Job 22:14 Kommentar

Eliphaz here leads on a third attack upon poor Job, in which Bildad followed him, but Zophar drew back, and quitted the field. It was one of the unhappinesses of Job, as it is of many an honest man, to be misunderstood by his friends. He had spoken of the prosperity of wicked men in this world as a mystery of Providence, but they took it for a reflection upon Providence, as countenancing their wickedness; and they reproached him accordingly. In this chapter, I. Eliphaz checks him for his complaints of God, and of his dealings with him, as if he thought God had done him wrong (Job 22:2-4). II. He charges him with many high crimes and misdemeanours, for which he supposes God was now punishing him. 1. Oppression and injustice (Job 22:5-11). 2. Atheism and infidelity (Job 22:12-14). III. He compares his case to that of the old world (Job 22:15-20). IV. He gives him very good counsel, assuring him that, if he would take it, God would return in mercy to him and he should return to his former prosperity (Job 22:21-30).

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 22 This chapter contains the third and last reply of Eliphaz to Job, in which he charges him with having too high an opinion of himself, of his holiness and righteousness, as if God was profited by it, and laid thereby under obligation to him, whereas he was not, Job 22:1; and as if he reproved and chastised him, because of his fear of him, whereas it was because of his sins, Job 22:4; an enumeration of which he gives, as of injustice, oppression, cruelty to the poor, and even of atheism and infidelity, for which snares and fears were around him, and various calamities, Job 22:6; and compares his way and course of life to that of the men of the old world, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and suggests that his end would be like theirs, unless he repented, Job 22:15; and then concludes with an exhortation to him to return to God by repentance, and to reform, when he should see happy times again, and enjoy much outward and inward prosperity, and be an instrument of doing much good to many, Job 22:21.

Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? The evil way that wicked men have walked in ever since man apostatized from God, the way of Cain and his descendants, who were of the wicked one, and lived wicked lives and conversations; "the way of the old world", as Mr. Broughton renders the phrase here, the imagination of the thoughts of whose hearts was evil, and that continually; who filled the earth with rapine and violence, and all flesh corrupted their way with all manner of impurity and wickedness, and indulged themselves in the gratification of their sensual lusts and pleasures; and were, as the Apostle Peter calls them, "the world of the ungodly"; and here, "men of wickedness", or "iniquity" (y); such who gave themselves up to it, and were immersed in it; these trod the paths of sin, and made it a beaten road; they frequented this way, they walked continually in it; their life was a series and course of iniquity, in which they obstinately persisted, and proceeded from evil to evil, to more and more ungodliness. Now Job is asked if he had "marked" this their way and course of life; the evil of their way should have been marked, in order to avoid it; it being an old way should not recommend it; and the end of it, which was sudden ruin and destruction, should be marked to deter from it: but it is suggested that Job kept in this way, and observed it himself, and walked in it; for the words may be rendered, "truly thou keepest the old way", or "the way of the world" (z); trod in the steps of wicked men, was a close follower of them, and companied with them; like manner is Job charged by Elihu, Job 34:7; and this sense agrees with what goes before. (y) "viri iniquitatis", Montanus, Mercerus; so Drusius, Michaelis. (z) "profecto viam seculi servas", Schultens.

Dost thou bethink thee that God is in the height of heaven, and high above the height of the stars? And thou sayest, How doth God know? and, He judgeth as in the dark. Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not our matters; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven. There are very many so dull that they cannot dread aught, saving what they see in a bodily form. Whence it is brought to pass that they do not fear God, in that they cannot see Him. But heretics because they think themselves wise utter words of insult against Catholics, and imagine that He is not feared by them, because they are unable to see Him in a bodily shape, so that as it were from deadness of perception they think that their Maker, because He is higher than heaven and exalted above the tops of the stars, is not able to see from a distance, and that because between ourselves and the seat of heaven the regions of the air are interposed, He, 'as it were buried in a cloud passes judgment out of the darkness,' and intent upon things above, the less considers those below, and whilst He holds together the binges of heaven by encircling them, doth not see into the interior parts. But who that was out of his right mind even, could suspect such things of God. Who indeed, whereas He is always Omnipotent, so minds all things that He is present to each one individually, and so present to each that His Presence is never wanting to all together. For though He forsakes persons when they sin, yet to those very persons He is present in respect of judgment, to whom He is seen to be wanting in respect of aidance. Therefore He so encircles what is without that He yet fills what is within, so fills what is within that He yet encircles what is without, so rules the heights above that He does not quit the depths below, is in such sort present to the parts beneath that He does not depart from those above, is so concealed in His own appearance that nevertheless He is known in His working, so known in His work that yet He cannot be comprehended by the calculation of the person knowing Him; He is in such a way present that yet He cannot be seen, in such a way impossible to be seen that yet His very own judgments bear witness to His Presence, so yields Himself to be understood by us that yet the very ray of the perception of Himself He overclouds to us, and again so holds us in by the darkness of ignorance that notwithstanding He shines into our minds with the rays of His brightness, so that at once by being lifted up it may see something, and made to recoil may tremble all over, and because such as He is it is impossible to see Him, may yet know Him by seeing Him some little. But all this heretics do not reckon Holy Church to be acquainted with, because by a foolish judgment they suppose that they alone are wise.

Eliphaz pronounces a serious accusation of impiety and madness against Job. "In fact," he says, "you committed iniquities, as if [God] did not realize they were [committed] in the land of the Lord, but as if he judged in darkness. That is, as if, in judging, he did not see what happened in his land. You said, in fact, that since he is invisible and separates himself with clouds from what happens among us, and only goes around the circle of heaven, he does not deem it worthy to take care of earthly things." This is what the pagan philosophers thought, when they said that God does not take care of what is under the moon.

He shows this to be analogous to what happens with men, among whom one who hides in some place is not seen by those who are outside the place, and he does not see them. "The clouds are his hiding place and he does not see ours," as if to say: Just as he is hidden from us as though obscured by the clouds, because we cannot know fully what is above the clouds. Therefore, the converse is true. He does not see those things which pertain to us as if they existed under the clouds, as Ezekiel says, speaking in the person of one who has this opinion, "The Lord has forsaken the earth, he does not see." (9:9) For they thought that since things which are on the earth are subject to many defects and disorders they are not ruled by divine providence. Only the heavens whose order remains without defect are so ruled, and so he says, "And he walks about the hinges of heaven." A hinge is something on which a door turns. Therefore, by this he means that heaven is moved by the providence of God and divine providence descends to these lower things from this motion like a door. For just as they say that God only knows human things in universal, so they say that he governs human affairs, but through universal causes which he governs by himself. Perhaps he wanted to allude to what Job had said above, "Who judges eminent men." (21:22)

A good reputation. The rich and the poor. The idle. Good habits formed in infancy. Injustice and its effects. The providence of God. The lewd woman. The necessity of timely correction. Exhortation to wisdom. Rob not the poor. Be not the companion of the frowward. Avoid suretyship. Be honest. The industrious shall be favored.

He walketh in the circuit of heaven - He confines himself to those infinitely exalted regions and cares nothing for the inhabitants of the earth.

AS BEFORE, ELIPHAZ BEGINS. (Job 22:1-30) Eliphaz shows that man's goodness does not add to, or man's badness take from, the happiness of God; therefore it cannot be that God sends prosperity to some and calamities on others for His own advantage; the cause of the goods and ills sent must lie in the men themselves (Psa 16:2; Luk 17:10; Act 17:25; Ch1 29:14). So Job's calamities must arise from guilt. Eliphaz, instead of meeting the facts, tries to show that it could not be so.

in the circuit of heaven--only, not taking any part in earthly affairs. Job is alleged as holding this Epicurean sentiment (Lam 3:44; Isa 29:15; Isa 40:27; Jer 23:24; Eze 8:12; Psa 139:12).