Then shall you lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
lay up
1 Kings 10:21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
2 Chronicles 1:5 Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.
2 Chronicles 9:10,27 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones…
as dust.
Genesis 10:29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
1 Kings 9:28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines
Ophir is historically known as a region famous for its fine gold, mentioned in 1 Kings 10:11 and 2 Chronicles 9:10, where Solomon's ships brought back gold from Ophir. The reference to Ophir highlights the high value and desirability of this gold. By comparing it to the stones of the ravines, the text emphasizes the insignificance of even the most precious earthly treasures when compared to spiritual riches. This imagery serves as a metaphor for the believer's need to re-evaluate what is truly valuable, aligning with the biblical theme of seeking God's kingdom first, as seen in Matthew 6:33.
• Eliphaz is urging Job to lay his treasure “in the dirt,” treating it as nothing compared with loyalty to the Almighty (Job 22:23). The picture is literal—gold dropped into the soil—so its figurative lesson is unmistakable: wealth must never rival God.
• Scripture consistently warns against trusting riches. Proverbs 11:28 says, “He who trusts in his riches will fall,” and Jesus adds, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19–20).
• The call is not to despise honest prosperity but to dethrone it. When the heart is fixed on God, money becomes a tool, not a master (Matthew 6:24).
• Practical outworking:
– Hold assets with an open hand; give generously (1 Timothy 6:17–19).
– Measure success by faithfulness, not net worth (Luke 12:15).
– Remember everything tangible returns to dust (Ecclesiastes 3:20).
• “Gold of Ophir” was the finest bullion known (1 Kings 9:28; 10:11). Eliphaz says even that premium metal should be tossed aside like common gravel in a wadi.
• The contrast magnifies the lesson: if the best this world offers must be demoted, nothing else deserves first place. Hebrews 13:5 presses the same point: “Keep your lives free from the love of money … because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you.’”
• Stones in a ravine are plentiful, ordinary, and easily swept away by flash floods. So is every fortune apart from God (James 5:1–3).
• Living this verse means:
– View status symbols as temporary props, not ultimate security (Psalm 62:10).
– Invest in what lasts—righteous deeds and eternal relationships (Matthew 6:20).
– Regularly examine motives: is gold serving God’s purposes, or am I serving gold? (Colossians 3:5).
Job 22:24 pictures a decisive transfer of trust: the believer deliberately demotes even the most cherished wealth, esteeming it no more than roadside dust or creek-bed stones. By treating material riches as expendable, the heart is freed to cling entirely to the Almighty, who alone satisfies now and forever.
(24) The gold of Ophir.--And, moreover, that the wealth for which he was so famous among the children of the East was the accumulation of iniquity and wrong-doing. The sense probably is, "Put thy treasure on a level with the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks": that is, reckon it of no more value than such stones; do not set thine heart upon it. The situation of Ophir has always been a matter of dispute. Josephus placed it in India (Antt. viii. 6, ? 4), as do some moderns; others suppose it to have been an Indian colony in Southern Arabia, and others have placed it on the east coast of Africa.Verse 24. - Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust; rather, then shalt thou lay thy treasure in the dust; i.e. hold it in slight esteem, because of its abundance. And the gold of Ophir (literally, and Ophir) shall be to thee as the stones of the brooks, (comp. 2 Chronicles 9:27, "And the king [i.e. Solomon] made silver in Jerusalem as stones"). "Ophir" stands, no doubt, for untold wealth, being the great gold- producing country (see 1 Kings 9:28; 1 Kings 10:11; 1 Kings 22:48; 1 Chronicles 29:41; Psalm 45:9; Isaiah 13:12). (On its location, see the article on "Ophir," in Smith's 'Dict. of the Bible,' vol 2. pp. 637-652, and compare the comment on Job 28:16.)