Job had to get worn out hearing his friends suggest he had sinned. It probably felt like a knife cutting deep, when his own wife said to curse God and die (Job 2:9). He made it through his tests so valiantly. I wonder if God did close his ears to hearing all the negative, but evidently hearing the deception was part of the testing. Words can be so devastating especially when loosely spoken.
When we look at Job’s friends we can: a.) see ourselves and how we unwisely respond to our closest friends, or b.) be the recipient of poor counsel from friends. Many times we have friends and family exactly like Job’s friends, exhorting great efforts to fix and correct a bad situation.
Eliphaz tried to speak for God to Job. He considered himself wise and able to fix Job’s circumstances (Job 4). Nothing that Eliphaz said to Job resonated in his spirit, because Job was intimately involved with God. Bildad’s explanation of Job’s hardship was hardly different than Eliphaz’s (Job 8). His friend Zophar suggested to put away sin and God would definitely change the situation (Job 11). Job’s friends wore him down. They filled his ears with false wisdom. Their tone was condescending and totally off base.
The intentions of friends and family are not all bad, but their words may spew negativity over your life and circumstances. What God calls you to do, and the trials you must go through in order to meet that calling, are generally nothing like what someone on the outside deems best. When they suggests you have sinned in some area, your life is fruitless, you should try a different job, move somewhere else, make new friends, maybe marry someone different; their words are not necessarily God’s thoughts and definitely not His words. You must hold steadfast to the promises of God on your life, only you and God know clearly what He has spoken to you. The voices of others can cause confusion and confusion is not of God. Follow the discernment of when there is any doubt, stay put and wait…even if waiting seems like a slow death.
The real question becomes how do you ignore the words of others, especially the ones that cut deep and cause paralytic behavior. How do you hear the words but not take in the words? How do you remain cordial, yet knowing what you know, even if it makes absolutely no sense to those around you? How do you carry on with full confidence in what God has spoken to you? How do you move forward when nothing goes right?
The Holy Spirit is the only answer to those questions. He gives us determination, the will to stand firm, and hope when all things seem hopeless. He is our guiding light, our strong tower and great refuge. The One who has our best interests in mind even through sickness, death, and immense humiliation. He is the One who see’s us through till the end, when all is restored and the mouthes of the doubters are closed. He is the One that blesses beyond our earthly comprehension.
In the end, Job did not ask God to curse his friends. The Lord rebuked his friends and Job prayed for his friends. Afterwards, the Lord restored the fortunes to Job. He was blessed in his latter years with sheep, camel, oxen, donkeys, but most importantly seven sons and three daughters. His life was full and he died an old man (Job 42).
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