Following in an excerpt from a book I am writing named Confronting
the Wind.
Eliphaz
An Exercise in Exegesis
Job 22:28
“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for
you; And light will shine on your ways.”
“Decree a thing and it will be established for you” has become
the emphasis of many ministries among Charismatics. I have witnessed whole conferences devoted to decreeing and declaring. To whom
are they decreeing and declaring is a good question. For example, let’s say I
need money to pay unexpected bills. If I believe there is creative power in my
declaration and decree, then my actions will be to declare and decree into the
heavens or into the atmosphere or to the devil or … to God. “Release money to
me. I command that all my needs are met, in Jesus Name,” I will say. Now, of
course, there are a great number of scriptures I can quote in my decree and declaration. But, is
this the biblical pattern—to speak into the atmosphere? Is this what
Jesus did? The apostles? If, however, my paradigm is that God is the keeper of
all my answers, the One who hears all my prayers, and who meets all
my needs, then I will, instead of declaring and decreeing into the atmosphere,
simply ask.
In a meeting I attended, a leader’s message was on decreeing and
declaring. The point the leader was making is that we can decree a thing, as
the church or as an individual, and it will be established for us. So, in the
meeting people decreed things they wanted done. Maybe even things God wanted
done? Consider that if it is true that we can declare/decree a thing and it
will be established, then something or someone is causing it to be
established—for it will be established for you. Meaning, there is a
silent agent in the scripture. We must conclude therefore that the silent agent
is either God, the words themselves, man’s own resident supernatural power,
some unseen unmentioned force, or the devil. Who or what is, in reality,
empowering the words?
Think about it...
Getting back to the meeting… Since I already had a grid about declaring
and decreeing things and the power of people’s words, the sermon did not set
well with me. I went home and looked for “Decree a thing and it will be
established for you” in the Bible. There it is in Job 22:28, spoken by
Eliphaz the Temanite… oops… Let’s look at God’s opinion of Eliphaz and what
Eliphaz had to say. God said to Eliphaz in Job 42:7, It came
about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to
Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two
friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job
has.” Therefore to use Job 22:28 in the way many do, as mentioned
above, is completely against sound Biblical exegesis. We cannot pull from
Eliphaz’s words to establish a doctrinal position any more than we could
Satan’s words. For example, why is it that we never see cards with “Therefore
if you worship before me, it shall all be yours”? Because of the source. It
is Satan. He said this when tempting Jesus. We cannot build upon Eliphaz’s
words any more than we can Satan’s. Both do not speak according to what is
right. There is no difference.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who
does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2
Timothy 2:15
