If you are experiencing defeat , you will be encouraged by Job’s perseverance in the middle of great suffering. At this point in our study, Job is no longer blessed, and wealthy man. He has lost all his children, wealth and health. His wife is waiting for him to die. And although his friends came to comfort Job, they became speechless at the sight of Job’s devastation.
In our last study, Job finally breaks the silence and begins to talk . Many times, we come across friends who are hurting , but we don’t know how to help. Who will bring comfort to them? Who will comfort those whose pride is wounded, who are lonely, who have lost loved ones or are facing defeat in their marriage, their work or their personal lives? Christians ought to be people who bring comfort to others. At this point we get the first reply of the three friends of Job. One was named Eliphaz, one was Bildad, and the third was Zophar. These friends all come with the same solution to the problem, but they approach it in three distinct ways . Remember that we do not know the spiritual condition of these three men. We do know Job’s condition. “Then the Lord said, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.” Job 2:3 (HCSB)
Job’s three friends will speak alot of truth but they will also speak alot of error. What we find in the Bible is inspired – it is there to encourage us and to keep us from false teaching. But there are times when we are exposed to falsehood so that we can discern the truth. The temptation of Jesus is such an example. satan’s discourse is plainly in the scripture – even though His teaching is false. There are many examples in the scripture where false teaching is presented. IE : satan talking with Eve. It is up to us to study the scripture so that we may learnthe truth .
The main theory of Job’s three friends is that God never afflicts a righteous man. Since Job is afflicted – He must be a sinner. We must keep in mind that God has not caused the affliction of Job – but He has allowed it. Many people in New Testament times believed that people suffer because of the sin they committed –either there own or the sin of a family member. See scripture below:
1 As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples questioned Him “ Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “[This came about] so that God’s works might be displayed in him. 4 We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1-5 (HCSB) Notice that Jesus tells his disciples that neither the parents nor the man caused this problem of blindness. Innocent people suffer. It is a fact of life. On the other hand – it is a fact that all people suffer because of sin. If it was not for the sin in this world there would be no suffering. All people will suffer because of the fall – we can not escape it. Eliphaz is the first speaker & when you hear what he has to say, you will know what these three friends will be saying all through the rest of the book. He starts out first by saying to Job, in effect, "Follow your own advice," Chapter 4: from the message - Then Eliphaz from Teman spoke up: 2 "Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it’s hard to keep quiet. 3 You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit. 4 Your words have put stumbling people on their feet, put fresh hope in people about to collapse. 5 But now you’re the one in trouble - you’re hurting! You’ve been hit hard and you’re reeling from the blow. 6 But shouldn’t your devout life give you confidence now? Shouldn’t your exemplary life give you hope? Basically Eliphaz is saying, "Job, you have been a counselor to many people, and you have been able to put your finger on their problem and help them to deal with it. You delivered them, you found the key to what was troubling them and helped them to face up to it. Your turn has come. You’ve been caught in the same kind of problem you have helped others with, so now follow your own advice and you will be relieved." Then Eliphaz goes on to put very plainly just what that problem is, as he sees it, and, in Verses 7-11, you have his basic principle of life: 7 "Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap? Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end? 8 It’s my observation that those who plow evil and sow trouble reap evil and trouble. 9 One breath from God and they fall apart, one blast of his anger and there’s nothing left of them.... Eliphaz argument is: the righteous are never punished; only the unrighteous suffer. "Where did you ever see an innocent man perish?" he asks Job. "Where did you ever see an unrighteous man succeed?" His argument is, clearly, that Job’s problem is caused by his own sin, something that Job is hiding. And this will be the basic argument all through the book: "There is something wrong, Job. If you will only admit it you’ll be all right."
Faultfinders find fault with people who have been successful and whose lives look together. They find fault because out of their own insecurities they need to believe that others are no better than they are. There are some people who lead easy lives. The rest of us can be down and out, and they will have enough to eat, clothes to wear, the rent bill paid, and they want to know if you are going to Cancun this year or whether you like the latest fashions at Saks. When you hear all that, you can get jealous. Here I am, sweating and straining just to get by, and they seem to have everything. One of the reasons we find fault with others is that we are jealous of them. We think they do not really deserve all the good things they have, and so we pick at them. We jab and poke and see if we cannot find some fault in them. It makes us feel better about ourselves if we can find the flaws in others. It makes us deal with our own self-esteem problems if we can find somebody else and put down his success.
Faultfinders, like Eliphaz, find fault with others because, in our own shortcomings, we think that we will come off all right if we believe that others are no better than we are. But There is another standard And against that standard all of us have deficits, all have sinned and come short. All. We cannot repair our own insecurities by finding fault with others. We all see clearly that the suffering of others is caused by their sin, while our suffering is always caused by something else. Eliphaz goes on to tell Job that if he will fear God and admit his sin, things will be all right .Now in Chapter 5, Eliphaz argues that trouble comes only from sin. The message- 1 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn? 2 The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
Eliphaz says That is what is wrong. You are vexed and jealous, and that is why you have trouble. 3 I’ve seen it myself - seen fools putting down roots, and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed. 4 Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them. What a low blow! That is a hidden reference to the calamity that befell all Job’s children in one day. Eliphaz is suggesting that such things happen only because there is something wrong in Job’s life: 6 Don’t blame fate when things go wrong - trouble doesn’t come from nowhere. 7 It’s human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward. What a Blessing When God Corrects You! "Trouble comes from sin," says Eliphaz. "That’s the whole thing Job. If you’ve got trouble, that has to be the reason." In the next Verses 8-16, he suggests to Job that there is no use playing games with God because God knows too much.8 "If I were in your shoes, I’d go straight to God, I’d throw myself on the mercy of God. 9 After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts; there’s no end to his surprises. ........ God is in control Eliphaz argues, and he is so clever and so wise that you cannot deceive him. "You can’t hide from him Job. He’ll trap you, he’ll uncover your sin. You might as well get it out in the open!" Eliphaz closes with a section which says, in effect, "just give up and God will bless you." Verses 17-27:NIV 17 "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. 19 From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you. 20 In famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. 21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes. 22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth. 23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. 24 You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. 25 You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season. 27 "We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself." Eliphaz argues that if you just cast yourself on God’s mercy he will forgive you and restore you and everything will be fine. Though this sounds like good theology it does not take in all the facts. the truth is, that is not what happens. Everyone knows that you can find godly people who are not protected, and who still go through times of trialand peril and suffering. That is why Job is given to us, that we learn to correct our theology, and to understand that there are deeper reasons for suffering than just sin -- Eliphaz makes some mistakes in his response to Job. In Job 2:11 we read, "When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon [Job], they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him."
Eliphaz’s original goal was to comfort Job, but his words in chapters 4 and 5 betray his intention. Even so, Eliphaz’s mistakes are lessons we can learn from. First, we need to bring comfort and not condemnation. To comfort is to strengthen and to build up. To condemn is to criticize, to judge and to tear down.Galatians 6:1 reminds us, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." None of us are free from mistakes or wrongdoing in our lives. When we come across someone who is hurting and defeated, we need to be a source of comfort rather than a source of condemnation. Eliphaz condemned Job for not living what he preached . Second, We need to be very careful not to make ourselves God’s mouthpiece to other people. Eliphaz uses his experiences to make the point that Job might be getting what he deserves. After all, we reap what we sow. And since God is righteous and pure, and mankind, including Job, is not righteous and not pure, God is only giving Job what he deserves.
But we know Eliphaz is wrong; Job’s devastation is not a result of his sins. We have the advantage of reading Job, chapters 1 and 2, where Satan asserts that people worship God only because of what they receive from God. So Job became the subject of a test to prove that God is worthy of worship, even when Satan removes God’s blessings from Job’s life.
We need to be very careful not to make ourselves God’s mouthpiece of judgement to other people. God is very capable of telling me directly. Third, we need to carry the people who are grieving to God. Eliphaz here is commenting on the fact that Job has not made his appeal to God. Job felt so powerless, his faith so shaken and his confidence so shattered that making his appeal to God didn’t even cross his mind. I’ve had the opportunity to visit cancer patients and terminally ill patients in the hospital, and their faith, once strong and vibrant, became weak and limp. They and their family members couldn’t pray, so I prayed for them. Telling a deeply hurting or ill person to appeal to God is like telling a drowning man to swim. He would if he could.An example of that is in Matthew 9:2 "Some men brought to Jesus a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ’Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’" Eliphaz told Job to go to God, but the lesson is to personally carry the grieving to God.
Fourth, we need to contain clichés from presumption. Presumption is what we assume will happen.
Eliphaz began with condemnation; he continued by misapplying his own experience to Job, and he then told Job to go and appeal to God. Eliphaz now assured Job that God will intervene, and that Job will get better. Eliphaz uses clichés we’ve all heard of, "God is using the suffering to make you a better person." This may be true or not, depending on whether the person draws closer to God or walks away from God in response to the suffering. Or, "God will fix your problem if you have more faith." This may be true or not. God can and does heal and restore. In the case of Job, God did heal Job’s illness and restore his wealth. We read this in Job, chapter 42. But God was not obligated to heal or restore to Job his losses. God doesn’t always heal or make things better. But some religious books will tell you God always heals. You see, only books with happy endings sell in our society. So when the patient dies or the trouble goes from bad to worse, people involved become angry at God or lose faith in God. And all this occurs because we are repeatedly told the presumptuous cliché that God will fix everything. Instead of putting words in God’s mouth, we need to have the courage to face the unknown outcome along with the person who is suffering and hurting. We need to keep in check our tendency to use clichés. clichés may make us feel better as we walk away from the hospital or the home of the ill and the depressed, but cliché s can also be false and eventually hurtful to other’s faith.
We read in Job 42:7, "[The Lord] said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right...." Job’s reply to this is in Chapters 6 and 7. In Chapter 6 Job rebukes his friends, speaking to all three of them. And, in Chapter 7, Job addresses his complaint to God. First, Job says he has a right to complain.6:1 Job answered: 2 "If my misery could be weighed, if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales, 3 It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea! Is it any wonder that I’m screaming like a caged cat? The message He admits he has been speaking very strongly but he says, "If you were where I am, you’d understand. My sorrow is so terrible it gives me a good reason to complain." 4 The arrows of God Almighty are in me, poison arrows - and I’m poisoned all through! God has dumped the whole works on me. 5 Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture - so don’t expect me to keep quiet in this. 6 Do you see what God has dished out for me?...... "You never hear an animal complain," Job says, "when he is well fed and taken care of. So I have a right to complain. It helps me to bear my troubles." Many people talk that way. I know a lot of people who feel that if God sends them tribulation they have a right to complain! And most of them do. Job felt that way: "What I am going through is so bad I have to complain!" Then he speaks of his inability to bear more, Verse 8:8 "All I want is an answer to one prayer, a last request to be honored: 9 Let God step on me - squash me like a bug, and be done with me for good. 10 I’d at least have the satisfaction of not having blasphemed the Holy God, before being pressed past the limits. 11 Where’s the strength to keep my hopes up? What future do I have to keep me going? 12 Do you think I have nerves of steel? Do you think I’m made of iron? 13 Do you think I can pull myself up by my bootstraps? Why, I don’t even have any boots! My So-Called Friends . " Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever said, "Lord, you promised that you would not tempt me above that which I’m able to bear and Lord we went by that point weeks ago!" But God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows how much we can take. He knew how much Job could take, and he has a reason for all this. Then Job turns to his friends and rebukes them, expressing his irritation at their misunderstanding, (Verses 14-21):14 "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams ........21 Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid.Job is saying You said you came to comfort me, and all you’ve given me is trouble. "Did I ask you to help me? I didn’t send for you. You came to comfort me and instead you rebuke me. I didn’t ask for it!" 24 "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. 25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? 26 Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind? 27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. 28 "But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? 29 Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. 30 Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? Job is simply saying, "If there is something wrong then tell me, for I don’t know what it is." His dilemma is that he knows God is doing this to him, but he cannot find a reason. He knows there is nothing in his life that he has not already confessed and dealt with. He is not claiming to be sinless; he is saying that he has handled whatever sin he has been aware of, so what else is there? Why is this going on?Then he turns to God, and complains about the hardness of his present experience & about the hopelessness of the future, . Chapter 7: NIV 7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. 8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. 9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return. 10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.Job has given up. He thinks he will never see any relief that he will go on like this to the end. And out of that meaningless suffering and hopeless darkness he cries out in honest despair, Verses 11-21:11 "Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul ....... 16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. NIV…….. 17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, 18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? 21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more." NIV Have you ever felt that way? "Lord, leave me alone, I’ve had enough! Why are you so intent on making life miserable for me? Why don’t you just let me go?" So Job cries out in baffled bewilderment. Now, even at this point in the book, there are some things that we must constantly remember. One is, we know something about this that Job does not know. Satan’s purpose here was to use the pain of Job’s illness to afflict his body; to use the well-intentioned comfort of his friends to irritate his soul; and to use the silence of God to assault his spirit and to break his faith. But God’s purpose is to teach Job some truths that he never knew before, to deepen his theology, and help him understand God much better. God’s truth was to answer Satan and to prove him wrong . What an encouragement to those of us who must go through some times of suffering, to understand that it is not always because we are sinful. Sometimes it is, and we will know it when it is. But if, like Job, you know of nothing you have done that you have not dealt with, and still the suffering goes on, look behind the curtain of God’s purposes and you will see that great and eternal events are hanging upon the outcome of the struggle.
