Job 22

Comment:

This chapter is the response of Eliphat, one of Job's friends, to Job's predicament. It's important to note, I think, that by the end of the Book of Job this response, and all attempts to understand the Divine from a limited human purpose, are refuted by the response of 'the Almighty.' That doesn't mean that these responses are 100 percent wrong; they offer useful perceptions. But they must be approached carefully.

This chapter opens with an unusual (for Hebrew scripture) description of God as completely impassive—uninterested in whether mankind does good or evil. As a result, nothing is 'profitable to God,' including righteousness. However, he recognizes (beginning with v. 21) that it is by accepting and working with this impassive divinity that a man may experience a life of peace and goodwill. In other words, the quality of our life is an expression of choices we make to either cooperate with the Power of the Divine, or to ignore it and try to manage with our own limited mortal skills.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed