What is the meaning of Job 22:2? Can a man be of use to God? – Eliphaz’s rhetorical question spotlights God’s absolute self-sufficiency. “Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything” (Acts 17:25). – Scripture repeatedly affirms that the LORD “does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3), so our abilities add nothing to His omnipotence. – Yet the wider testimony of Scripture shows that, by grace, God chooses to work through people: • He calls Abraham to bless the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). • He appoints Moses to deliver Israel (Exodus 3:10-12). • He entrusts the gospel to His church (2 Corinthians 5:20). – The paradox resolves when we remember that God grants us significance not because He needs us, but because He loves to include us. Like clay shaped by the potter (Isaiah 64:8), our usefulness flows from His design, not from our own sufficiency. Can even a wise man benefit Him? – Human wisdom, no matter how profound, never enriches God. “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” (Romans 11:34). – Eliphaz implies that Job’s claimed integrity offers no advantage to the Almighty. While his premise of divine independence is right, his accusation that Job’s righteousness is pointless is wrong, as the prologue shows God delighting in Job’s blamelessness (Job 1:8). – God rejoices in obedience and faith (Hebrews 11:6), not because He gains, but because righteousness reflects His character. – Our wisdom finds its true value only when surrendered to Him: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). By depending on divine wisdom, believers display His glory to the world (Matthew 5:16). summary Job 22:2 recognizes God’s complete self-sufficiency—nothing we possess can add to His power or insight. Yet the Bible also reveals that the sovereign Lord graciously chooses to involve people in His purposes. Our usefulness and wisdom benefit Him only in the sense that they display His glory, mirror His character, and accomplish His redemptive plan. He needs nothing, but He invites everything we are, so that His greatness might shine through our yielded lives. |
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