“…so dark you cannot see…” Job 22:11a
/Eliphaz was unfazed by Job’s assertion of how the wicked are all about, living comfortably and without the fear of God. With a reply immediately available, Eliphaz began with some spiritual sarcasm:
“Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? What pleasure would it give The Almighty if you were righteous? What would He gain if your ways were blameless? Is it for your piety that He rebukes you and brings charges against you?” (vv. 2 – 4)
Still stuck in his worldview of bad things only happening to bad people, Eliphaz cleverly provoked the conversation further with the above unanswerable questions. Essentially, God has no real need of anything or anyone: God resides in perfect community within Himself. It is so far over our understanding that we simply cannot begin to comprehend God’s existence… we can only see the evidence of His power (that’s a clue for things to come).
Eliphaz’s last question turned Job’s argument upside down. In a rather snarky way, Eliphaz is making fun of Job’s continued insistence of his innocence. Just as Job’s life reveals a type of Christ, so Job’s friends (in this case, Eliphaz) are a type of satan – the accuser. Yes, Eliphaz’s line of questioning is dark and condescending.
Then, Eliphaz goes in for the kill:
“Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless.” (v.5)
To Eliphaz, the only reasonable conclusion one could draw from the many calamities Job experienced was that Job was a very wicked man, and the time had come for him to be accountable for an endless number of sins. Empowered by his new approach, Eliphaz then heaped one accusation after another toward Job – charges with no basis whatsoever:
Demanding a security deposit from his brothers for no reason (v.6a);
Stripping men of their clothing (v.6b);
Withholding water from weary travelers (v.7a);
Depriving the hungry of food and sustenance (v.7b);
Sending widowed beggars away empty-handed (v.9a); and
Ignoring the needs of orphans (v.9b).
The writer of Job, however, had a different view of Job: being blameless and upright (see 1:1b); and he feared God, shunning evil (see 1:1c). Eliphaz’s covetousness was exposed in his own words when he described Job of being, “a powerful man; owning land – an honored man, living on it.” (v.8) Eliphaz was using Job’s earlier rebuttal against him to emphasize Job’s own wickedness. Job had observed how the wicked grew in power, were honored and thriving on the land, with no threat to their children (review 21:7-13).
Once he had turned Job’s argument back against him, Eliphaz stated a second conclusion:
“That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.” (vv. 10 – 11)
Condemning Job for being blind to his own evil, Eliphaz declared Job’s sin as the source for all his problems. The most condescending remark one could possibly give another is to tell them they are blind to their own wickedness. Eliphaz’s methodology was to beat one down with words so severely as to have no remaining
view of oneself other than one of doubt and deprecation.
Is it hard to believe that there are people like Eliphaz in the world today? I’ve come upon such people… they fight dirty; they are power-brokers who despise anyone who would dare challenge them. In our life we are given a choice between two essential types of living: we can be either a curse or a blessing. Eliphaz chose to be a curse to his supposed friend Job.
When the darkness of wickedness is all around us, oftentimes it is so dark you cannot see the good in this world. Participating in the world’s darkness of wicked activities can definitely blind one to his/her own condition, though one light of goodness and truth is able to scatter the darkness of selfishness and
wickedness. Choose today to be that light… choose to be a blessing to this world.
Have a blessed day…