In Job, chapter twenty-two, verses twenty-one through thirty, Eliphaz, the first of the three friends, gave his speech previously in chapters four and five, accusing the servant of God yet again. In Chapter twenty-two, under Eliphaz’s Accuses Job again section, he appealed to the servant of God with a traditional, yet simplistic, doctrine of repentance. The perspective of Eliphaz toward Job was if he was willing to return to God, receive instruction from His word, humble himself, remove sin from his life, abandon his trust in earthly things, and make the Almighty his delight, God would surely deliver him from his trouble, his answers to his prayers would come to pass with success following his every endeavor. However, Eliphaz was mistaken in three aspects.
Repentance and salvation do not always result in physical and material prosperity. Sometimes, men and women of faith, as a result of their faithfulness, are “destitute, afflicted, tormented,” as in Hebrews eleven, verse thirty-seven. Although they believe in the promises of God, yet at present, they “received not the promises,” as in Hebrews eleven, verse thirty-nine.
In exhorting Job to repent to recover his health and prosperity, Eliphaz was unknowingly siding with Satan and his accusations against Job and God. Satan had earlier accused Job of serving God only for what he could get from God in chapter one, verses nine to eleven. However, if Job were to repent of some supposed sin to gain God’s blessing, he could be accused of serving God simply for personal gain.
Although the words of Eliphaz eloquently express the importance of repentance, they were with the wrong motivation. There was no hint of sympathy in his heart for the suffering Job. Eliphaz’s failure demonstrates that the message of repentance spoken to the weak and suffering should accompany words of comfort and compassion.