Friendship Part I: Choosing Wise Friends

          Stop! Whatever you are doing right now, DROP IT! Go grab your Bible and open up to the book of Job (Hint: it is located right before Psalms). If you don’t know the story of Job, read Job chapters one and two. If you DO know the story of Job, read Job and two. So to sum it up, Job had a great life! He was the Bill Gates of the Bible times, the richest man around! Then Satan goes to God and says, “Uh, yeah, you think that Job guy really loves you, God? Well, that’s because he’s got it made! Let me take away everything he owns, and I’ll bet you he will curse your name.” So God gives Satan the OK, with the exception that no physical harm is caused to Job.

            So Satan goes and obliterates everything that Job has, and sits back to watch Job curse God. Satan is in for a surprise, for this is what Job says, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Satan is like “WHAT?!” So he goes to God and says, “Yeah, so he didn’t curse you, God, but men, you know how they are, they will give up everything they have for their life. Let me get him physically.” Again, God says OK; with the exception that Job’s life is spared. Satan goes and gives Job boils from head to toe and again sits back to watch Job curse God. I don’t think so. Job does not curse God! Now, with that part of the story told, look at Job 2:11-13. This is the introduction to Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. This also shows one of the only things that Job’s friends do that’s right. Job 2:13 says, “So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.” Too often, when someone is grieving, people come and try to comfort them by talking with them, but most often the grieving person would rather just have someone there grieving silently with them.

            Job 3 is where it gets boring, right? No, in fact this is where the true character of Job’s friends shows. Eliphaz speaks in Job 4, 5, 15, and 22. Also, in Job 42:7-9, Eliphaz is rebuked strongly by the LORD and is told to immediately offer a large sacrifice. In Job 4, Eliphaz tries the theory that Job had sinned and that had brought judgment on Job. However, in Job 1:8, Job is described as blameless, upright, and one who shuns evil, so it doesn’t sound like Job had sinned. We’ll come back to Eliphaz, but I want to touch on the other two right now. Bildad speaks in Job 8, 18, and 25, and is mentioned again in Job 42:7-9. Zophar speaks in Job 11 and 20, and like the other two is mentioned again in Job 42:7-9.

            The debate throughout the book of Job is why Job was suffering. Did he sin? Did his children sin? Job’s friends are of little to no help to him during this period in his life. Job is despairing, and his friends are bringing him even more grief. Then, a younger guy named Elihu steps in and says, “Wait! Hold the phone!” He says this, “I know that I am young and you are old, and for this reason, I’ve kept my mouth shut, but no more!” Elihu goes on to rebuke Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar and goes on further to snap Job back into reality. Elihu proclaims God’s goodness, justice, and majesty. He is the voice of reason in the matter during this period of time. Elihu is our start to what a friend should look like; he tells Job the truth about God and His goodness. He tells Job that there is really a plan and purpose in all of this.

            Then, in Job 38, BAM! God appears in a whirlwind and asks Mr. Woe-is-me several rhetorical questions such as, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Have you entered the treasuries of snow or have you seen the treasury of hail?” Job’s response is this, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further. God is not done yet though, as He continues with several more rhetorical questions. Job is immensely humbled at these questions, and chapter 42 contains his repentance, and eventually, his restoration both in health and in wealth. Job can be confusing on whose advice is good and whose advice is flawed, but my belief is that Zophar, Eliphaz, and Bildad are all flawed in their thinking and advice, while Elihu gave good advice and tried to set Job straight.