Job - Dialogue with Three Friends (2)

II. Speeches Start with Job's Outburst

Weeks of relentless pain take their toll on Job. After seven days of silence with his friends (3:1-3), Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

And Job said, "Let the day perish wherein I was born…"

Job's serenity is gone. He questions God (v. 11; v. 20). He can not see any reason for why he had even been given life or why it should be preserved if there is such misery. His protest against his birth is, of course, a protest against God. It is "the Lord give and the Lord takes away." (1:21) This irks his three friends and they cannot be silent any longer. After seven days, they begin to voice their opinions on Job's suffering.

A. Eliphaz Takes the First Shot (4-5)

Eliphaz sets the course for Bildad and Zophar. He spells out a principle that runs through all the speeches of the three friends. (4:7-8) In the theology of the ancient world, trouble comes to those who sin, but the innocent do not perish. Suffering is the result of sin, and prosperity is the result of righteousness. But, Eliphaz notes that all men are sinners (4:17). He also admits that some suffering is the loving chastening of God (5:17)

But his application to Job exposes his theology as superficial and insensitive. He rebukes Job in 4:5-6 for being impatient and dismayed. It was an unnecessary rebuke to a righteous man in agony. This is the insensitive part of Eliphaz' application. Next, insinuates that Job has not sought God like he should (5:8). Also, he implies that Job would be delivered if he would just commit his way to God (5:18-19). There is the superficial part of Eliphaz' theology – just commit your way to God and your fortunes will be restored. In other words, "Job, your faith just isn't strong enough. If you had more faith, you wouldn't suffer like this."

B. Job's Response – It's Too Simplistic

Eliphaz' theology is too simple because it fails to answer the hard questions. Some suffer in an extraordinary way even though they have not sinned in an extraordinary way, but in fact may even be godly and upright. Some prosper abundantly, even when they have sinned abundantly. Recognizing this in his own situation, Job protests that he is innocent (6:10) "I have not denied the words of the Holy One." So Job rebukes Eliphaz (6:24). He cannot see how Eliphaz' simple principle of justice answers his own case.

C. Bildad – Less Gentle

Bildad continues vigorously on the "justice" principle. He even has an answer for the deaths of Job's children (8:3-4) Bildad claims that Job's children were probably guilty of some unknown sin, that's why they were crushed in their house. Bildad then applies the justice principle even more harshly to Job (8:11-13). Bildad is convinced that the problem must be that Job is not pure and has not called on God as he should. Job is accordingly admonished by Bildad. (8:6-7)

D. Job's Response to Bildad – That's not Reality

Job states that the "justice" principle is not in sync with reality. (9:22-24) Job never surrenders his belief in the sovereignty of God, but he knows that it is too simple to say that things go better on this earth for all of the righteous. He insists that he is not guilty as charged by his friends. He prays in 10:6-7 that God would seek out his sin even though God has declared that Job is righteous.

E. Zophar – The Party Line Even More Harshly

Zophar takes it up a notch in chapter 11. He rebukes Job for claiming that he's innocent (vv.4-6) and tells him to put away his sin so that God might restore him. (11:14-15) According to Zophar, Job is suffering because he refuses to put sin far from him.

F. Job Cracks

At this point, serene Job completely disappears, and Job gets very sarcastic. Chapters 12-14 show Job being caustic to the advise of these three friends.

Everybody knows these things, he says. I am not inferior to you! (12:3) Your maxims are proverbs of ashes (13:12) Worthless physicians are you all (13:4) He wants to argue his case to God because he knows God is just and Job is convinced he is innocent. (13:3) This is just round one of the discussion and Job has found himself on defense against the accusations of these "comforters." For the next two cycles of dialogue, the attempt to comfort becomes more of a cross-examination at a trial.