In the last article I looked at what Eliphaz had to say to try and comfort Job in his suffering. To recap quickly, he basically said:

 

• This suffering is punishment for your sins.

 

• You are reaping what you sowed.

 

• God is angry with you.

 

• God is teaching and disciplining you with this suffering.

 

• God is a double agent who both causes the suffering and provides relief and healing.

 

God Himself said that Jobs friends were wrong. (Job 42:7). But Eliphaz was not the only one to try and comfort Job. There was also Bildad. Let’s see what he said.

 

Job 8:3-6 Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? 4 If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression. 5 If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty, 6 If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place.

 

Bildad repeats Eliphaz’s ‘comfort’ by saying suffering is justified because of sin. But he then gives a ‘solution’ for this. ‘Go seek God, grovel and beg for mercy. If you did nothing wrong, then God will wake up (as if God sleeps) and help you.’ First he says God is doing this because Job sinned. Then he says to go to God and seek help, but you will only get help if you are pure and upright, which apparently Job isn’t. What’s the use then? So basically Bildad is saying, ‘Go to God, but I don’t think He is going to help you.’ Why would I go the person causing my suffering and ask for help to be delivered? ‘Deliver me from yourself oh God?’ That’s like asking the judge who just pronounced your sentence to let you off the hook. Good luck with that…

 

Then we have Zophar. Job’s next ‘comforter.’ Does he have something better to add?

 

Job 11:5-10 But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you, 6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves. 7 “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than heaven–what can you do? Deeper than Sheol–what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea. 10 “If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment, Then who can hinder Him?

 

Oh boy. Not much better. This is what Zophar is saying:

 

• You have sinned but you are lucky, God is holding back on you. You should actually suffer more.

 

• It is impossible to know the deep things of God. Who knows what God is going to get up to next? His ways are higher, His thoughts are not ours.

 

• God can do whatever He pleases to do in His sovereignty. Who can stop Him?

 

All these ‘comforts’ were wrong. God Himself said so. What they said actually caused God to get angry with them. Don’t give somebody bad news and call it God’s comfort, God has no bad news to share. He only has good news.

 

3 friends down, one to go. Stay tuned.

 

Cornel

 

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You can’t preach the goodness of God without somebody somewhere trying to show you how wrong you are and that God is not so great by referencing Job. They also usually give their own theological reasonings to justify suffering in many cases. Job’s friends did exactly that. They tried to explain to Job why he is going through this suffering. This is what God had to say about Job’s friends’ theologies:

 

Job 38:1-2 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

 

Job 42:7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

 

Dark council, words without knowledge. God wasn’t too impressed with the council Job’s friends gave him. He said they lacked knowledge and their council was dark. In other words, what they said were WRONG, NOT RIGHT,  and NOT FROM GOD. Let’s first see what Eliphaz said that was so lacking in knowledge and so dark of council.

 

Job 4:7-9 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

 

• This is happening because you obviously did something wrong (sin), you are guilty and this is God punishing you.

 

• You are merely reaping what you sowed. Do bad get bad, do good get good.

 

• God destroys and consumes sinners in anger. God must be angry with you because of your sin.

 

And as if he hadn’t already said enough, he goes on to also say:

 

Job 5:17-18 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 18 For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”

 

• God is chastening you with you this suffering. He is correcting your wrong behaviour through this suffering. God is using this to teach you something.

 

• God bruises and wounds (causes the suffering) then binds up (heals). God both causes suffering and stops it. If He wants to wound you, He can. If He wants to heal you, He will.

 

Go over the 5 things Eliphaz said again and try to remember if you have heard somebody say the same things concerning sickness and suffering. If you have, you can rest assured, since you have it from God Himself that their words are without knowledge, and not representative of Him.

 

I wonder what the other friends said? Stay tuned for the sequel. Actually, it might become a trilogy…

 

Cornel

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