Job 22:21

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace,.... Not with the righteous and innocent, but with God, as Job 22:22 show: from severe charges and censures, Eliphaz proceeds to advice and

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Eliphaz takes it for granted, Job is not yet 'acquainted' with God; literally, become a companion of God. Turn with familiar confidence to God.

With him, i.e. with God, as appears both from , where he is expressed, and from the nature of the thing, there being no other way to happiness. Renew thy acquaintance and converse with God by prayer, which thou hast restrained, . and repentance for all thy sins, and true humiliation under his hand, and hearty compliance with all his commands, and diligent care to serve and enjoy him; and be no longer estranged from God, as thou now art. Be at peace: this is either, 1. A promise, the imperative being put for the future of the indicative mood, and so thou shalt have peace, i.e. prosperity and happiness. Or rather, 2. A counsel or command; If God be an enemy to thee, as thou sayest he is, reconcile thyself to him by true repentance, and earnestly seek his favour and friendship, and do not provoke him further by thy false and wicked speeches of him, or by thy froward carriage to him: and whereas thou art full of unquietness and rage against God, learn to possess thy soul in patience, give over murmuring against him, and get a composed, and quiet, and submissive mind and heart; which is called peace, 19:20 . Thus far is the command or exhortation; now followeth the promise. Thereby, i.e. by following these counsels. Good shall come unto thee; thou shalt be freed from all thy calamities, and enjoy all the happiness which thy heart can desire.

Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.Ver. 21. Acquaint now thyself with him] Accommoda te nunc illi, assuesce cum illo. Converse with God in a humble familiarity; set him at the right hand, Psalms 16:8, be ever at his hand, ut famulus seu accensus, as attendant upon his person. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and let him direct thy paths, Proverbs 3:6. Ask counsel at his mouth, aim at his glory, be thou in his fear all the day long, Proverbs 23:17. Account it thine happiness to be in communion with him, and conformity to him in all parts and points of duty. The Lord is with you if you be with him, 2 Chronicles 15:3. And be at peace] Return to him by repentance from whom thou hast so deeply revolted, and against whom thou hast so shamefully rebelled. For Eliphaz here takes it for granted that Job had estranged himself from God; and therefore could not possibly be at peace till better acquainted with him, and acquiescing in him, as the Vulgate here hath it. Acquiesce ei. No creature is more fearful than a fish, fleeing at the shadow of a man; yet it feareth not the roaring ocean (which yet lions and other fierce creatures fear), because it is of its own nature and acquaintance. A sheep feareth not his shepherd; nor shall we God, if once acquainted with him. Peace shall be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy tabernacles. Thereby good shall come unto thee] Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee, Psalms 128:2. A cornucopia, a confluence of all manner of comforts and contentments, shall betide thee; but then thou must humble thyself to walk with thy God, Micah 6:8. By faith walk with God, and by reflection walk with thyself, Compone et emenda vias tuas coram Domino, and then thou needest not say, with the worldling, "Who will show us any good?" Psalms 4:6; for God himself will say to thee, as once he did to Moses, when he gave him but a glimpse of himself and his glory, Ostendam tibi omne bonum, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee," Exodus 33:19.

(21) Acquaint now thyself with him.—As he himself had done in Job 5, and as Zophar had done in Job 11, Eliphaz proceeds to give Job some good advice. “Thereby good shall come unto thee,” or “Thereby shall thine increase be good;” or perhaps he means that peace and rest from the obstinate questionings he was disturbed with would come to him thereby.

Verse 21. Acquaint now thyself with him] Perhaps the verb hasken should be translated here, treasure up, or lay up. Lay up or procure an interest now with him, and be at peace. Get the Divine favour, and then thou wilt be at peace with God, and have happiness in thy own soul. Thereby good shalt come unto thee.] בהם bahem, "in them," shall good come unto thee. That is, in getting an interest in the Divine favour, and in having thy soul brought into a state of peace with him; thereby, in them, that is, these two things, good will come unto thee. First, thou wilt have an interest in his favour, from which thou mayest expect all blessings; and, secondly, from his peace in thy conscience thou wilt feel unutterable happiness. Get these blessings now, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Reader, hast thou these blessings?

21–30. Eliphaz exhorts Job to reconcile himself with God; assuring him of restoration and great felicity if he will do so. The passage consists of two parts, first, a series of exhortations, each of which is accompanied by a promise (Job 22:21-25); and second, a series of great promises simply (Job 22:26-30). The exhortations are: (1) that Job should reconcile himself with God and receive His words into his heart—thus should he be in peace and good would come to him (Job 22:21-22); (2) that he should put away his evil—then should he be restored (Job 22:23); (3) that he should set his heart no more on earthly treasure, but fling it to the dust and among the pebbles of the brooks—then should the Almighty be his treasure (Job 22:24-25). The promises are: (1) that, delighting himself in the Almighty, he would be able to lift up his face to God in confidence, unashamed by afflictions (Job 22:26); (2) he would pray unto God with the assurance of being heard, and the vows which he made to God when presenting his request he would have cause to pay, his request being fulfilled (Job 22:27); (3) his purposes in regard to the future would stand and be realized, for the light of God would be on his ways (Job 22:28); (4) any casting down that might happen to him would speedily be turned by God into up-raising, because of his meekness and humility (Job 22:29); and finally, even others who had incurred guilt would be saved through his availing prayer (Job 22:30).

Acquaint now thyself with him - Margin, that is, “with God.” Eliphaz takes it for granted now, that Job was a sinner wholly unreconciled to God, and unacquainted with him.

Third double strophe — A FINAL TO — INSURES OF THE DIVINE FAVOUR, Job 22:21-30.a. He who lives for God, and sacrifices his all, shall find in God abiding treasures and an inexhaustible mine of bliss, Job 22:21-25.21.