Job 22:17-18

17 Which said ['amar] unto God ['el], Depart [cuwr] from us: and what can the Almighty [Shadday] do [pa`al] for them?

18 Yet he filled [male'] their houses [bayith] with good [towb] things: but the counsel [`etsah] of the wicked [rasha`] is far [rachaq] from me. KJV-Interlinear

17 'They said to God, 'Depart from us!' And 'What can the Almighty do to them?' 18 'Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. NASB

Using sarcasm, Eliphaz repeats Job words from the last chapter.

Eliphaz seems to think that Job is defending the wicked people of the world. That they come into the world, have their way, become prosperous and then leave the world without punishment. Such that God somehow favors them or overlooks them.

Job did not say this.

Eliphaz further states that this kind of thinking is distant from his mind, and he doesn't want to have anything to do with it. Eliphaz becomes somewhat self-righteous.

He not only does not listen to what Job has said, he not only interprets Jobs words in error, but he becomes a bit uppity in his response.

The real debate began when the three friends stated flat out that wicked people will receive their punishment in this life. No if, ands or buts. Job merely disagrees with them, stating that there are instances when this is not the case.

Eliphaz uses the Noah flood generation as his example. And yes of course those folks rejected God, and yes those folks were prospered, and yes they all died in the flood. But that was only one generation among many in history. Not every generation is faced with a worldwide flood.

Likewise, just because people are subjected to suffering, that does not mean that they are wicked people. There are many reasons for suffering in this life. Job has not yet figured out the reasons, but he will before this book is completed.

If a person lives their life inside a reasonable effort at advancing in their spiritual life, and then becomes subjected to suffering and unfairness, they could easily begin to question how and where they went wrong in life, that would cause this suffering to fall on them.

But this is the devils world and unfairness is the fundamental structure of the world.

Mic. 6:3

3 'My people, what have I done to you, And how have I wearied you? Answer Me. NASB

Jer. 2:5

5 Thus says the Lord, 'What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty? NASB

Zeph. 1:12

12 'And it will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good or evil!' NASB

God is not the origin of an unfair life. It is people who look at a God and reject His truth.

Rejection of truth is acceptance of lies. And anyone who accepts lies has no right, and no reasonable expectation of having anything legitimately good. All of the nice things in this life are temporary at their very best. And they will fade away when each of us dies.

God provides us with everything that we have. From the air that we all breathe, to the money that we have in our pockets. None of us can or have the ability to earn or deserve anything.

Rejection of God inevitably will lead to our rationalizing that all we are and have, we have accomplished on our own. What do we need God for? We can hustle, and wheel and deal our way through life, and we will be fine.

And when the world is filled with unfairness for an extended period of time, as it was during those last several centuries prior to the flood, then it is easy to understand why generations will drift away from God, believing that they do not need Him.

But that is just a convenient excuse to allow ones sin nature to run wild. Terrorists are filled with this rationalization. Criminals are filled with this kind of rationalization. Self-righteous folks are filled with this kind of rationalization.

Hustlers and bustlers, even folks who suffer from the many types of mental depressions, insecurities, and so forth are filled with this kind of rationalization.

'What has God done for us? What can God do for us? Go away. Leave us alone. Let us do on our own what we can do best. Allow us to wallow in our own self pity.'

And so God allows those who are truly negative, to continue in their negativity. They can bask in their own sunlight, or wallow in their own pity. But in every case, it is God who supports life and perpetuates humanity, despite humanity's rejection of Him.

Then the clock runs out.

Now is the time to post a prayer.