1–11). Eliphaz can’t resist shooting a sarcastic barb at Job. “Is it for your piety that he [God] rebukes you and brings charges against you?” (v. 4 niv) Courts don’t try people for their righteousness but for their lawlessness! Therefore, since God has sent terrible judgments upon Job, he must be guilty of sin. “Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?” (v. 5 niv) But Eliphaz missed the point that Job had been making: “Why does God send the punishment before He arrests me, reads the indictment, and conducts the trial?” It all seemed unfair.
Eliphaz first accused Job of the sin of pride (vv. 1–3). Job was acting as though his character and conduct were important to God and beneficial to Him in some way. Eliphaz’s theology centered around a distant God who was the Judge of the world but not the Friend of sinners.
But Job’s character and conduct were important to God, for God was using Job to silence the devil. Neither Job nor his three friends knew God’s hidden plan, but Job had faith to believe that God was achieving some purpose in his life and would one day vindicate him. Furthermore, the character and behavior of God’s people are important to the Lord because His people bring Him either joy or sorrow (1 Thess. 4:1; Heb. 11:5; Gen. 6:5–6; Ps. 37:23). He is not a passive, distant God who does not identify with His people but the God who delights in them as they delight in Him (Ps. 18:19; Isa. 63:9; Heb. 4:14–16).
As God’s children, we should follow the example of Jesus, who said, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Then the Father will be able to say of us as He said of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).
Along with pride, Eliphaz accused Job of covetousness (Job 22:6). He was a greedy man who abused people to acquire more wealth. He used his power and reputation (v. 8) to intimidate people and rob them. In the Mosaic law, a creditor could take security from a debtor but not anything that would jeopardize his work, his health, or his dignity as a human being (Ex. 22:25–27; Deut. 24:10–13). Eliphaz accused Job of taking security from his brothers when none was needed, and he left people naked because he took their clothing from them until they paid their debts!
Eliphaz didn’t even live in Job’s territory, so how would he know how Job had treated people in his business dealings? Had some of Job’s enemies passed these stories to Eliphaz? If so, he should have investigated the charges before announcing them publicly. The whole thing was pure fabrication, a feeble attempt to discredit a godly man who had helped many people (Job 29:11–17).
Job’s third great sin was lack of mercy and compassion (22:7–9), which was a sin of omission. No wonder the Lord was not answering Job’s prayers! “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard” (Prov. 21:13). Job had turned away the weary, the hungry, the widows, and the orphans, instead of sharing with them out of his rich resources. Since showing hospitality is one of the first laws of the East, Job’s sin was especially heinous.
Throughout Scripture, God shows a great concern for the poor, especially widows and orphans, and expresses anger at those who oppress the poor and exploit them (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 24:17, 26:12). The prophets scathingly denounced leaders, both political and religious, who oppressed the needy and robbed the poor (Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6; 22:1–4; Amos 4:1; 5:11; 8:4–10). Jesus had a special concern for the poor (Luke 4:16–19; Matt. 11:5), and the early church followed His example (Gal. 2:10; James 1:27; 2:1–9; Acts 6:1; 1 Tim. 5:1–16). The church today needs to follow that example.
Eliphaz clinched his first point with evidence anybody could see: Job was suffering great trials, which were the consequences of his many sins (Job 22:10–11). Why else would he be in darkness, danger, and the depths of suffering? This was the hand of God indicating that Job was a godless man.
The people who were standing around and listening to the discussion must have been shocked when they heard these accusations against their neighbor Job. They must have looked at each other and asked, “How can this be? Why didn’t we know about Job’s wickedness?” Eliphaz’s next point answered their question.
Job is hiding his sins (Job 22:12–20). In other words, Job was a hypocrite, a statement that was made—or hinted at—more than once since the discussion began. “The hypocrite’s hope shall perish,” said Bildad (8:13). “For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate,” said Eliphaz (15:34). And Zophar said, “The joy of the hypocrite [is] but for a moment” (20:5).
A hypocrite is not a person who fails to reach his desired spiritual goals, because all of us fail in one way or another. A hypocrite is a person who doesn’t even try to reach any goals, but he makes people think that he has. His profession and his practice never meet. The Puritan preacher Stephen Charnock said, “It is a sad thing to be Christians at a supper, heathens in our shops, and devils in our closets.”
Eliphaz advised Job to look up (22:12–14) and realize that nobody can hide anything from God. A hypocrite encourages himself in his sin by saying, “The Lord doesn’t know and doesn’t care” (see Ps. 10). But God sees and knows all things, and the hypocrite can’t hide his sins from the Lord. God may not judge immediately, but eventually judgment will fall.
Then Eliphaz advised Job to look back (vv. 15–18) and remember what has happened to sinners in the past. Job had made it clear that he had nothing to do with “the counsel of the wicked” (21:16), but Eliphaz accused him of walking on that very path (22:15). History shows that hypocrites can hide their sins for only so long, and then their sins find them out. God is not only patient with them, but He is good to them and fills their houses with good things (v. 18). The fact that Job was a very wealthy man was evidence of God’s kindness and not Job’s righteousness.
Poor Job! No matter which way he turned or how he tried to reason with his accusers, he was wasting his time and energy. First they said that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked, and now Eliphaz claims that God blesses the hypocrite and fills his house with good things!
The tragedy of hypocrisy is not only that God sends judgment, but that hypocrisy brings its own judgment. It destroys character; and when character is gone, when the salt has lost its flavor (see Matt. 5:13), what does a person have left?
It has well been said that the highest reward for a faithful life is not what you get for it but what you become by it. Bishop Brooke Westcott said, “Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow weak, and at last some crisis shows what we have become.”
Job must repent of his sins (Job 22:21–30). Eliphaz was sincere in his appeal to Job, just as Zophar was sincere when he asked Job to return to God (11:13–20). “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you” (22: niv). The word translated “prosperity” means “good of every kind.” Of course, a hypocrite should return to God, not just to get out of trouble and restore his or her fortunes, but to please and glorify God in the rebuilding of character and service.
What does it mean to “submit to God”? It means to stop fighting God and accept His terms of peace (James 4:1–10). It also means to listen to His Word and obey what God says (Job 22:22). A sinner must put away sin (v. 23) and make God his greatest treasure (v. 25); he must pray and seek God’s face (v. 27).
What does God promise to those who repent and return to Him? God will restore them (v. 23) and make Himself precious to them (v. 25) so that all their delight will be in the Lord and not in earthly wealth or pleasure (v. 26). God will answer their prayers and enable them to do His will (v. 27) as He gives direction and light (v. 28). Because they are restored to fellowship with God, they can help others who have fallen (vv. 29–30).
Eliphaz says some excellent things in this appeal, but he says them to the wrong man. When we get to the end of the book, we will discover that it is Eliphaz and his two friends who are out of fellowship with God. They will need Job to intercede for them so they can be restored (42:7–10).
If you were Job, how would you respond to this appeal?