The call of the Gospel is: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech them by us: we pray them in Christ’s stead, be reconciled to God” (2Corinthians 5:20). No exhortation can be more beautiful or more important than this, but, if offered in reckless judgment, no exhortation could be more pompous. The KJV and several other translations have: “Acquaint now yourself with him (God)…” (Job 22:21; parenthesis mine). Eliphaz uses this same Hebrew word in Job 22:2, “Can a man be profitable to God…” I believe he is advising Job that it would be to his profit, if he submitted to God (Job 22:21-23). In other words, be reconciled to God and serve him. Eliphaz had similar advice for Job in Job 5:17, 21, as did Zophar in Job 11:13-14, and, if Job received their advice, good would come of it, or so they told him.
Nevertheless, the friends don’t know what you and I know. The fact is, we understand from the first two chapters of this book that God wasn’t judging Job, and neither did Job’s calamity come as a result of God’s wrath. Instead, a cosmic drama has been unfolding before all of us from chapter one to now and beyond. Only later are we able to understand what the Lord is doing; however, we are able to understand, even from what we know up to now from the text, that the advice of the friends is nothing more than pompous elitism. This is what inevitably occurs when ‘tradition’ is valued above the word of God. A modern example of this sort of thing can be seen in much of what we call Christianity today. The very existence of our Christian denominations is a contradiction of the word of God (1Corinthians 1:13). Which one was formed out of love for those they opposed (Galatians 6:10)? Which denomination is not the work of the flesh, vis-à-vis the work or the tradition of men (Galatians 5:19-21), as opposed to the work of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-25)?[1]
Returning, now, to Eliphaz’s final argument, he tells Job that reconciling with God would bring him great wealth (Job 22:24-25), which is nothing more than today’s prosperity gospel. Moreover, if Job reconciles himself to God, all his plans would be blessed. He would pray and the Lord would hear him. He would labor, and his labor wouldn’t be in vain (Job 22:26-28). Yet, we know from reading the first two chapters of this book that Job hadn’t rebelled against God. Therefore, if Eliphaz’s argument were true, Job should never have lost his wealth to begin with! However, there is even a larger problem with the friends’ argument, for not only have they charged Job with great wickedness (cp. Job 22:5), proved so by his present calamity, but Eliphaz has judged all men who aren’t wealthy as wicked, too. If God gives silver and gold to all who are reconciled with him (Job 22:24-25), then the humble person, whom Eliphaz describes as cast down, presumably due to his many troubles and sorrows, must also be wicked, because he has no silver or gold (Job 22:29).
On the other hand, if all men who have no silver and gold are judged as wicked, yet presumably blessed by the generosity of a wealthy Job, who contextually would now be reconciled to and blessed by God, how could the humble person be also innocent (Job 22:29-30). Moreover, why would a reconciled Job deliver the wicked out of trouble, if, indeed, all those who aren’t wealthy are wicked and suffer under the wrathful hand of God? Thus, the argument of the friends, as well as all whose doctrine is based upon tradition, is full of contradictions.
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[1] The works of the flesh is all around us. However, I don’t mean everyone must now leave his present denomination in order to be true to God’s word. What is done is done, but we don’t have to contribute to the life of the traditions of men. We are able and should receive one another as brethren, without judgment, working with one another in the cause of Christ.
Smoodock's Blog 
7 responses to “Be Reconciled to God!”
By their fruits you shall know them. The Shoah: the eternal disgrace and lie of Xtianity.
Greetings mosckerr, and welcome to my blog. I apologize for dismissing you as an honest person who disagrees with my point of view. May the Lord bless you.
I took some of your comments out of my spam area, but I’m afraid some were deleted permanently. I apologize for that. I’m afraid I don’t understand the meaning of some things you say, as well as the manner in which you state your case. So, if you can bear with me for awhile, we can discuss some to the things you brought up.
You mention The Shoah being the eternal disgrace and lie of Christianity. I believe you are referring to the holocaust, but not only the one during World War II. Am I correct? First, I’m not privy to exactly how these inhumane events began, nor am I familiar with the depth of human depravity they descended to, but I am aware these things occurred. However, I am more familiar with the more recent Nazi attempt to do away with the Jews. Am I correct in this understanding, and if so, are you blaming Christianity for all of it?
You R correct. The specific Shoah war crime where European Xtianity slaughtered 75% of European Jewry in less than 3 years. But it goes back to the 1st Crusades, the annual Blood libel pogroms, the 3 Century illegal internment of Western European Jewry into ghetto prisons – something like when FDR imprisoned Japanese Americans during WWII, but 3 Centuries does not in fact compare to Post Dec 7th Pearl Harbor 1941.
The 9 year Khmelnytsky Cossack rebellion where Eastern Orthodox slaughtered about 1.5 million Jews from 1648 to ’57. The early 20th Century Catholic church stealing and forcibly converting a small Jewish boy and the failure of the Italian courts to return that stolen child back to its parents. The courts of Europe and Arab/Muslim countries compare to the court of Par’o in the days of Moshe and Aaron – corrupt and unjust. Another comparison, the British Star Courts who permitted the British navy to impress American sailors taken off American ships on the High Seas at the point of a sword to serve 20 years in the British navy.
The Torah defines faith as: Justice Justice pursue. Both Xtian and Muslim avodah zarah by contrast imposed theological belief systems which dictated what a Man must believe @ point of Inquisition torture and murder.
Greetings mosclerr, I cannot imagine having such a torturous history of my family, and what that would mean for you today in a world where your national existence depends upon your having friendly relations with the very same folks whose ancestors did such things to your forefathers. How could you trust anyone?
My worldview, which is the usual Christian perspective, which defines faith as trust or the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). From a political perspective, which I believe you might understand better, what you describe as “…imposed theological belief systems, which dictated what a man must believe at the point of Inquisition torture and murder” amounts to unconstitutional behavior in the perspective of true Christian doctrine. The problem with good folks is, they are often passive in the wake of aggressive leadership (Proverbs 28:28; 29:2), and that kind of leadership often nullifies the teachings Christianity was founded upon, a lot like what Trump would do to America and the world, if he is elected again by his worshipful followers.
Yes the new testament forgery has a completely different concept of the meaning of faith. The Talmud serves as the model of Judicial courtroom justice as the definition of צדק צדק תרדוף a verse straight from D’varim the 5th Book of the Torah.