Job 22-27 constitute the third cycle of speeches between Job and his friends. It is unlike the others in that Bildad’s speech is extremely brief and Zophar has no speech at all.

22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,- Eliphaz speaks first for the friends as he did in Job 4-5, 15.

Verses 2-5 ask rhetorical questions.

22:2 Can a vigorous man be of use to God,- The word of use or profitable was used in Job 15:3 where Eliphaz accused Job of talk that is not profitable.

Or a wise man be useful to himself? The LORD will sarcastically taunt Job’s claims to wisdom in 38:4, 5, 18, 21.

Even the wisest and strongest of men add nothing to God (Acts 17:25), but they are completely dependent upon Him- Jer. 9:23-24; I Cor. 1:25-26.

22:3 Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,- In I Sam. 15:22 uses this word to tell us that God takes pleasure in the obedience of His people. Whether it is the wisest, strongest, or the most righteous, we cannot benefit God or make God in some way indebted to us.

Or profit if you make your ways perfect? The word perfect, tamam, is connected to the word blameless, tam, used to describe Job in the prologue (1:1, 8; 2:3).

God is still God whether we are righteous or wicked. He is not obligated or indebted to us because we are so good because He gives us every good thing we have (James 1:17). However, the Bible tells a story of God who loves man (John 3:16; I John 4:7-11, 19) and seeks to save man and longs for fellowship with Him (Luke 19:10; John 4:23-24).

22:4 Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,- The word reverence is from the Hebrew yirah. Eliphaz used the word in 15:4 telling us Job did away with reverence. Remember Job is described as one who feared, yare, God (1:1, 8; 2:3).

22:5 Eliphaz gives no witnesses or evidence of crime.

22:6 For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,- The word without cause, chinnam, was used in Job elsewhere in 1:9; 2:3; 9:17; 22:6. The Satan accused Job of serving God for nothing in 1:9. But the LORD says the Satan stirred him up to ruin Job for nothing in 2:3. Job says God multiplied his wounds without cause in 9:17.

22:7 To the weary you have given no water to drink,- Matt. 10:42; Prov. 25:21-22. Being thirsty is connected to being weary in Prov. 25:25.

And from the hungry you have withheld bread. Job denies these charges in 31:17-18.

22:8 But the earth belongs to the mighty man,- This verse unlike those around it is not a specific act of sin but an attitude that led to it. It is also not addressed to Job in second person, but it is in third person.

22:9 You have sent widows away empty,- The idea of sent away, shalach, seems to indicate the widow appealed to him for legal protection. The basic responsibility of caring for these groups is emphasized repeatedly in the Old Testament (Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17; 26:12; 27:19; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10).

Why does Eliphaz assume that Job is guilty of these sins? Job has lost everything (1:13-19). The fact that God often punishes man according to his sin (lex talionis) leads his friends to conclude that this was Job’s sin.

22:10 Therefore snares surround you,- The word snares, pach, was used by Bildad in 18:9 to talk of the minefield God laid for the wicked man

21:17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,- Bildad affirmed that the lamp of the wicked is put out in 18:5. The book of Proverbs stresses this as well (Prov. 13:9; 20:20; 24:20). The text of Proverbs 24:19-20 says, “Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people, for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.” (NET) The emphasis on the fall of the wicked by Bildad fits with Proverbs.

Job does not deny this ever happens, but he does question how often it happens. The occurrence of the lamp of the wicked being put out happens too infrequently to be said to be an established pattern.

Or does their calamity fall on them? The word calamity, ’ed is used in vs. 30 and it was used by Bildad in 18:12 to say that calamity is ready for the wicked. In Proverbs 1:27; 6:15; and 24:22 this word describes the consequences of sin upon the wicked. But, Job asks, how often does calamity fall on the wicked for their sin?

Does God apportion destruction in His anger? The verb apportion, chalaq, can mean divide, distribute, allot. The noun form of this word was used by Zophar in 20:29 to speak of the wicked man’s portion from God.

The word anger, aph, was used in 20:23, 28 by Zophar to speak of God’s judgments on the wicked. Job is using Zophar’s words, but Job is questioning how frequently they come true. Job’s says the friends’ argument cannot be maintained when looking at the real world.

21:18 Are they as straw before the wind,- Straw speaks of what is weak in Job 41:27 and what is worthless in Jeremiah 23:28.

And like chaff which the storm carries away? Psalm 1:4; 35:5; Isa. 17:13; 29:5; Jer. 13:24; Hos. 13:3 use this image of chaff. Chaff is the remains left behind of the straw after threshing. These verses tell us the wicked are like the chaff that the wind blows away. Psalm 1 contrasts the righteous as a well-rooted tree to the wicked who are as insubstantial and rootless as chaff. Job questions this portrayal. Is Job questioning these God inspired pictures? Job is questioning whether we always see the outworking of these principles in this life.

Job as a righteous man felt like he was a driven leaf and dry chaff in 13:25. Many people who live wicked lives are thriving. Even this very picture calls to mind the end of Job’s children from 1:18-19 who were killed by a great wind.

21:19-20 Job predicts the friends’ will answer his argument about times God has not repaid evil with answers like He will repay their children. Job says that is not fair. It is not fair that the father sins and the children pay the price. Jesus’ suffering is spoken of as drinking God’s cup in Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36. Jesus did not suffer this penalty because of any sin or wrongdoing of His own (I Peter 2:22; I John 3:5, 8). It is striking how many characters around the cross affirm the innocence of Jesus: Pilate (Luke 23:4, 14, 22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6), Herod (Luke 23:14), Pilate’s wife (Matt. 27:19), Judas (Matt. 27:4), the thief (Luke 23:40-41), the centurion (Luke 23:47). Jesus was not on the cross for what He did but for what He did. It is not fair that we sinned, and Jesus paid the price. It is not fair, but it is amazing grace.

21:32 Others keep watch over the rich man’s tomb to honor. Watch was kept over Jesus’ tomb to make sure the disciples did not steal the body (Matt. 27:62-66). That watch failed.

“Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior, He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord.”

Job's picture of the wicked man is 1. opposite of the friend's picture of the wicked man. 2. It is the opposite of what we might expect from other passages that describe the kind of behavior God blesses and curses. 3. It is the opposite of Job's experiences. Job's picture of the wicked sounds much like the picture painted in Psalm 73:1-14.

21:7-16 The world that the friends described is a world that “exists only in their own minds.”

21:7 Whey do the wicked still live,- The word wicked is used in vs. 7 and vs. 16. The friends spoke of the wicked dying early (15:20, 32-33; 18:19; 20:11). While Zophar spoke of the wicked perishing (20:7; also 18:17), Job says that they continue to live on. Long life is a blessing of the godly in Ps. 21:4 but here it is enjoyed by the ungodly.

21:8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,- Contrast 20:10, 26.

And their offspring before their eyes,- This is contrary to the words of Eliphaz in 15:34 and Bildad in 8:4; 18:19.

21:9 Their houses are safe from fear,- The word safe is the Hebrew shalom which is often translated peace. This peace was only available for those right with God (5:24) and is only temporary for the wicked (15:21).

21:10 His ox mates without fail;- Zophar said that the prosperity of the wicked will not last (20:21, 28) but that does not fit Job’s observations.

21:11 They send forth their little ones like the flock,- They have a flock of children. Zech. 8:5 uses the same picture of a Jerusalem blessed by God.

21:12 They sing to the trimbrel and harp- The lives of the wicked are more familiar with celebration than with pain or even labor.

And suddenly they go down to Sheol- The word suddenly, rega, is the same word used of the short-lived prosperity of the wicked in 20:5. Here the idea seems to be that death comes suddenly without prolonged suffering. This word is used negatively in 20:5 but is used positively in 21:13.

21:14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us!- These prospering wicked have no desire to know the God who has given them every good gift. They want to be as far away from Him as they can.

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways- Psalm 16:11; 25:4.

21:15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him,- Ex. 5:2. Having an abundance often dulls our senses to our absolute dependence upon God (Deut. 8:10-20).

And what would we gain if we entreat Him? Entreat, paga, is used of the Servant interceding for transgressors (Isa. 53:12). Satan had said that the only reason that Job feared God is because of how God blessed him (1:9-11).

21:16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;- But, from Job’s perspective, why does God bless them so when they live defiantly toward Him?

The counsel of the wicked is far from me- He has no sympathy for their counsel regardless of how comfortable their life is. While his friends have identified him with the wicked, Job has no agreement with their world-view.