Job 22:12

My Notes

What Does Job 22:12 Mean?

"Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!" Eliphaz's THIRD speech — and he invokes the TRANSCENDENCE of God: God is in the HEIGHT of heaven. The stars are HIGH. The implication: God is far above, distant, elevated beyond human concern. Eliphaz uses God's height to argue that human righteousness doesn't affect God (verse 3 — 'Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?').

The phrase "Is not God in the height of heaven?" (halo Eloah govah shamayim — is not God the height of heaven?) makes God's ELEVATION the argument: God is SO HIGH that human actions can't reach Him. The height is the distance. The transcendence is the irrelevance. Eliphaz uses God's greatness to diminish human significance: if God is that high, your suffering doesn't matter to Him. If God is that far, your righteousness doesn't benefit Him.

The phrase "behold the height of the stars, how high they are" (ure'eh rosh kokhavim ki ramu — see the head/top of the stars, how lofty they are) adds ASTRONOMICAL imagery: look at the stars — they're incomprehensibly high. And God is ABOVE the stars. The distance between human and divine is measured in COSMIC SCALE. The stars themselves are just markers along the way to God's actual position.

Eliphaz's theology of TRANSCENDENCE is partially correct but MISAPPLIED: God IS high. But Eliphaz uses the height to argue that God is INDIFFERENT — that human affairs don't reach the divine. The Bible's answer is different: God IS transcendent AND intimate. The height doesn't produce distance. It produces perspective.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What theological truth are you using to avoid the messy intimacy of someone's suffering?
• 2.What does God being 'in the height of heaven' — and ALSO dwelling with the contrite — teach about transcendence and intimacy coexisting?
• 3.How does Eliphaz using GRANDEUR to argue INDIFFERENCE describe the misuse of correct theology?
• 4.What 'God is too big to care' argument have you encountered — and what does the cross say in response?

Devotional

God is in the HEIGHT of heaven. The stars are HIGH. And Eliphaz's conclusion: God is so far above that your actions — your righteousness, your suffering — don't reach Him. The transcendence becomes the excuse for INDIFFERENCE. The height becomes the argument for IRRELEVANCE. If God is that far above, why would He care about one man's suffering?

The MISAPPLICATION is the problem: Eliphaz's observation is correct — God IS in the height of heaven. The stars ARE incomprehensibly high. God IS above them all. But Eliphaz CONCLUDES from this that God is unaffected by human behavior. The transcendence produces (in Eliphaz's theology) divine DETACHMENT. If God is that high, nothing below matters.

The Bible's answer is the OPPOSITE: the God who is in the height of heaven is also the God who 'dwelleth with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit' (Isaiah 57:15). The height and the intimacy coexist. The transcendence and the tenderness are not in conflict. The God above the stars hears the cry from the ash-heap. The distance doesn't produce indifference.

Eliphaz uses GRANDEUR to avoid COMPASSION: 'God is too big to care about your problem' is the most sophisticated way to avoid caring about someone's problem yourself. The theological appeal to transcendence masks the human failure to be present. The height of heaven becomes the excuse for the distance of the friend.

What grand theological truth are you using to avoid the messy intimacy of someone's suffering?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture