After Job suffered the greatest calamities that any man can suffer, he was visited by this three alleged friends – Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite (indicating the regions from where they had come). The fourth man who addressed Job was Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite. He was not originally listed as one of the friends of Job, but he was present throughout, and he too spoke in a similar vein as all the others.
The Bible tells us that Job was “a perfect and upright man, and one that feared God, and eschewed [avoided and rejected] evil” (Job 1:1). Indeed God told Satan that “there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Jon 1:8; 2:3). And Job is listed among the three righteous men – Noah, Daniel, and Job -- whom God would spare though everyone else was punished (Ezekiel 14:14) So there is no doubt whatsoever that Job was a righteous man.
However, because he had been thoroughly destroyed through Satan, his friends automatically assumed that he was being punished for his sins and his wickedness. Their faulty assumption was that God never hurts the righteous but always hurts the wicked. Thus we have unjust accusations being hurled at Job by his so-called friends.
1. Eliphaz made the following accusation (Job 4:7-9): Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
In other words, Job you must have done wickedly to earn such wrath from God. He went on to tell Job that God would always bless the righteous man and preserve him from evil. Which was no comfort to righteous Job, who had been afflicted very severely.
2. Next, we have Bildad the Shuhite, who made it plain that Job was a hypocrite, and either Job or his children had sinned against God, hence all these calamites.
If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression... If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous... So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web... Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: (Job 8:4,6,13,14,20)
This really hurt Job, yet Job continued to praise God, but lamented that there was no “daysman” or mediator between him and God. At the same time God showed him that his Redeemer – Christ – lives and that he would one day stand before Him.
3. Then Zophar the Naamathite chimed in, but without any words of comfort: In fact he called Job a liar: Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?.. For he [God] knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles [tents]. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: (Job 11:2,3,11,14,15)
4. All three “friends” speak to Job again, but without really understanding Job’s predicament. Finally Elihu speaks up, since he was the youngest, and would speak only after the older (and presumably wiser) men had spoken. When he starts out one gets the impression that he will get to the heart of the matter – that even though Job is innocent God has afflicted him severely, and God has his own reasons. But that does not really happen. He assumes that Job is striving against God, when Job is simply in great grief and bitterness of soul. He too assumes that Job is wicked, and being punished, so that he will not face eternal damnation.
Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters... He [God] keepeth back his [the sinner’s] soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword... To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living... What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. (33:13,18,30; 34:7-9)
As we can see all those accusations were unjust. Therefore we can learn a lesson from Job. It will be a rare friend who will really understand why God has afflicted you and brought great calamities upon you. Most people (including your wife) will assume that it is all your fault. But as we see at the end of the book of Job, it was not his fault but God’s design to put him through the furnace of affliction, and God does this to many of His saints without explanation.
The Bible tells us that Job was “a perfect and upright man, and one that feared God, and eschewed [avoided and rejected] evil” (Job 1:1). Indeed God told Satan that “there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Jon 1:8; 2:3). And Job is listed among the three righteous men – Noah, Daniel, and Job -- whom God would spare though everyone else was punished (Ezekiel 14:14) So there is no doubt whatsoever that Job was a righteous man.
However, because he had been thoroughly destroyed through Satan, his friends automatically assumed that he was being punished for his sins and his wickedness. Their faulty assumption was that God never hurts the righteous but always hurts the wicked. Thus we have unjust accusations being hurled at Job by his so-called friends.
1. Eliphaz made the following accusation (Job 4:7-9): Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
In other words, Job you must have done wickedly to earn such wrath from God. He went on to tell Job that God would always bless the righteous man and preserve him from evil. Which was no comfort to righteous Job, who had been afflicted very severely.
2. Next, we have Bildad the Shuhite, who made it plain that Job was a hypocrite, and either Job or his children had sinned against God, hence all these calamites.
If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression... If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous... So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web... Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: (Job 8:4,6,13,14,20)
This really hurt Job, yet Job continued to praise God, but lamented that there was no “daysman” or mediator between him and God. At the same time God showed him that his Redeemer – Christ – lives and that he would one day stand before Him.
3. Then Zophar the Naamathite chimed in, but without any words of comfort: In fact he called Job a liar: Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?.. For he [God] knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles [tents]. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: (Job 11:2,3,11,14,15)
4. All three “friends” speak to Job again, but without really understanding Job’s predicament. Finally Elihu speaks up, since he was the youngest, and would speak only after the older (and presumably wiser) men had spoken. When he starts out one gets the impression that he will get to the heart of the matter – that even though Job is innocent God has afflicted him severely, and God has his own reasons. But that does not really happen. He assumes that Job is striving against God, when Job is simply in great grief and bitterness of soul. He too assumes that Job is wicked, and being punished, so that he will not face eternal damnation.
Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters... He [God] keepeth back his [the sinner’s] soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword... To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living... What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. (33:13,18,30; 34:7-9)
As we can see all those accusations were unjust. Therefore we can learn a lesson from Job. It will be a rare friend who will really understand why God has afflicted you and brought great calamities upon you. Most people (including your wife) will assume that it is all your fault. But as we see at the end of the book of Job, it was not his fault but God’s design to put him through the furnace of affliction, and God does this to many of His saints without explanation.
