Third Time Is Not a Charm (Job 22)

In chapter 22, a third cycle of dialogue is begun. Eliphaz starts things, as he had before. But we continue to see an escalation. At first, he had said that Job must be unknowingly guilty. Then he had begun to assume that Job must be among the wicked. Now, he outright accuses Job of wrongdoing! He even recites a list of all the sins that he is sure Job has committed. 

Eliphaz makes a sarcastic argument in verse 4, “Is it because of your reverence that God reproves you, that He enters into judgement against you?” The irony is, as we have been shown behind the scenes at the beginning of the book, that the answer is yes. The story has told us that, precisely because Job is so good and reverent, he is being tested by the devil in a bet or contest with God! 

We may like to make ourselves feel better that the poor, the abused, the mistreated and the downtrodden are in their sad condition through their own actions—that they deserve what they get. But, if nothing else, we should learn from the Book of Job that we can’t judge with any confidence. We ought to approach people with mercy and grace—the mercy and grace that we have received—rather than judgement and condescension. 

Even more troubling, though, is Eliphaz’s theology about suffering and the means to salvation from such suffering. He teaches that repentance is not just the escape from the judgement of sin, but potentially from any suffering at all. And, in verse 30, he appears to be saying that good works—or doing good in general—is the way to salvation. This is an example of a place where the Bible is not teaching something just because a character voices a belief. The rest of Scripture clearly teaches a different story. And Job is clear that—sometimes—bad things happen to people independent of what they do, even if it mostly good.