by aginetha josephat | 16 July 2018 08:46 pm07
1. Introduction: Who Was Job?
Job is introduced in Job 1:1 as a man who was “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” His righteousness was not only outward but deeply personal. Job lived with integrity, maintained pure worship, and even interceded for his children (Job 1:5), fearing that they might have sinned against God unknowingly.
Satan, whose name means “accuser,” appeared before God and accused Job of serving God only because he had been blessed (Job 1:9–11). In response, God permitted Satan to test Job’s faith—showing that Job’s loyalty was not dependent on circumstances, but rooted in genuine love and reverence for God.
Satan took away all of Job’s wealth—his oxen, sheep, camels, servants, and even his children. Job’s response was remarkable:
Job 1:21 (NIV)
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Despite overwhelming grief, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:22)
Theological Insight:
This reflects Job’s deep understanding of God’s sovereignty. His worship was not based on gifts, but on God’s nature. True faith acknowledges that everything we have is from God and belongs to Him (see Psalm 24:1).
Satan, having failed to break Job’s spirit through external losses, attacked his health. Job was struck with painful sores from head to toe. He sat on ashes, scraping himself with broken pottery. Even his wife said:
Job 2:9 (NIV)
“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Job answered:
Job 2:10 (NIV)
“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Theological Insight:
This response shows a mature understanding of divine providence. God is not only the God of blessings but also sovereign in allowing suffering for a purpose (see Romans 8:28, James 5:11). Job’s wife, overwhelmed by grief, represents the human tendency to measure God’s love by our comfort—a dangerous theological error.
The final and most dangerous trial was spiritual and doctrinal. Satan now used Job’s own friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—to sow doubt and confusion through seemingly religious counsel. They accused Job of hidden sin, insisting that suffering is always the result of wrongdoing.
Let’s look at each of their arguments.
Eliphaz was the first to speak. He claimed that Job’s suffering must be the result of sin:
Job 4:7–8 (NIV)
“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?
As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.”
Eliphaz believed in a strict retribution theology—that good things happen to good people and bad things to sinners.
Theological Error:
While God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4), the book of Job shows that suffering is not always a punishment. Eliphaz’s view ignores the mystery of divine testing and spiritual growth through trials (see John 9:1–3; 1 Peter 1:6–7).
Bildad’s argument was harsher. He accused Job’s children of dying because of their sins:
Job 8:4–6 (NIV)
“When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty,
if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf…”
Theological Error:
Bildad assumes a direct cause-and-effect between sin and tragedy. But Job had continually interceded for his children (Job 1:5). His theology failed to recognize the grace of God and the reality of righteous suffering (see Hebrews 11:35–38).
Zophar was the most blunt. He implied Job was getting less punishment than he deserved:
Job 11:6 (NIV)
“Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.”
Later, he mocked Job’s downfall:
Job 20:5–7 (NIV)
“…the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens…
they will perish forever, like their own dung.”
Theological Error:
Zophar lacked compassion and misapplied divine judgment. He made Job feel condemned instead of comforted, violating the spirit of true pastoral care (see Galatians 6:1–2, Romans 12:15).
These friends spoke some truth—but wrongly applied it. They used scriptural ideas (like sowing and reaping, God’s justice) to make Job feel guilty. Worse, they claimed divine dreams and revelations to support their accusations (Job 4:12–17).
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved… who correctly handles the word of truth.”
They became Satan’s instruments, not by cursing God, but by using twisted theology to tempt Job into abandoning his faith.
Unlike his friends, Job knew that faith is not about outward blessings but about the heart’s connection with God. He never claimed to be perfect, but he was confident in his innocence before God:
Job 13:15 (NIV)
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.”
Job’s hope was not in prosperity or healing—it was in God’s righteousness and mercy.
This story is a timeless warning. Satan still uses hardship to test believers. When that fails, he sends false voices—even from religious people—to make us question our standing with God.
Today’s “Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar” are often prosperity preachers or false prophets who say:
If you’re struggling, God must be against you.
If you’re sick or poor, your faith is weak.
If you’re not successful, you must be cursed.
But the Bible teaches:
Romans 8:35–37 (NIV)
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Faith is not measured by success but by perseverance and relationship with God, even in suffering.
In the end, God rebuked Job’s friends for speaking falsely about Him (Job 42:7–9) and restored Job’s fortunes—doublewhat he had before (Job 42:10). Job’s reward was not just material; it was spiritual vindication.
Let us also stand firm, not shaken by outward losses or human opinions. Like Job, let our faith be rooted in knowing God, not in what we possess.
James 5:11 (NIV)
“You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
Remain faithful in every season—wealth or poverty, health or sickness. Don’t judge your spiritual standing by outward conditions. And don’t be misled by religious voices that lack the Spirit of truth.
Stand on the Word. Keep your heart close to God. And in due time, He will lift you up.
1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
May the Lord bless and keep you always.
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