Then Job answered and said: “I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you; But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief” (Job 16:1-5).
Holy Father, here we are again, seeking Your face, needing a word from You to help us as we wait for that still small voice to tell us, “This is the way, walk ye in it!” So please speak Your will to us Heavenly Father, for we are listening. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Yesterday, many people clelebrated what the world knows as Valentine’s Day. For me it is Love, Family, and Friendship Day! And so today, we are going to look at one of Job’s speeches that give us a glimpse of what Job’s idea of what a friend should be.
He carefully selected his description of these men, who at one time, he called friends. “Miserable comforters are you all!” I wanted to hear what Job was really saying to these men, that sounded so much like an oxymoron to me. It really depends on how you look at it.
Miserable and comforter do not naturally go together. A miserable person is not normally considered a comforter. So I went to the Old testament Dictionary to search out the meaning of these words in this context. This is what I found:
Miserable: Hebrew – ‘âmâl, wearing effort hence worry, whether of body or mind;— grievance . . . mischief, miserable . . . . wearisome, wickedness. A masculine singular noun meaning trouble, labor, toil. This word can be used for the general difficulties and hardships of life. It can also refer to trouble or mischief directed at another person. . . . (p. 5999, emphasis supplied).
Comforter: Hebrew – nâcham, . . . A verb meaning to be sorry, to pity, to comfort, to avenge. . . . The verb always means to console or comfort. . . . To console is synonymous with showing kindness to someone [.] (p. 5162, emphasis supplied)
(Hebrew – Greek KEY WORD STUDY BIBLE, KING JAMES VERSION, Old Testament Dictionary).
It was interesting to look at the meaning of the words. Even though we know what the words mean, an in-depth look at them in their context and the original language from which they were taken, brings to light what Job must have been feeling as these “friends” of his were speaking to him. Most of us have heard the saying, No one can give what he or she does not have, or possess. This is a true statement.
This is quite evident in the way Job felt as he was visited by his “friends.” Their miserable comments were obviously coming from a possible grievance, or misery, from within, which is where our words have their beginning. So they were obviously, just naturally passing on their own misery to poor Job. In this sense, supposing themselves to be comforters, they were causing Job, nothing but misery!
I mentioned in our last devotional, that I believe they could have done much more good to Job, by talking to him about God’s justice, instead of sharing their lack of information, and their misguided judgment of what was happening in his life. Talking about God’s justice would have brought consolation and hope to Job, because we know that whatever God does, or allows, is well done, because His actions always come from a place of justice. Unfortunately, not so with us human beings.
But after adressing them, Job in a few, well thought out words, tells them how he, as a true friend would have treated them, ”
If your soul were in my soul’s place[,] I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you; But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.”
How come? Because we all give what we have!
As we draw close to the end of this series, we will hear a rather lengthy speech from Job, and then God will have the last word in our final devotional!