Job 22:12-30

22:12 Is not God in the height of heaven? God dwells in heaven in I Kings 8:30, 39, 43, 49; Psalm 2:4; 11:4; 33:13; 103:19; 113:5. Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!- God is so exalted that He is far above the most remote and massive star. The emphasis is on the greatness of God and the majesty of His dwelling place. In Ps. 113:5-6 God even lowers himself to look upon the affairs of men. God’s exalted nature is a call for reverence for Him (Isa. 40:22, 26; 57:15). Jer. 23:23-24 says God is both near and not far off. He is above and beyond us and He fills heaven and earth. God is more distant than the farthest star or remotest planet and yet He is nearer than the air we breathe (Acts 17:27). 22:22 Please receive instruction from His mouth- Instruction is the word torah. Torah often indicates God’s revelation through Moses. This is the only time this word appears in Job. What does the Torah consist of here? It is used to describe wisdom teaching (Prov. 1:8; 3:1; 4:2; 6:20, 23; 7:2; 13:14) and wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from His mouth (Prov. 2:6). In Proverbs the verb receive, lakah, often describes one’s response to wisdom teaching (1:3; 2:1; 4:10; 8:10; 10:8; 13:10; 21:11; 24:32). 22:24 And place your gold in the dust- He accuses Job of putting trust in material possessions (Ps. 119:36; Prov. 11:4). Wisdom is more valuable than silver and gold (Ps. 119:72, 127; Prov. 3:14-15; 8:10-11, 19; 16:16). Job disavows any sin in this matter of trusting in wealth in 31:24-25. And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,- Ophir was apparently the most valuable gold (Job 28:16; I Kings 9:28; 10:11; 22:48; I Chron. 29:4; II Chron. 9:10; Ps. 45:9; Isa. 13:12). We have not been able to identify where Ophir was with certainty. Eliphaz is telling Job to put back his riches where he obtained them. Doing these renounces any claim upon him that gold has and will involve giving up all the sins that Eliphaz has accused him of in 22:6-9. There are a couple of significant wordplays in this verse. The word translated gold is the word beser. The word translated among the stones in the next line is besur. The word dust, aphar, sounds like the word for Ophir, which is transliterated from Hebrew. 22:25 Then the Almighty will be your gold- God is a blessing more precious than gold (Ps. 73:25-26). Rid yourself of all treasure and make God your treasure (Matt. 19:21). Was Job content to let God be His treasure? (1:9-11). It is interesting that it is Eliphaz who utters this line. Eliphaz’ statement reflects the meaning of his name; My God is gold. And choice silver to you- While great wealth brings great security (at least imagined; Prov. 18:10-11) and can bring honor, God has more to give to give Job than that (II Chron. 25:8-10). 22:26 For then you will delight in the Almighty- The verb delight, anog, is also used in Ps. 37:4 and Isa. 58:14 for delighting in the LORD (Ps. 1:2; 112:1; Isa. 61:10). Eliphaz is pointing to a transformation of Job’s desires. And lift your face to God- 10:15-16; 11:15. The sins of Ezra and his people made him embarrassed to lift up his face to God in Ezra 9:6. If Job delights in the Almighty, he will once again be able to lift up his face to Him. Lifting up one’s face indicates victory in battle (Judges 8:28; Ps. 27:5-6) or acceptance by a superior (Esther 2:9, 17; Jer. 52:31). It means to be able to look at one with a clean conscience (II Sam. 2:22).