Job had three friends,
namely Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. The first on the list, Eliphaz, probably came
from a place known as Teman. We deduce from Jeremiah 49:7 that Temanites were well-known
for their wisdom. Since he was the first to be named, he was probably the
oldest of the three. Bildad was the second oldest. Where he came from cannot be
exactly located. It is believed to be within the region of Chaldea. Zophar was
the youngest and a Naamathite. In the Bible there isn’t such a place called Naamath.
But in Joshua 15:41 there is a town in Judah called Naamah. He could have hailed
from that place.
These three friends
were good, compassionate and well-intentioned friends. What they did initially
was right. “They sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven
nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain
was very great.” The best help we can offer someone coping with grief is to say
nothing but remaining attentive to the victim whenever he wants to talk about
his plight. The worst things to say is, “I understand what you are going
through.” We are not in their shoes so we can never say we understand what he
or she is going through. As we discuss their conversation we will discover that
they said many things good and true. But they also spew out many verbal garbage
and condemnation that were unhelpful for Job who was under such duress.
When these three
friends heard of Job’s plight, though they lived in different places, they made
time and came to be with him. Their intention was to sympathise and comfort Job.
We are told that when they saw Job from afar they could not recognize him. It
was hard to imagine how Job looked like. He was beyond recognition. There was no
part of his body that was not ravaged by sores and boils. All three of them were shocked into deep
distress and wept and wailed loudly. They could not recognize Job. The initial response
of the three friends speaks eloquently of how intensive Job’s suffering was. But
they were compassionate friends. Do we consider ourselves as a good friend? Are
we a friend indeed? Proverbs 17:17 reminds us that “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
As we look at the
life of Job and the intensive suffering he went through, we are reminded that following
God is not always the easiest thing to do. Everyone wants a belief that is
easily explainable and un-mysterious. Who would not want a faith that offers no
snag, and promises easy solution to escape from all the misery of man’s fallen
condition. Sure, most people like a religion where no cross needs to be carried.
But for us, we need to know that following Christ has its demands. We all like
the comfortable words of Jesus like “come unto me and I will give you rest.” What
about the uncomfortable words of Jesus, such as Luke 9:23-25, “If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world,
and loses or forfeits himself?” Following Christ seems paradoxical. But bear
in mind that it’s the hard times that will strengthen us in the journey of
faith. And we build discipline and trust when we encounter them. If we will not
carry the cross we cannot wear the crown.
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