( Job 22) is up against things finds nothing but chaff. Every
The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers 71
It is soul certainty that the world needs, even more than sound principles—not soul facility, but soul certainty, not ready religion, but sure.
relationship. There is a great amount of Pharisaism abroad to-day, and it is based on "devotee-ness" to principles. Devotion to a cause is the great mark of our day, and in religion it means being devoted to the application of religious principles. A disciple of Jesus Christ is devoted to a Person, not to principles.
Dr. Forsyth20
Job persists in stating that the basis of things is not clear or easy to understand. "It is absurd to say, as you are doing," he says, "that God punishes the evil man and looks after the good, there is so much perversity at the basis of things that that explanation won't do." The friends give this explanation because they are true to their creed, and Job says, "I held the same creed as you do until I came to my great trouble." Their creed was based on sound principles, but what is needed is a sound relationship at the basis of things. When things are suddenly altered by bereavement or by some tension in personal experience, we find ourselves wonderfully at home with what Job says. There is a wildness about things, and we revolt against the people who explain everything on the basis of sound principles. They have everything ready to hand, and can tell you just where everyone goes wrong; but Job's contention is that when a man is face to face with things as they are, easy explanations won't do, for things are not easy; there is a perverseness all through. If Job is not right in his contention, then the Redemption is "much ado about nothing."
Job's experience flatly contradicts the creed of this particular Pharisee, Eliphaz, so he jumps on Job. His words are eloquent and his charges terrific; he sums up all the facts and informs Job that he has maltreated the innocent, wronged the widow, and starved the orphan—
Is not thy wickedness great? And thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. ( Job 22:5–7)
This is always the dodge of a Pharisee, whether he is a demagogue or a religious man, he must make a moral issue somewhere. If he can rouse up a passion for a neglected principle, it is exactly what he wants, but there is no reality in it. The Pharisaism of Our Lord's day was based on the principles of Judaism, and when Jesus Christ came the Pharisees did not recognise Him but said, "You are a hypocrite, we can prove it." Many of the religious phases of to-day do not touch reality, but only the Pharisaic insistence on a certain form of sound doctrine, and the man who is up against things finds nothing but chaff. Every denominationalist is certain that the crowd who does not agree with what "we" call our sound principles must be wrong; he never imagines that the "Job" type of man can be right with God. When God spoke to Eliphaz, as He did at the close, it would be the last humiliation for Eliphaz to find that after all from God's standpoint Job was the only one among them who was right. In the meantime it is far easier to stand by the utterances of Eliphaz than by the utterances of Job.
2. The Reasoning Severity of Pharisaism ( Job 22) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself ? . . . Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. ( Job 22:1–2, 21)
Many a gross Pharisee is a mighty moralist and he believes himself sincere with it. The deadliest Pharisaism is not hypocrisy, it is the unconscious Pharisaism of unreality.
Dr. Forsyth
The Pharisee is an intense moralist (see John 16:2; Hebrews 13:13). When Jesus Christ came He was found to be unresolvable by every set of religious principles, that was His "reproach." To "go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach," does not mean going outside the worldly crowd; it means being put outside the religious crowd you belong to. One of the most poignant bits of suffering for a disciple comes along that line. If you remain true to Jesus Christ there are times when you will have to go through your convictions and out the other side, and most of us shrink from such a step
The nature of Pharisaism is that it must stand on tiptoe and be superior. The man who does not want to face the foundation of things becomes tremendously stern and keen on principles and on moral reforms. A man who is hyperconscientious is nearly always one who has done something irregular or who is morbid; either he is close on the verge of lunacy, or he is covering up something wrong by tremendous moral earnestness along certain lines of reform. A Pharisee shuts you up, not by loud shouting, but by the unanswerable logic he presents; he is bound to principles, not to a
20. Peter Taylor Forsyth (1848–1921), British Congregationalist minister and theologian. Chambers read many of Forsyth's books and valued his insights.