In doing research for another study, I could not help but notice how often commentators would seek to confirm their arguments by quoting the Book of Job. 

After a while I began to feel a bit confused. For isn’t the Book of Job full of the bad theology of Job’s “comforters/friends”. So bad is their understanding of Adonai that they incur His wrath. 

Of course, being one of the Wisdom Books, Job takes a bit more work to understand it. 

The truths that are in the arguments of Job’s “comforters”. 

There is indeed some truth in the arguments of the three but there is also distortion. 

Job’s first counsellor, Eliphaz describes Adonai as controlling the destiny of everyone. He is also correct in stressing the importance for a repentant sinner to return to Adonai and remove iniquity from his life. 

Job 5: 17, 18. 

“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole …” 

It is true that Adonai sometimes disciplines people because of their sin through pain and suffering. Many scriptures reveal this truth. 

Proverbs 3: 11,12, 

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” 

Hosea 6:1. 

“Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken but He will bind us up.” 

1 Samuel 2: 6,7. 

“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.” 

Revelation 3:19. From the letter to the church at Laodicea. 

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” 

Therefore, we can see that there is every justification in scripture for the argument of Eliphaz that Adonai controls the destiny of everyone and cares enough to chastise individuals for deliverance. 

Job’s second “comforter” to speak is Bildad. He argues that Adonai is just and would never pervert justice.  

 Job 8: 3. 

“Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? 

Again, we can confirm any number of scriptural quotes to support the negative response anticipated by Bildad’s questions.    

Genesis 18:25. The words of Abraham as he attempts to intercede for Sodom. 

“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” 

Deuteronomy 32:4. 

“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” 

2 Chronicles 19:7. 

“Now therefore let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality nor taking bribes.” 

Psalm 89: 14. 

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” 

Isaiah 45:21. 

“… there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides Me.” 

Romans 3:5. 

“But if our righteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?” 

Therefore, there is a plethora of scriptural evidence to support Bildad’s argument that Adonai is just and would never pervert justice. 

Bildad also argues that Adonai is sovereign in His rule over the universe. 

Job 25:2,3. 

“Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?” 

Indeed, Adonai has absolute “dominion” over all the entire universes. He is unique and autonomous: “whatever His soul desires, that He does.” 

Psalm 145: 13. 

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” 

Psalm 103:22 

“Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion.” 

Daniel 7:14. 

“Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” 

Ephesians 1: 20 – 21. 

“He raised Him (the Lord Yeshua) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” 

Jude 25. The conclusion and benediction of the letter. 

“To God our saviour who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power. Both now and forever”. 

Job’s third “comforter”, Zophar describes the ways of Adonai as beyond human comprehension. 

Job 11: 7 – 9. 

“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven – what can you do? Deeper than Sheol – what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.” 

Again, it is straightforward to find scriptures which will support Zophar’s assertion concerning the inability of human reasoning to comprehend the things of Adonai. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11. 

“… no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” 

Psalm 94:11. 

“The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.” 

Psalm 136:5. 

“To Him who in wisdom made the heavens, for HIs mercy endures forever …” 

Romans 11:33. 

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” 

1 Corinthians 1:20. 

“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” 

1 Corinthians 2:7. 

“… the wisdom of God … the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew …” 

1 Corinthians 3:19. 

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” 

Thus, we have every reason to agree with Zophar that the ways of Adonai are beyond human understanding. 

So, there was some truth in what Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were arguing, but clearly, they also went very wrong. Although they set out to defend Adonai, Job (although not perfect) gave a better account of the nature of Adonai than they did. 

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.” 

But Job also realised that he did not have a proper heart-felt relationship with Adonai and this was his reaction. 

Job 42:5,6. 

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now My eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

So, where did Job’s “friends” go wrong. 

The answer is in their theology! 

They held to a simplistic understanding of divine retribution; assuming an automatic connection between one’s spirituality and one’s prosperity on earth.  

They could only see Job’s suffering in terms of being the result of severe hidden transgression in Job’s life. Adonai would certainly not punish an upright man. 

This kind of thinking was not uncommon and even influenced the Lord’s disciples. 

John 9:1 – 3. 

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” 

So, there is no automatic connection between suffering and sin. We remember the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh. 

2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10. 

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

Many are the sufferings of the righteous. 

Psalm 34:19. 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”    

The Lord’s chastening is restorative not punitive. 

Proverbs 3: 11 – 12. 

“My son do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” 

The error of Eliphaz. 

Job’s “friends” see themselves as defending Adonai, but they only incur His wrath. Whilst Eliphaz recognized the supreme control of Adonai over every person, he did not consider the heavenly events/purposes (such as Adonai’s contention with Satan over Job) could also affect events. 

These matters coupled with his bad theology, took Eliphaz further from the truth.  

Eliphaz was rigid in his thinking, seemingly having no notion of the compassion of Adonai. He could not see Adonai’s chastening as possibly instruction and restorative. He based his view on Adonai’s justice alone. But Adonai’s compassion is combined with His justice in all His ways. Eliphaz could only see Adonai as a severe judge looking for error to punish. 

Eliphaz was seeking to be a rationalist; arguing from experience and observation. But this does not stop him claiming to have had a vision supporting his arguments. 

Eliphaz was ready to accuse Job of sin, but he does not consider his own sin. Why has the wrath of Adonai not come upon him? Does he acknowledge his own sin or is this evidence of his lack of humility? Does he know Adonai better than other people that he can make accusations against Job? 

The error of Bildad. 

Bildad argues correctly that Adonai is just and sovereign, but he follows the thinking of Eliphaz. Although he expresses appreciation of the justice and sovereignty of Adonai, he, in accordance with traditional thinking, concludes that Adonai would never pervert justice and therefore, the only possible conclusion to draw from Job’s situation is that he and his children have received just punishment as sinners. 

Bildad falsely decides that one can always determine the cause of events by looking at the consequences; a gross oversimplification. He presumes to know Adonai’s perspective but of course they were unaware of the heavenly situation behind these events. Bildad was falsely claiming to have divine wisdom! 

The error of Zophar. 

Zophar was acting like the prosecuting counsel in the case of Adonai-v-Job. 

He rightly describes the ways of Adonai as being beyond human comprehension. Yet he happily joins with the other two in asserting that he knows the cause of the tragic events in Job’s life. 

As with the other two, his thinking is based on the simplistic notion of divine retribution. He seeks to defend Adonai but in reality, he tries to bind Adonai to his preconceived theological system. 

Zophar, the brash dramatist, is correct to point out the Lord’s transcendence and sovereign power, but the way he applies his logic to Job is wrong. Bildad’s misapplication of truth gives perversions to scripture and misleads. Ultimately, Zophar concludes that it is too late for Job to repent as Adonai would never grant clemency for such a wicked person! How pretentious and arrogant!   

The “comforters” as theologians and counsellors. 

As we have seen, Adonai effectively gave the three an “F” (for fail) as theologians. How would we rate them as counsellors? I fear that their lack of compassion would earn them an “F” there also. 

Their lowest point as counsellors, would seem to be when Zophar informs Job that the loss of his family is his fault and theirs. This is not what you need to hear when you’re mourning the loss of your loved ones! 

But as they grow more vehement and angrier in their theological arguments (as false teachers often do when challenged), their efforts at comforting also diminish into anger and blaming. 

Although all evidence, including the assessment by Adonai, was that, whilst not perfect, Job had much righteousness in his life. Yet without evidence, the so-called counsellors argue that all Job’s suffering is because of sinfulness. Job’s suffering is punishment from Adonai for his iniquity. 

As their discussions continue, their hearts harden further. Job, the one who is suffering is the one to blame. 

They call on him to repent, accusing him of vanity and foolish talk. They do not acknowledge any sinfulness in their own lives; a lack of empathy. They accuse Job of presumptuousness, saying that he is claiming to know Adonai better than anyone; but this is exactly what they are doing! 

We see trumped-up charges against Job which cannot be justified. They claim that he got his wealth through greedy exploitation of the poor; that he had a lack of compassion for the bereaved and that he tolerated wickedness in his household. However, all we are told about Job indicate humility and a good social conscience. 

Very poor counselling technique unlikely to have any positive impact on the recipient! 

Lessons for us from the Book of Job. 

In all circumstances we should trust in Adonai’s grace. He is completely sovereign. He is not obliged to those who obey Him. But His actions towards us are based on His gracious nature and His free will. Where there is no apparent or theological explanation for disaster and pain, we must simply trust in the Lord. 

The Book of Job teaches us that the Lord is not bound by anyone’s preconceived theological system. 

There are divine matters which we cannot hope to understand but which may have a dramatic impact on our lives. Sadly, bad things happen to good people, and we certainly cannot judge a person’s standing with Adonai by either their success or their painful circumstances. 

Even when Adonai seems far off, we must persevere in faith in the knowledge that Adonai is good and that we can safely leave our lives in His hands. In trouble, we should certainly not abandon the Lord but draw closer to Him for comfort, especially when we don’t understand what is happening. Suffering may be intense, but it will ultimately end and the Lord will bless the righteous abundantly. 

Job was not wrong to ask of Adonai why these tragedies had befallen him. But he could not accept the absolute sovereignty of Adonai. He had attempted through his life to live in a righteous way, but only through his suffering did he learn that this was not enough; he needed a close, intimate and trusting relationship with Adonai. 

The Lord is completely free but also truly good. He is the sovereign and benevolent Creator who continues to determine the course of the universe according to His plan. We must accept His sovereign will and acknowledge that he has a good plan for us, irrespective of what happens along the way. 

Man needs not just to confess Adonai, but to surrender everything to Him. By letting Him be truly God in every area of life, a person will find Him sufficient. Adonai’s comfort and strength are always available to the trusting soul. 

Let’s end by returning to Job’s realization of the inadequacy of his attempts to live a righteous life without a close, intimate, trusting relationship with Adonai. 

Job 42:5 

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

AMEN.