Page 82 - Job

I must tell you that those things entered his heart like arrows. These were
his best friends, and it was hard for him because it came from them. To
have your best friends in your deepest trial insinuate that you are a wicked
man must be very, very painful. And even more painful, because it wasn’t
true. The truth hurts, but not as much as an insinuation. How do you prove
a spiritual thing that nobody can see? And the more Job said, “I am
innocent”, the more they said you are wicked and hiding it.

And so, we begin these three debates. If you take what Eliphaz, Bildad
and Zophar said in the abstract, you’ll find much truth there. But it did not
apply to Job or his situation. That is why he said in chapter 16, “Sorry
comforters are you all. Miserable comforters.” As a matter of fact, the
margin says, “Comforters of sorrow.” Rather than bringing me comfort,
you are adding sorrow on top of my sorrow.

Job agreed with almost everything they said. He agreed that all events
come from God. Job agreed that God inflicts suffering on the wicked. But
he knew in his heart that he was innocent. His conscience was clear. And
yet, God treated him as if he were guilty. And so he charged God with
injustice, and he blamed God. He said God has become my enemy, and
for no reason God set me up as His target. That is Job’s mistake.
So these are the three cycles as a whole. I was reading one commentator,
and here is the outline he gave for this section. He says 4-14 you can call
confusion; 15-21 you can call more confusion; and 22-31 you can call
the most confusion.
Now watch how they end. The Bible tells us who won the debates. No
question about it, Job won. He triumphed over his friends. Job 32:1 says,
“Then these three men ceased answering Job because he was righteous
in his own eyes.” He shut their mouths. The arguments he gave proved
they were wrong. Now just because you win an argument does not mean
you have the victory. Job won the argument, but his heart was still crying,
“What is the answer to life and is there a Savior?” Refuting error is one
thing. Realizing truth is another.
One thing I get out of the fact that Job silenced these men is that God
discredited their theories. By the fact that God shut their mouths, He is
saying do not believe what they said. It might be a temptation to fall into
their philosophy. Job shuts their mouths, then God speaks and shuts Job’s
mouth. That is how it ends. Job 40, verses 4 and 5,
“Then Job answered the LORD and said, ‘Behold, I am
insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth.

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