What can we learn about God's motives from Eliphaz's question in Job 22:4? The Setting of Eliphaz’s Question Job 22:4: “Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you?” • Eliphaz speaks out of the common retribution theology of his day: good things happen to the righteous, calamity to the wicked. • He cannot reconcile Job’s integrity (Job 1:1) with Job’s suffering, so he concludes God must be judging hidden sin. What Eliphaz Assumed about God’s Motives • God only disciplines to punish evil. • A genuinely reverent man would be exempt from severe affliction. • Suffering therefore proves guilt. Where the Assumption Breaks Down • God later says Eliphaz “has not spoken rightly” about Him (Job 42:7). • Scripture records righteous people who suffer for reasons other than punishment: – Joseph (Genesis 37–50) — suffering positioned him to save many. – David under Saul’s persecution (1 Samuel 19–26) — suffering forged a shepherd-king’s heart. – The blind man Jesus healed (John 9:1-3) — “that the works of God might be displayed.” What Scripture Actually Reveals about God’s Motives • Justice and righteousness are the foundation of His throne (Psalm 89:14). • He disciplines His children in love to produce holiness (Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-11). • He refines faith like gold in the fire (1 Peter 1:6-7). • He sometimes permits suffering to reveal His glory and to silence Satan’s accusations (Job 1–2; John 11:4). Key Lessons We Draw from Job 22:4 • God is never motivated by fear of man’s piety; He is utterly sovereign (Isaiah 46:10). • Rebuke is not always retribution; it may be refinement, testimony, or spiritual warfare. • Judging God’s motives by outward circumstances leads to error; His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). • Instead of Eliphaz’s narrow lens, we view suffering through the wider lens of God’s perfect justice, fatherly love, and eternal purpose (Romans 8:28-29). |
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