Job: Part 2
The 3 Friends
As we continue with this study of the book of Job, we will be concluding this book by covering the last 21 chapters. In the first part of this study, we saw how Job was a righteous man who was greatly blessed by God and our Lord allowed Satan to lead him into suffering. This suffering that Satan put Job through included losing livestock, health, and even his own children. It is after these traumatic events that Job’s friends appear in an attempt to comfort him but ultimately, all they do is accuse him of some great sin that he must be hiding. This is where we pick up in chapter 22. We see Job defending himself amid these accusations from his 3 friends and we also see how his friends respond to this defense. What’s even better is that by the end of this book, we get a response from God Himself, so there’s no need to worry about who is right or wrong in this situation. As John Walton says, “God asks for trust, not understanding, and states the cosmos is founded on his wisdom, not his justice.” This is a nice hint as to what God’s answer will be to Job at the end of this book, but before we get there, let’s see where this conversation with Job’s friends leads us.
Accusations Continue
Unfortunately for Job, this bickering back and forth with his friends doesn’t end soon. Chapters 22-37 are all filled with the responses of Job and his friends where the trend of blame on Job continues. However, there is one particular person who now enters the scene in the midst of this conversation who we must talk about. In chapter 32, we are introduced to a new character, a fourth friend, who has been listening to this conversation and decides to add his two cents to this matter as well. Elihus begins speaking in chapter 32 and his response to Job and his other 3 friends is different than the conversation about Job’s righteousness that had previously been taking place. Job 32:2-3 says, “But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job; his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job.” As we see in this passage, Elihu wasn’t just upset at the friend’s response to Job, but he was also upset at Job for painting himself in a righteous manner that seemed unworthy.
This is why Elihu goes even further with Job and addresses him in chapter 35 with some strong language. Job 35:1-2 says, “Then Elihu continued and said, “Do you think this is in accordance with justice? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?” What Elihu is basically saying to Job here is do you really think that everything that is going on here has to be justified? Can’t everything that is happening to you be outside of your understanding? This response that Elihu gives Job could very well be for the 3 friends that are with Job at this very moment too. Regardless, the point remains. Elihu attacks the very foundation of this entire conversation which is that we don’t have to understand everything that God does. In fact, he takes it a step further and implies that understanding every act of God is impossible. When questioning if Job is more righteous than God, Elihu is essentially asking if Job is so holy that he himself understands all the mysteries of the earth as God does. This response may seem harsh, but when listening to Job and these 3 friends go on about this issue for over 20 chapters, it’s understandable as to why. Most important, however, is what God has to say about this whole matter.
Moral of The Story
God responds after this long conversation in chapter 38 and this is the real answer that we’ve all been waiting for. Our Lord’s response to Job is powerful and starts out with a bang. Job 38:1-4 says “Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said, “Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge? “Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,” God approaches Job with a set of questions and basically asks him a set of questions that only God Himself would know. In essence, God is asking Job, ‘Are you God?’ God continues to ask Job a series of questions that surround the function of the universe and the order of everything that He has created in order to further the point that He is God and Job is not. It is after all this that Job confesses his wrongful motives and repents. Job 42:5-6 tells us, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.” The book of Job concludes with God confronting Job’s 3 friends and telling them to offer sacrifices for their sin and also with our Lord restoring all of what Job had lost. In fact, verse 10 of chapter 42 tells us that the Lord doubled all that Job had. And this is how the story ends. So what’s the overall message of this book? Is it that suffering is always random? That we should never question God? Not quite. I think no one says it better than The Bible Project. They mention, “This book doesn’t unlock the puzzle of why bad things happen to good people. Rather, it does invite us to trust God’s wisdom when we encounter suffering rather than trying to figure out the “reasons” for it.” I hope that as you read this book, you are comforted in the Lord to not always seek the answers for why you go through hardship, but to seek out the Lord Himself.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Mackie, T. (2024, September 6). God’s response to Job’s questions about suffering. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/articles/gods-gives-job-tour-wise-world/
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