Job 4

 Job 4

Job’s friends, who will ultimately become his accusers, remind me of Calvin from the cartoon strip “Calvin and Hobbes." Calvin tells Hobbs he is going to start a radio talk show in which he will offer overly simplistic answers to difficult questions and then berate anyone who disagrees with him. Hobbs says, “Sounds like you were born for this job.” To which Calvin concludes, “Yea, imagine getting paid to act like a 6-year-old."

In many ways this is descriptive of the ‘comfort’ of Job’s friends. Eliphaz begins by confronting Job about his discouragement and emotional distress. Referring to Job’s history of helping distressed people, he says Job should not be impatient. Whether Eliphaz’s insights are valid or not is not the issue at the moment. He is trying to apply a theological/philosophical solution to an emotional moment. No doubt he was sincere, but it was the wrong approach for this moment.

In verses 7-21 Eliphaz gives two foundational supports for his opinion. In verse 8 he says, “According to what I have seen…" A personal observation may be valid, but because we are human, such an observation can’t help but be very limited both in breadth and clarity. All Eliphaz has seen is only the tiniest part of all that can be seen. Additionally, he may have seen things that didn’t support his conclusion but, without knowing it, he ignored them. The second support for his opinion was his personal mystical experience, vs. 14-16. Personal experience can be powerful; they can be life-changing and real. But that is not the same as universally valid. Whatever Eliphaz experienced was a subjective experience. It may have been divine or demonic, truthful or deceiving, the result of the sublime or of too much pizza before bed.

When we venture into the realm of being a comforter as these three have, we must do so with great gentleness, being careful about our own wisdom and reason and remembering that our experience is just that; it's 'ours.'

“Lord, give me the grace to be filled with grace as I attempt to offer grace. AMEN."