Job 22:27 - Exposition

Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee . Now Job prays, but is not heard; he asks for death, but it does not come; he begs for a respite from suffering, but it is refused him; he beseeches God to enter into argument with him ( Job 9:32-34 ; Job 10:2 ), but God vouchsafes no answer. Let him follow Eliphaz's advice, "return to the Almighty" (verse 23), humble himself in the dust, repent and "put away his iniquity" (verse 23), and then, Eliphaz promises him, all shall be changed—God will become gracious to him, will listen to him, and grant his requests, will remove his heavy hand, and crown him with mercy and loving-kindness. Then, he adds, thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt have wealth enough, and strength enough, to pay any vows that thou hast made, which now in thy afflicted state thou canst not do. Vows are part of natural religion, and were widely prevalent over all the East in ancient times. The performance of vows, which was strictly enjoined in the Mosaic Law ( Deuteronomy 23:21 ), must at all times have been felt as obligatory by the natural conscience.