TEXT [Commentary]

  3.   A repentant Job would prosper (22:21-30)

21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace;

then things will go well for you.

22 Listen to his instructions,

and store them in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—

so clean up your life.

24 If you give up your lust for money

and throw your precious gold into the river,

25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure.

He will be your precious silver!

26 “Then you will take delight in the Almighty

and look up to God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him.

28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,

and light will shine on the road ahead of you.

29 If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’

God will save them.

30 Even sinners will be rescued;

they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”

NOTES

22:21 Submit to God, and you will have peace. Eliphaz came back to a point he had made at the start of his speech (22:2); there is a benefit to the wise who live righteously. The same verb (sakan [TH5532, ZH6122]) is here translated “submit.” Eliphaz reminds Job that he can be a benefit to himself and “have peace.” It must be remembered that “peace” (shalom [TH7965, ZH8934]) is much more inclusive of well-being than simple harmony. The rest of the verse would suggest that prosperity is the main emphasis; cf. REB: “you will prosper; that is the way to mend your fortune.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

Eliphaz had never thought that Job was beyond redemption. He had always believed otherwise, and he continued to be assured that Job would return to his former state and thereby enjoy the benefits of the wise and prosper again. All he needed to do was take the teaching of the wise to heart; he needed to regain the perspective he had lost. He needed to lay aside his pride and his excessive desire for wealth and let God be his source of security. Then, days of joy would come to Job.

Furthermore, Job would be restored to his former state to the extent that he would again have the kind of influence he used to have on others (cf. 4:3-4). His life would have benefits that extended far beyond himself (22:28-30). Here Eliphaz invoked the principle of “horizontal responsibility” (Gordis 1965:94-95). According to the doctrine of “vertical responsibility,” the sins of an individual would bring a curse to the third and fourth generations. According to the doctrine of “horizontal responsibility,” the righteousness of an individual could bring about good and prevent disaster. Abraham pleaded for the deliverance of Sodom on this basis (Gen 18:17-33); Ezekiel had warned that the righteousness of the three most noble men would not be sufficient to deliver Jerusalem from judgment (Ezek 14:12-16). The righteous are the salt of the earth. Eliphaz believed that Job was such a person and that, once restored, his word would again carry conviction, he would help those who were despairing, and he would even rescue the guilty. Job was no less than the great man he once was. His present circumstance, according to Eliphaz, was an aberration—he was not like those the prophets condemned, who would die in their sins. The restoration of the influence of Job would be the proof that the way of wisdom was right and that the Lord knows the way of the righteous.