Job 22:17-30: a reflection

17who said to God, ‘Depart from us!’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’ 18Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them, 20saying, ‘Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed their remnant.’ 21“Acquaint yourself with him now, and be at peace. By it, good will come to you. 22Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. 24Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 25The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you. 26For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face to God. 27You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You will pay your vows. 28You will also decree a thing, and it will be established to you. Light will shine on your ways. 29When they cast down, you will say, ‘be lifted up.’ He will save the humble person. 30He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

In words urging Job to return to God, a striking counsel is given: to lay aside gold as one's treasure and make the Almighty himself one's treasure, delighting in him. Lay your treasure in the dust, the counsel says, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face to God. The counsel is to put gold and silver in their place, not to make them our treasure, but to make God himself our treasure, the one in whom we delight and find our worth and security. When God, rather than gold, is our treasure, we delight in him and can lift up our face to him, and be at peace. This shows making God, not gold, our true treasure, delighting in him. Make God, not gold, your true treasure, delighting in him. Put wealth in its place; let the Almighty himself be your treasure. When God is your treasure, you delight in him and are at peace. Acquaint yourself with God and find in him your worth and security.

Notice the exchange this counsel urges. It calls Job to lay his treasure, his gold, in the dust, to put it in its place among the stones of the brook, that is, not to prize it as his treasure. And in its place, it offers something far better: the Almighty will be your treasure. God himself, not gold, is to be our treasure, the one we prize above all, in whom we find our worth, security, and delight. And the counsel describes the result: when God is our treasure, we will delight ourselves in him, lift up our face to him, pray to him and be heard, and be at peace. This holds a searching and freeing counsel. We are prone to make wealth our treasure, to prize gold and what it buys as the thing that gives us worth and security, setting our hearts on it. But wealth cannot finally be our treasure; it cannot give the worth, security, and delight the soul seeks. The better way is to make God himself our treasure: to prize him above all, to find our worth and security in him rather than in gold, to delight in him. When God, and not wealth, is our treasure, we are freed from the anxious grip of riches, and find in him a delight and peace that gold cannot give. We do well to make God, not gold, our true treasure, prizing him above all and delighting in him. Make God, not gold, your treasure, prizing him above all. Do not set your heart on wealth to give you worth and security. When God is your treasure, you find delight and peace gold cannot give. Acquaint yourself with God, and delight in him as your true treasure.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are to make God, not gold, our true treasure, delighting in him, as this counsel urges. We can make wealth our treasure, setting our hearts on it for worth and security; but this counsel says to lay gold in the dust and make the Almighty our treasure. Treasure God. Do not set your heart on gold to give you worth and security; make God himself your treasure, prizing and delighting in him, and find in him a peace gold cannot give. Make God himself, not gold, your true treasure, prizing him above all and delighting in him rather than setting your heart on wealth for worth and security, as in words urging Job to return to God a striking counsel is given to lay aside gold as one's treasure and make the Almighty himself one's treasure, telling him to lay his treasure in the dust and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks, for the Almighty would be his treasure and precious silver to him, so that he would delight himself in the Almighty and lift up his face to God; for the counsel is to put gold and silver in their place and not make them our treasure but to make God himself our treasure, the one in whom we delight and find our worth and security, so that when God rather than gold is our treasure we delight in him and can lift up our face to him and be at peace, which holds a searching and freeing counsel, since we are prone to make wealth our treasure and prize gold and what it buys as the thing that gives us worth and security, setting our hearts on it, but wealth cannot finally be our treasure or give the worth, security, and delight the soul seeks, and the better way is to make God himself our treasure and prize him above all and find our worth and security in him rather than in gold and delight in him, so that when God and not wealth is our treasure we are freed from the anxious grip of riches and find in him a delight and peace gold cannot give, and we do well to make God our true treasure.

Lord, in words urging Job to return to you, a striking counsel is given: to lay aside gold as one's treasure and make you, the Almighty, one's treasure, delighting in you. Lay your treasure in the dust, the counsel says, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face to God. The counsel is to put gold and silver in their place, not to make them my treasure, but to make you yourself my treasure, the one in whom I delight and find my worth and security. When you, rather than gold, are my treasure, I delight in you and can lift up my face to you, and be at peace. Show me the exchange this counsel urges. It calls me to lay my treasure, my gold, in the dust, to put it in its place, not to prize it as my treasure. And in its place, it offers something far better: the Almighty will be your treasure. You yourself, not gold, are to be my treasure, the one I prize above all, in whom I find my worth, security, and delight. And the counsel describes the result: when you are my treasure, I will delight in you, lift up my face to you, pray to you and be heard, and be at peace. This holds a searching and freeing counsel. I am prone to make wealth my treasure, to prize gold and what it buys as the thing that gives me worth and security, setting my heart on it. But wealth cannot finally be my treasure; it cannot give the worth, security, and delight my soul seeks. The better way is to make you yourself my treasure: to prize you above all, to find my worth and security in you rather than in gold, to delight in you. When you, and not wealth, are my treasure, I am freed from the anxious grip of riches, and find in you a delight and peace gold cannot give. Take that to my heart. Keep me from setting my heart on gold to give me worth and security; help me make you, Lord, my true treasure, prizing you above all and delighting in you, acquainting myself with you and finding in you a delight and peace that gold cannot give.