"Job's Friends" 8/19/25

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

The Book of Job is one of the most unique books within God's Holy Scriptures. A window into heaven, a glimpse into early Near Eastern life and beliefs, an enduring example of faith in the midst of suffering, and the revelation of a God bigger than all our pain. I am always amazed at how much greater God's plans are than our assumptions about what he is up to. There will be an eternity to discover all the ways that God has worked to bring good out of evil.

In the meantime, there are also lessons to be learned in how we respond to suffering, as sufferers and as the friends of sufferers. Job's frustration with his friends is a major theme in the book's dialogue. He responds to the initial 'advice' of his three friends with these words:

"Then Job answered and said: "No doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?" (Job 12:1-3)

The problem wasn't so much what they said, Job agreed with much of what they said. "Who does not know such things?" he responds. No, the problem was their assumption that they knew exactly why Job suffered, as if they knew better than him. They claimed their friend suffered because of his sin (though they knew him to be an upright man) when they too stood before God as sinners (see Job 13:1-12 for more on this thought). They spoke a truth: "sin has consequences and God will punish sinners," but misapplied the truth to a man who (though not sinless) was not being punished by God for his sin. We, as readers, know this because we are given a window into heaven's courts in Job chapter one. But, back to Job's friends, the results of their counsel were disastrous. What could have been a comfort -pointing Job to trust in the inscrutable counsel of God- turned into a mud-slinging contest beating down a man already beaten down by God. Thankfully, God did not leave Job to his friend's counsel, or for that matter to Job's own presumptions. God's response (see Job 38-41) isn't the sappy response we might expect. He shows up in a storm to let Job (and us) know that he doesn't owe us an answer. The question is, "Will we trust Him no matter what is going on in our lives?"

With Job and his 'friends' in the background: 

When might you speak the truth but misapply it?

How should we respond to those who are suffering?

Where does God direct the sufferer's attention?

Grace & Peace,

Matt