How does Job 22:1-3 challenge the concept of human righteousness before God? Canonical Text “Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ‘Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?’ ” (Job 22:1-3) Literary Setting These words open the final speech of Eliphaz in the third dialogue cycle (Job 22–27). By this point Eliphaz has moved from pastoral caution (Job 4–5) to open accusation, arguing that Job’s suffering must spring from hidden sin. His rhetorical strategy here is to deny any intrinsic worth in human righteousness, thereby removing any basis for Job’s protest of innocence. Theological Affirmation: Divine Self-Sufficiency Eliphaz voices a truth echoed elsewhere: “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all its fullness” (Psalm 50:12). God “is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything” (Acts 17:25). The Creator’s aseity—His existence in and of Himself—means no creature can add to His essential glory. Archaeological discovery of first-millennium B.C. Edomite inscriptions show local deities portrayed as needy for food offerings; the biblical God, by contrast, is depicted as entirely self-existent. The Misapplication Eliphaz misuses divine self-sufficiency to invalidate Job’s integrity. He assumes: 1. If God gains nothing from righteousness, He must punish only the unrighteous. 2. Therefore Job’s pain proves guilt. Scripture rejects both premises. God delights in righteousness (Proverbs 11:20) even though He is not enriched by it, and suffering may come to the innocent (Job 1–2; John 9:3). Human Righteousness: Relative, Not Meritorious Job 22:1-3 undercuts any notion that human righteousness can obligate God. “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The apostle Paul builds on Jobian logic: “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). The resurrection of Christ demonstrates the only perfect righteousness acceptable to the Father (Romans 1:4), offered to believers as imputed righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Canonical Harmony • Psalm 16:2—“I have no good besides You”—echoes Job 22’s principle of God’s independence. • Micah 6:6-8 counters Eliphaz by showing that what God “requires” (justice, mercy, humility) is relational, not utilitarian. • Luke 17:10—“We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty”—affirms that obedience never puts God in our debt. Christological Fulfillment The question Eliphaz asks finds its answer in the God-man. Only in Jesus does a man “benefit” God, not by adding to divine essence but by accomplishing the Father’s redemptive will (John 17:4). His resurrection vindicates true righteousness before God and exposes the bankruptcy of self-righteous claims (Philippians 3:9-11). Pastoral Application Believers must repent of any covert belief that morality purchases blessing. Worship, service, and obedience are responses of love (John 14:15), not transactions. Sufferers can echo Job’s integrity without presuming merit; comforters must avoid Eliphaz’s reductionism. Conclusion Job 22:1-3 challenges the concept of human righteousness by teaching that: 1. God is totally self-sufficient; He neither gains nor loses from human virtue. 2. Therefore righteousness cannot compel divine favor. 3. True righteousness that matters to God is found solely in the person and work of the resurrected Christ, offered freely to all who believe. |
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