January 15 - Job 3-4
For seven days Job sat in silence with his friends. Finally, in Job chapter 3, Job breaks his silence. When Job finally spoke, it was not to curse God but curse the day of his birth. Job chapter 3 is a lament. It is the honest pouring out of a heart of anguish before God. Here we see what it looks like when a godly man feels crushed by sorrow and despair.
Job’s lament begins with him despising the day of his birth. He wished that he had never been born. Deep sorrow can distort our perspective. The Bible includes these words so that people in despair can know that they are not alone in such thoughts. In Job’s mind, if he had died at birth, it would have spared him of the pain he was suffering. I don’t think that Job was contemplating suicide, he was just longing to be free from the pain and misery that he was suffering.
With the words that Job expressed in chapter 3, he is being open and honest before God. His words are directed toward God. We can always express our true feelings to God. The Old Testament Psalms are filled with similar prayers and longings. Therefore, we can always bring our pain and fears to God. We can speak to Him honestly and know that He hears us when we cry out to Him. Like with Job, God might not answer right away, but we can be sure that His answer will come. While we wait for His answer, we can know that His silence is not absence.
Job chapter 4 records the first words spoken to Job by Eliphaz - his friend. I’m glad he’s not my friend. Sometimes the greatest wounds do not come from our enemies, but from well-meaning friends. Job’s friends sat with him in silence for seven days. It was a ministry of presence. But when they open their mouths, the comfort turns into accusations. Job needed comfort, but his friends brought him misguided criticism.
Eliphaz’s diagnosis of Job’s problem is found in chapter 4:8 “Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.”
In the first six verses Eliphaz implied that Job was a hypocrite. He accused Job of teaching people truth that he did not follow. That’s probably when I would have shown Eliphaz the door! His message to Job was to accuse him of wrong when he had done no obvious wrong. Then in verse 8 he implies that Job was just reaping what he had sown. “Job, you must have sinned, otherwise you wouldn’t be suffering.” Even today, many people believe this way. It’s the simplistic belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. It is simply untrue and contrary to what the Bible teaches. The truth is, Eliphaz had no idea what God was doing in Job’s life. Therefore, it was presumptions for him to accuse Job or criticize him.
Beginning in verse 12, Eliphaz recounted a vision that he had when he slept. A spirit whispered, “Can mortal man be righteous before God?” His point was: No one is completely pure in the eyes of God. Of course, that is true. But Eliphaz used it as ammunition against Job. He used it to falsely accuse Job of sin he had not committed. If someone tells me that they’ve had a vision or got a word from God, I’m going to test it against God’s Word. Even a true statement can still be misused or taken out of context. Job was righteous in God’s sight (1:8). Eliphaz’s vison contradicted God’s testimony of Job found in chapter 1.
Eliphaz’s words to Job teaches us that careless theology can wound people who are already suffering. Job needed compassion, but he received condemnation. Also, a partial truth can become a lie if it is misinterpreted or misapplied. Eliphaz said things that were true but used them wrongly. Be slow to speak, quick to listen, full of compassion. And when words must come, let them be rooted in the hope that we have in Christ.