Read Job 22
Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?
Job 22:5
What should have been an encouraging discussion among friends had
become an angry and painful debate. Eliphaz had assumed the office
of prosecuting attorney and turned the debate into a trial. It was three
against one. According to the Jewish Talmud, “The slanderous tongue
kills three: the slandered, the slanderer, and him who listens to the
slander.” At the ash heap in Uz, there was death all around!
Eliphaz first accused Job of the sin of pride (vv. 1–3). Job was
acting as though his character and conduct were important to God
and beneficial to Him in some way. Eliphaz’s theology centered on a
distant God.
But Job’s character and conduct were important to God, for God
was using Job to silence the Devil. Neither Job nor his three friends
knew God’s hidden plan, but Job had faith to believe that God was
achieving some purpose in his life. The character and behavior of
God’s people are important to the Lord because His people bring
Him either joy or sorrow (Gen. 6:5–6; Ps. 37:23; 1 Thess. 4:1; Heb.
11:5). He is not a passive, distant God who does not identify with His
people, but a God who delights in them as they delight in Him (Ps.
18:19; Isa. 63:9; Heb. 4:14–16).
Something to Ponder
How do you tend to react when people make false accusations against
you?