Mar 18, 2018 sermon may 2016, by pastor doug batchelor, the senior pastor of the granite bay seventhday adventist church. Dialogue of job with his friends the solutions of job s three friends and elihu. There are three cycles of jobs friends responding to him. Job s friends assume he must have done something terribly wrong, unjust, or unwise to experience such an incredible tragedy. Eliphaz the temanite, and bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. Job does not believe he has sinned and doesnt understand why he is suffering. Quiz 3 bible 104 with washington at liberty university. May god above not seek it, nor the light shine upon it. Elihu is identified only as the son of barakel the buzite, of the family of ram job 32.
This is why the book of job is considered the most theological book of the old testament. But they didn t actually comfort him at all, when we see the way they spoke to him later on. What comes out of his mouth is one of the more heartbreaking of the laments found in scriptures. Their overarching belief was that job was suffering because he had done something wrong. The book of job discusses why god allows pain and suffering. But the writer of the book of job is not satisfied to live that way. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives.
Most of the book tells about job and his friends talking. Why wasnt elihu included in gods scolding to jobs friends. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering. Job speaks after this, job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. At the start of chapter 3 of the book of job, we find job, having sat in silence with his 3 friends for 7 days, ready to talk. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have. Job accuses god of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that job s sin caused his suffering. The thing that prompts job s friends to make their speeches is his outburst in chapter 3. Job doubtless was afterwards ashamed of these wishes, and we may suppose what must be his judgment of them now he is in everlasting happiness. The first of the three, eliphaz, acknowledges that job has been a source of strength to others job 4. The book of job demands that we see ourselves in the faces of jobs friends.
So if theyre not jobs friends, what are they doing there. Some bible scholars debate whether he was an actual person or legend, but job is mentioned as a historical figure by the prophet ezekial ezekial 14. Job deplores his birthafter this job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. The difference between job and his three friends knowable word. Job s friends insist that his plight can only be a punishment for personal wrongdoing and an invitation from god to. Job and three of his friends debate the cause of jobs tremendous loss and illnesses. So jobs friends could be excused from assuming job guilty of a secret sin, secret and serious, given the level of calamity that befell him. This is seen in the speeches of jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad and zophar beginning from chapter 4 all the way to chapter 31. Youll get this book and many others when you join bible gateway plus. After this job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. These guys have plenty to say, and job isnt their biggest fan.
Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. But this story is about more than just mass destruction. Job wished that either he had not been born, died at birth, or would have died then 3. Three of job s friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, come to visit him, sitting with job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. Job is lacking references to historical events and reflects a nonhebraic cultural background which little is known about. Although most of the book consists of the words of job and his friends, job himself was not the author. So if theyre not job s friends, what are they doing there. Its subject matter is the allimportant question, why, in a world over which yahweh has jurisdiction, should innocent persons have to suffer when at the same time the wicked escape suffering and are permitted to have comfort and security. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job, some new theme seems to. Only job insisted he was righteous, and so he could not make his suffering fit with the justice of god.
The most hurtful comments of job s friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. Even scholars who regard the book of job as a literary composition by a single author tend to see in elihus speeches an early addition or commentary to the original book. Lets see how this main point plays out in the debates. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The lord rebukes jobs friends after the lord had spoken these words to job, the lord said to eliphaz the temanite. It is not to be supposed that job had no more than three friends indeed, elihu the buzzite appears later on as one of his friends but he had three contemporaries with whom he was especially intimate, old men, with whom he was probably accustomed to confer from time to time, and who were in the habit. And why he complimented job in the end contrary to his friends. Elihu was one of job s friendsnot one of the three who had come to comfort job at the beginning of the book, but one who arrives later and offers the last and longest single speech to job. On the seventh day, job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares his thoughts on job s afflictions in long, poetic statements.
At one point job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, you are miserable comforters, all of you. If so, this may roughly indicate the date of the book. God is just, and job must have done something to offend him. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of job. Not only do they incur the indignation of job and his other friend elihu, but god himself rebukes them, saying to eliphaz, i am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant job has. In the book of job, the bible describes the man job as righteous before god.
And many people are helped just by the loving presence of another. What wasnt correct in their speeches about him that angered the lord. May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, a boy is conceived. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b.
My question is, why was god so angry at job s friends. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar sermon index. Below is a page from my study notes that i have been working on for quite some time. May the day perish on which i was born, and the night in which it was said, a male child is conceived. Whilst mourning the death of his children three friends increasingly challenge and berate him suggesting that he must have. The prose narratives date to before the 6th century bce, and the poetry has been dated between the 6th and the 4th century bce.
This was after all the catastrophe, all the personal affliction, and all the demonstration of compassion from job s friends. One of the real challenges of preaching job is that its such a long book. Before jobs journey of suffering began, job and his three friends shared the same theology. At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. As a result, they repeatedly encourage job to admit his wrong and repent so that god would bless him again. Throughout the book, job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. If gods power is absolute, and gods law is that the righteous are rewarded and the wicked are punished, then jobs predicament is his own fault. The first of the three, eliphaz, acknowledges that job has been a source of. What did job s three friends have wrong, and what did they have right. I dont think this nullifies the importance of truth. After reading the last commentary from job s friends, i notice i cried when his friend elihu spoke, i could not understand at first why, until god reveal it to me, it was yahew speaking through elihu.
The book of job is often referred to as one of the great classics of world literature. The speeches of jobs three friends include many inaccuracies, primarily involving why god allows people to suffer. His conception of gods justice was basically the same as theirs. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar were not able to understand these ways of god. Regrettably, jobs friends are not able to endure the mystery of his suffering, so they jump to conclusions about its source. He had no better explanation of his suffering than his three friends did. Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have right. God allowed satan to take away from job his wealth, his family, and his health. When job s friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. Three of jobs friends were eliphaz, from the city of teman, bildad, from the land of. An initial theme found early in the book of job is the concept of fair weather friends lacking true loyalty and a thinly veiled jealousy over jobs wealth.
Job s three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42. Job 3 job speaks after this, job opened his bible gateway. But the bible adds more ingredients to the recipe for suffering, all of which are found in this book. Now when jobs three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each. This central section consists of the comforting words of his friends, who try to persuade job that if he is suffering he must have sinned, and jobs increasingly bitter retorts that he is innocent, and that his punishment is undeserved. Job s friends insist that his plight can only be a punishment for personal wrongdoing and an invitation from god to repent. Elihu came from the buzites who lived next to the chaldeans in northeast arabia 4. In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of job s friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly. In my opinion, its better to see the three friends as representing a particular.
Sep 22, 20 howard katz continues his series on the book of job, specifically teaching about job s three friends, on september 22nd, 20. The book of job may be divided into two sections of prose narrative, consisting of a prologue chapters 12 and an epilogue chapter 42. The conclusion of the book shows jobs trust to be wellfounded as he finds justice. Jobs friends accuse him of doing evil job 423 bible. Elihu was one of job s friends not one of the three who had come to comfort job at the beginning of the book, but one who arrives later and offers the last and longest single speech to job. I love the book of job because god speaks and i get to read what yahew says. There are three cycles of the dialogue between these friends and job. Job does not curse god or satan or even his misfortune. Dec 29, 2016 the most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. Just reading the first chapter was amazing to say the least. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Each time i read through the drama of the book of job. No creature comes into the world so helpless as man.
The tone of the work abruptly changes, however, in chapter 3, as job begins his poetic speeches by cursing the day on which he was born. Eliphaz the temanite, in the old testament book of job chapters 4, 5, 15, 22, one of three friends who sought to console job, who is a biblical archetype of unmerited suffering. Jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by god job 42. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice.
Jobs opening monologue job 3 seen by some scholars as a bridge between the prologue and the dialogues and by others as the beginning of the dialogues, and three cycles of dialogues between job and his three friends job chapters the third cycle is not complete, the expected speech of zophar being replaced by the wisdom poem of. It is unwise to pull an isolated verse from the book of job and use it to understand godif the verse comes. Job s friend, eliphaz, came from teman, a city in edom. Job with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.
So job s friends could be excused from assuming job guilty of a secret sin, secret and serious, given the level of calamity that befell him. Job s friends try to answer such questions with superficial and simplistic solutions, eventually earning gods rebuke job 42. This central section consists of the comforting words of his friends, who try to persuade job that if he is suffering he must have sinned, and job s increasingly bitter retorts that he is innocent, and that his punishment is undeserved. Oct 16, 2014 heres a window to my world of study this is how i organized my attempt to understand jobs friends. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. Sermon may 2016, by pastor doug batchelor, the senior pastor of the granite bay seventhday adventist church. In the bible, we learn a lot on this topic from jobs friends who helped him. True in the book of job the lord presents his servant job as a model of righteousness before satan. With his three friends job discussed the problem why a righteous god allows that a righteous man has to suffer innocently. The names of his friends are eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. When job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar heard of his adversity, they came to visit him, saying they wanted to comfort him job 2. Well i have been looking for a job now for several weeks and am getting rather discouraged about the whole total fiasco that this country is in now when it comes to unemployment.
Now when job s three friends heard of all this evil that was come on him, they came every one from his own place. The debate is about god, his attributes and how he interacts with humankind. When jobs three friends, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. Job was a wealthy but righteous and godfearing man.
God tells eliphaz that he and the two other friends have not spoken of me what is right as my servant job has done. Aug 06, 2012 the book of job covers a multitude of themes reflecting the multitude of individual states of the walk of the believer as represented by the children of israel and their history. Well, they definitely give us something to think about. Towards the end of the book, job s friends start to think that job is not good because a lot of bad things are happening to him. The word temanite probably indicates that he was an edomite, or member of a palestinian people descended from esau. Why elihu is so mysterious july 24, 2015 by peter krol at a recent pastors conference on the book of job, a leader asked the attendees whether the speeches of elihu job 3237 should be trusted, like gods job 3841, or discarded, like those of job s three friends job 4. With its story of one mans life and suffering, the book of job raises universal questions. Now when job s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him. Can we learn something from jobs friends about how to. Elihus life and speech offer many insights for today. But i think the lesson we learn from the progress of the book of job is that while those three friends eliphaz, bildad, and zopharwere sitting in dust and ashes, aching with their friend job, he was helped by them. Surprise, surprise, zophar follows the same line as his two friends. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they. Job pronounced jobe, was a rich farmer living in the land of uz, somewhere northeast of palestine.
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