Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Job+022
CHAPTER 22 (ESV)
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:…
21 “Agree with God, and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;
if you remove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in the dust,
and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty
and lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;
but he saves the lowly.
30 He delivers even the one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
REFLECTION:
This is the third and last time that Eliphaz has spoken to Job. In the first conversation (cf. Chapters 4-5), Eliphaz mentioned Job’s good deeds and carefully hinted that he needed to repent for some sins. This time, he didn’t say a new point, just said it more specifically. He could never change his conviction that suffering is God’s punishment for human evil, so he raised several sins that Job might commit. He promised that if Job confessed his guilt and repented, he would find peace and revival. Job’s three friends showed several times that they had mastered some of God’s truths, but wrongly applied them to life and caused harm to others. Eliphaz was right. We ask God for forgiveness when we sin, but his statement does not apply to Job, because Job has sought God’s forgiveness and he has always had a close relationship with God. When we are dealing with our brothers and sisters in the church today, we must take special care to avoid making the mistakes of Job’s three friends.
PRAYER:
God, I too have made the mistake of Job’s three friends, thinking that I possessed all the truth. However, I only knew part of the truth and mistakenly applied it in my life, causing harm to others. Please forgive my offenses. When interacting with the brothers and sisters in the church, help me to better understand their situations, pray for them, seek Your will, and speak the truth in love according to the teachings of the Bible, avoiding the error of judging others.
HYMN:
Speak, O Lord – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubRlJj8xkds
