Thy Strong Word — Job 22: Eliphaz Resorts to False Accusations

It is said that desperate times call for desperate measures, but sometimes, in the heat of the moment, those measures can be downright cruel. We’ve seen Job’s so-called friends escalate their attacks, but today, Eliphaz stops pulling punches altogether. In fact, Eliphaz goes so far as to fabricate sins that Job never committed. Oppressing the poor? Withholding food and water from the needy? Sounds like a cheap shot from a man running out of theological arguments. But here’s a deeper question: Why do we, like Eliphaz, rush to explain suffering with neat and tidy answers? Why do we prefer blaming the victim instead of sitting with the mystery of God’s ways?

The Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Job 22.

Why do the righteous suffer? That’s the burning question at the heart of the book of Job—one of the most profound and challenging books in all of Scripture. From a Lutheran perspective, Job’s story isn’t just about a man enduring unimaginable hardship; it’s about wrestling with God’s will, grappling with well-meaning but misguided advice, and ultimately finding comfort in God’s grace rather than human understanding. As Job’s friends offer simplistic answers, Job demands the truth, and God’s response reminds us of His infinite wisdom and mercy. Through it all, we see glimpses of Christ—the truly innocent sufferer—who redeems our pain and points us to the cross, where suffering meets salvation. Join us as we journey through Job, confronting tough questions about faith, suffering, and God’s mysterious ways with hope grounded in Christ alone.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Job 22

Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God?
    Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
    or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
⁴Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
    and enters into judgment with you?
⁵Is not your evil abundant?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
⁶For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
    and stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
⁸The man with power possessed the land,
    and the favored man lived in it.
⁹You have sent widows away empty,
    and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.
¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
¹¹or darkness, so that you cannot see,
    and a flood of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God high in the heavens?
    See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³But you say, ‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through the deep darkness?
¹⁴Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
¹⁵Will you keep to the old way
    that wicked men have trod?
¹⁶They were snatched away before their time;
    their foundation was washed away.^[a]
¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’
    and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’^[b]
¹⁸Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁹The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent one mocks at them,
²⁰saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left the fire has consumed.’

²¹“Agree with God, and be at peace;
    thereby good will come to you.
²²Receive instruction from his mouth,
    and lay up his words in your heart.
²³If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;
    if you remove injustice far from your tents,
²⁴if you lay gold in the dust,
    and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
²⁵then the Almighty will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
²⁶For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty
    and lift up your face to God.
²⁷You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will pay your vows.
²⁸You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and light will shine on your ways.
²⁹For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;^[c]
    but he saves the lowly.
³⁰He delivers even the one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Footnotes

Job 22:16 Or their foundation was poured out as a stream (or river)
Job 22:17 Hebrew them
Job 22:29 Or you say, ‘It is exaltation’

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.