Job had been insistent that he was not inferior to his three
friends in knowledge. He also knew the wisdom and might of God. Yet His
knowledge could not offer him any answer to his struggles. And he still did not
know why he was suffering. He expressed his desire to speak directly with God
and lay out his case with Him. Job was sure he would have better understanding
from God than his three friends. He accused his three friends of lying and were paddler of falsehood. They were physicians of no
value. Trying to treat a condition which they had no competence to treat. If
they had remained silent it would be more helpful. Job insinuated that they
were fools. And even when a fool remains quiet, he would be considered wise.
Job went on the offensive. He implored them to listen to him by
insisting that they were showing partiality and speaking unjustly. They were
ignorant of Job’s situation yet they were so quick to judge him guilty. Their
judgement of Job was on falsehood and not facts. They were based on their
assumptions. Job insisted that they themselves would not be able to stand the
scrutiny of God. He knew that God would be impartial and all three of them would
be proven false finally. And they themselves would not be able to withstand the
searchlight of God. Job accused them of spewing out ashes and baseless
accusations.
Suffering does not automatically indicate that a person had
sinned. It is foolishness to abandon all reasoning and merely resign without
challenging the assumption. According to Socrates, “An unexamined life is not
worth living.” It is equally true that an unexamined faith is not worth
believing. For faith seeks reason. God does not mind us asking honest questions
in seeking for the truth. For He knows that in knowing the truth, we shall be
set free.
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