Job’s suffering

Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to show him sympathy and comfort him (Job 2:11), but they thought Job’s suffering was punishment for sin (note on Job 11:1). The things that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar said to Job caused him to lash out against his friends (Job 16:11-17) and to declare, “miserable comforters are you all” (Job 16:2). The Hebrew word that is translated comforters, nacham (naw-khamˊ) is properly translated as “to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console” (H 5162). Nacham is also translated as to repent. “To repent means to make a strong turning to a new course of action. The emphasis is on turning to a positive course of action, not turning from a less desirable course. Comfort is derived from ‘com’ (with) and ‘fort’ (strength). Hence, when one repents, he exerts strength to change, to re-grasp the situation, and exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action. The stress is not upon new information or new facts which cause the change as it is upon the visible action taken.” The reason why Job said his friends were miserable comforters was because they were telling him things he already knew (Job 12:3; 13:2). Job’s friends weren’t helping him turn to a new course of action but were increasing his emotional grief and the brokenness in his heart (Job 9:28).

David wrote about a similar situation in his life in Psalm 69. David began this psalm by crying out to God for relief from his suffering. David cried, “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink deep into the mire, where there is no foothold; I have come to the deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God” (Psalm 69:1-3). David went on to say:

You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
    and for comforters, but I found none. (Psalm 69:19-20)

The verse that follows these, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” (Psalm 69:21) pertains to Jesus Christ. All four of the gospels state that Jesus was given sour wine to drink while he was hanging on the cross (Matthew 27:48; Luke 23:36; John 19:29), although Mark refers to it as “wine mixed with myrrh” (Mark 15:23). John tells us that this was done to fulfill Scripture and occurred just before Jesus said, “’It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

It says in Hebrews 4:15 that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus knew that his disciples would struggle at times to make sense of what they were going through in their lives and would need help fulfilling the assignment of spreading his gospel throughout the world (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus told his disciples that they would be given “another Comforter” (John 14:16, KJV) that would dwell within them and would be in them (John 14:17). Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:25-26, KJV).

Jesus implied that he was his disciples’ Comforter when he told them he would give them another Comforter (John 14:16, KJV). Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach his disciples all things and would bring to their remembrance all that he said to them (John 14:26). Jesus spoke words of comfort to his followers throughout his three-year ministry. Jesus’ words were comfort to the disciples because they helped them to re-grasp the situation, and to exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action (H5162), which was to turn the world upside down with the message of the gospel (Acts 17:6). The Greek word that is translated gospel in Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14 and 26:13, euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghelˊ-ee-on) means “a good message” (G2098). When the disciples preached the gospel in the book of Acts, it was identified as euaggelizo (yoo-ang-ghel-idˊ-zo) or “to announce good news” (Acts 8:12, 35; 10:36; 13:32; 14:15). It says in Hebrews 4:3 that the works of the gospel “were finished from the foundation of the world, but “those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:6). Disobedience means to disbelieve or “not to allow oneself to be persuaded or believe” (G544).

Job tried to convince his friends that they were wrong about his situation, but they would not be persuaded. These miserable comforters continued to berate Job until the LORD stepped in and “answered Job out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1). Chapters 38-42 of Job “record more than seventy questions that God asked Job. These questions were not given to answer the mystery of Job’s suffering or to vindicate God himself. They were intended to help Job realize that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and that he is worthy of complete trust even in the most desperate of circumstances” (note on Job 38:1-42:6). Following the LORD’s discourse, Job concluded, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). The Hebrew word nacham, which was translated comforters in Job 16:2, is translated here as repent, indicating that the LORD was successful in his effort to comfort Job.

Satan’s attack on Job left him with nothing but his wife to go on with. After his health was destroyed, Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). The sight of Job’s physical condition pushed his wife to despair (note on Job 2:9, 10). Afterward, Job was visited by three friends. Job 2:11-13 tells us:

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

“Job’s sores may have disfigured him so badly that he could barely be recognized by his friends. They shared in his sorrow (vv. 12, 13) but did not understand that affliction does not always signify punishment (see John 9:3). Much of what they said in their conversations with Job (chs. 4-37) was true but was misapplied to Job’s situation. They did not recognize that God was testing Job and instead assumed that Job’s suffering was proportionate to some sin he had committed. It may even be that they were unknowingly used by Satan in his attempt to cause Job to sin” (note on Job 2:11-13).

Job’s friend Eliphaz was the first to speak to him. Eliphaz told Job, “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves: therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you” (Job 5:17-19). Eliphaz thought that God was trying to teach Job a lesson. The Hebrew word that is translated discipline, muwsar (moo-sawrˊ) is properly translated as “chastisement” and is used in a figurative sense to refer to “reproof, warning, or, instruction” (H4148). “The discipline of the Lord is not to be despised, for it is a demonstration of His love for His children (Job 5:17; Proverbs 3:11; cf. Hebrews 12:5, 6). The supreme demonstration of God’s love came when Jesus Christ bore the ‘chastisement of our peace’ (Isaiah 53:5).” Isaiah 53:5-6 states, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The main point of this passage is that Jesus suffered for the sins of others and that we all deserve the punishment that he received.

A word that is derived from muwsar that has a similar meaning is yasar (yaw-sarˊ). Yasar appears in the opening verse of Psalm 38, which was written by King David. David said:

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath!
For your arrows have sunk into me,
    and your hand has come down on me.

There is no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
    because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
    all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed;
    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
    and my nearest kin stand far off. (Psalm 38:1-11)

David’s depiction of God’s discipline is very similar to what Job experienced. David was aware of his sin and later on said in his psalm that he had confessed his sin and was sorry for it (Psalm 38:18) and was waiting for the God of his salvation to come to his rescue (Psalm 38:22). Hebrews 12:5-11 explains the reason why God not only disciplines us, but also allows our suffering to go on for much longer than we would like it to. It says:

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV)

Even though God’s discipline is painful, it is intended to change our character and make us more like Jesus. Holiness, the result of God’s discipline, is “spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit, a saint. This is assumed of all who profess the Christian name” (G40). It says in Hebrews 12:7 that God is treating us as children when he disciplines us and that it is a sign that we are true sons and daughters.

God referred to Job as his servant and told Satan there was none like him on the earth (Job 1:8). The Hebrew word that is translated servant, ʿebed (ehˊ-bed) is a term that is “applied to those who worship God (Nehemiah 1:10); and to those who minister or serve Him (Isaiah 49:5, 6). The phrase, the servant of the Lord, is the most outstanding reference to the Messiah in the Old Testament” (H5650). The Apostle Paul referred to himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ” in his letter to the Romans (Romans 1:1). ʿEbed is also used to refer to people under the authority of a king. After seeing a Roman centurion demonstrate great faith (Matthew 8:5-9), Jesus told his disciples, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:10-11).

God indicated that Job was “a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8). That meant that Job was a mature believer, one who understood what sin was and had learned to avoid it. It says in Job 1:22 after he lost everything, “Job did not sin or charge God with wrong,” and after he lost his health, “Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10); but Job did curse the day of his birth (3:1), and because of his suffering, “long for death” (3:21). In response to Eliphaz’s argument against him, Job replied:

“Oh that my vexation were weighed,
    and all my calamity laid in the balances!
For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
    therefore my words have been rash.
For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison;
    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.” (Job 6:2-4)

Job admitted that his words had been rash. Job was on the defensive because it felt like God was attacking him.

“Job pled with his friends to realize that their accusations were false and that he had committed no sin worthy of the affliction he was experiencing” (note on Job 6:28-30), but later, after God had confronted him, Job changed his position. “At the end of God’s discourse, Job acknowledged that he had experienced the Lord in a new light (Job 42:5) and had gained an increased awareness of the sovereignty of God (Job 42:3). He repented of his complaints against God (Job 42:6) and submitted himself to God’s will, even if it included suffering that was seemingly underserved” (note on Job 42:1-6). Job told the LORD, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust in ashes” (Job 42:5-6). It seems at this point that Job realized his redeemer (Job 19:25) was not a distant figure, but was an actual person that was involved in what was happening to him. This realization caused Job to despise himself, and to repent in dust in ashes (Job 42:6).