Job 6
Job first opened the conversation in Job 3, but today is the first time Job responds to one of his friends. Does he heed Eliphaz’s advice, turn from his wicked ways and commit himself to God in order to secure all those blessings Eliphaz pointed him to in Job 5:8-27? Not exactly. Knowing that he is not guilty of the kind of wickedness that Eliphaz supposes, Job acknowledges no need to repent and recognizes no reason for hope. He instead lurches toward more despair. Previously, he cursed the day of his birth. Now he prays that God would go ahead and hasten his death, to “finish the job” so to speak. (v. 9)
Job opens with an appeal to recognize the enormity of his distress or his vexation, and perhaps acknowledges that his words have been rash. (v. 3) I say “perhaps” because it is not clear to me whether Job’s statement is “straight” or sarcastic. I lean a bit toward sarcastic, because the subsequent verses justify those “rash” words. If he were comfortable, he wouldn’t complain, but the the terrors of God are arrayed against him (v. 4), so wailing is to be expected.
In the midst of his suffering Job apparently cannot see any potential for future relief, so patience appears absurd. What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? (v. 11) He has no superhuman strength, so why should he patiently expect things to get better? (vv. 12,13)
He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. (v. 14) This verse and those that follow express Job’s assessment of his friends and the emptiness of their so-called “comfort”. He ends the chapter with a request that they actually show him the error of his ways (v. 24), an assertion that their reproofs carry no real weight (vv. 25-26), and a plea for them to actually see him and recognize his innocence.
So, how about us? How might we sometimes “withhold kindness from a friend” — intentionally or not? How might we be too quick to come to some conclusion without weighing the full truth? Many in our culture are currently very adept at doing this, rushing to “cancel” those with whom they find fault, but rarely with a well-informed or balanced assessment of facts. Let’s not go down that path.