Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 1-5.

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When Job received word that all of his great wealth had been lost and that his children had died in a natural disaster he did not curse God, or even complain.  Rather, he mourned his losses and then worshiped God.  He recognized that all that he had had had come from the Lord and so it was God’s right to take it away if He so chose.  Even when God allowed Job to physically suffer Job’s initial response was to accept that as God’s right.  We should strive to face misfortune with the same faith in God which Job displayed through the first two chapters (this is not to say that Job did wrong in the later chapters, just that his example in the first two chapters is clear what he is says later requires more interpretation to understand).

After Job’s friends were with him for a week, Job felt the need to vent.  He spoke, at least in part, to distract himself from his pain, as many of us sometimes do when we have great pain or discomfort.  I feel for Eliphaz at this point, because he felt that he needed to try to relieve some of Job’s discomfort by giving him hope that it would get better.  I have the same problem when I am with people I care about who are suffering.  That wasn’t what Job needed here.  I struggle with this, but Eliphaz, and the other friends, should have stayed silent or just expressed empathy for Job’s suffering.  Actually Eliphaz’ problem was that he did not know when to stop.  I think that what Eliphaz said in the first six verses of chapter four were good things to say in response to Job’s lament.  Here Eliphaz reminds Job of the good he had done in the past and that he should put his confidence in God and maintain his integrity.  But then Eliphaz says some things which suggest that the source of Job’s suffering was sin, which even if it was true was not the right thing to say at this moment,  Then in chapter five verse eight Eliphaz again says something helpful, “I would seek God and to God would I commit my cause.”  That is further advice which we can give to those who are suffering.  If your suffering is God disciplining you, seek Him and He will show you what He wants you to do.  However, if our suffering is for some other reason, if we seek God and commit ourselves to serving Him, He will use us to show others God.  Perhaps our suffering will allow God to draw others to Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.