For 34 chapters the book of Job consists of a long, and admittedly
tedious, series of speeches given by Job and a group of friends who came to
comfort him. At the end of the long debate, God is not pleased with Job’s
friends. Therefore, we know that we cannot trust everything the friends said to
be true and helpful. That makes understanding these chapters challenging. But
there are some important lessons we can learn from Job’s friends.
1. They have good intentions and start out well
When Job’s friends hear about his suffering, “They met together to
go and sympathize with him and comfort him” (Job 2:11). Many times I’ve gotten together with one or a
few friends from church to go and encourage a brother or sister who was
suffering (most often from health problems). This is a valuable ministry which
is meaningful to all involved and pleasing to God. Our Lord Himself encourages
us to visit those who are suffering in various ways and even tells us that when
we do so it is as if we are ministering to Christ Himself (Matthew 25:36).
Not only do Job’s friends have good intentions, but they start out
well. They weep when they see him, and thus are a positive example of the exhortation
to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). They spend seven whole days
sitting quietly with Job.
Before we go on to see how Job’s friends end up blowing it, we
need to stop and think about their good example. We are in no place to criticize
people who say some wrong words to those who are hurting if we ourselves don’t take
time out of our busy lives to go and comfort those who are suffering.
2. They have a lot of correct theology which
they boldly proclaim
Job’s friends actually have a lot of correct theology. For example,
they point out that
* No human is completely pure and righteous before God (Job 4:14;
15:14; 25:4). And it is true that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God (Romans 3:23)
* All throughout the long
dialog, Job’s friends and Job himself repeatedly proclaim how incredibly wise
and powerful God is. That’s true! That’s good theology!
* A major point they make
is that God would never pervert justice (Job 8:3). They are correct about that.
Moses sang about God’s greatness and his justice:
For I will proclaim the LORD 's name. Declare
the greatness of our God!
The Rock-- his work is perfect; all his ways
are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true. (Deut. 32:3-4
CSB17)
* Another point Job’s friends get right related to justice is that
God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous. This truth is taught from
Genesis to Revelation.
* Zophar correctly points out that we are not able to understand all
of God’s ways because they are so much higher, deeper, and greater then our
ability to understand. This is also true (Isaiah 55:9).
3. Despite good intentions, a good start, and
good theology, they really blow it
In general, Job’s friends have a lot of correct theology. Correct
theology is important. Yet in the end, God is angry with Job’s friends for not
speaking the truth about Him (Job 42:7). This should be a warning to us. Having
both good intentions and good theology does not guarantee that we are getting
it right in God’s eyes. We can have our theology correct and still really mess
up.
Where do Job’s friends go wrong? The Bible does not explicitly
come out and tell us, but it seems to me that Job’s friends make at least two
major errors when speaking.
First, they assume that suffering and misfortune is always caused
by a person’s own sin. It is entirely true that much human suffering flows
directly from our own sin. Paul tells the Corinthians that some of them are
sick and have even died because of their sin (1 Corinthians 11:30). There are
examples of this all throughout the Bible. I believe there have been times in
my own life when a sickness was at least in part due to God’s loving discipline
to motivate me to get sin out of my life. However, when we see someone who is
sick or who has suffered any type of loss, we should never jump to the
conclusion that their suffering is due to their sin. Jesus corrected his disciples
when they asked if a man was blind due to his own sin or his parents’ sin (John
9:2-3). The Bible teaches that sometimes we suffer specifically because of
doing what is right (Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3:14, and many other passages) . And
in fact, God pointed Job out to Satan, and Satan asked for permission to harm Job,
specifically because Job was a righteous man. Of course, neither Job nor any
person we know is perfectly sinless. But this does not mean that all suffering
is due to our own sin. That just isn’t even close to being true.
Closely related to the first error, Job’s friends judge Job. Their
initial intention was to serve as comforters, but they end up acting as judges.
At their lowest, point Job’s friends actually slander him and falsely accuse
him of specific sins which they imagine he must have committed (for example, Job
22:5-9). They judge Job about things that they don’t know about. Judging others
is extremely dangerous. Jesus warns us not to judge (See Matthew 7:1. For a discussion
of judging others, you may read this post: Do not judge, except when you should).
If we use our correct theology to judge others when we should
instead be comforting and encouraging them, God will be angry with us, even as
He was angry with Job’s friends. Rather than speaking harmful words, we should
heed Job’s advice: “If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!” (Job 13:5 CSB17).
When we are healthy and prospering, and a brother or sister in
Christ is suffering, we should focus on comforting and encouraging them, not analyzing
and judging them. Again, Job gave some good advice:
Then Job
answered: I have heard many things like these. You are all miserable
comforters. Is there no end to your empty words? What provokes you that you
continue testifying? If you were in my place I could also talk like you. I
could string words together against you and shake my head at you. Instead, I
would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring
relief. (Job 16:1-5 CSB17)
4. In the end, they humbly except God’s correction
When God corrects Job’s friends they repent and obey God. That’s
another good example. The Bible says that
after God rebukes them, “Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar
the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them” (Job 42:9). We all blow it sometimes. When we do, may we
humbly accept God’s correction and obey Him.
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