The three friends in the book of job

And then he takes it upon himself to spend about five chaptersan eighth of the entire bookspouting off his thoughts. The words of jobs wife jobs three friends the world view. Natural man views god as an accountant who collects and pays accordingly to what man deserves. The most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. His three friends, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite and zophar the naamathite, console him. Job is an easy candidate for the old testaments most. How does the book of job help disciples of jesus christ remain faithful to god as they sufferor walk alongside others who sufferin ways that are extreme and inexplicable. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar were not able to understand these ways of god. Thus, they did not serve job but only intensified his sufferings further.

Can we learn something from jobs friends about how to help. Well as i said, chapters 4 to 27 contain the speeches of job s three friends, well call them friends. Jobs three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar were not able to understand these ways of god. So if theyre not job s friends, what are they doing there. Jobs other two friends each give three speeches, but zophar gives only two. For i know that my redeemer lives, and he shall stand at last on the earth. Now when jobs three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the gospel. The lord addresseth eliphaz as the most prominent one of.

Dec 29, 2016 the most hurtful comments of jobs friends,barry york study from the bible and be encouraged to grow your faith. And many people are helped just by the loving presence of another. With his three friends job discussed the problem why a righteous god allows that a righteous man has to suffer innocently. Sep 12, 2008 but i think the lesson we learn from the progress of the book of job is that while those three friendseliphaz, bildad, and zopharwere sitting in dust and ashes, aching with their friend job, he was helped by them. The speeches of jobs three friends no three job 4 27 andrew davies were in the book of job and this evening i want us to do something rather adventuresome and that is to try to look at these features of jobs three friends as a whole and draw some lessons from them so wed be looking at chapters 4 to 27 not verse by verse. Two, neither job nor his friends ever saw the conflict going on between god and satan, but his friends made the mistake of thinking they were competent to judge. He isnt mentioned as one of jobs friends, but apparently he was there listening in on their conversation, because he knows all about it when he chimes in. The lessons i learned from jobs friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar. And in his case in particular he was not an enemy of god and had not committed any grievous sin that would set him up for such. The book of job mentions more than once that job was a righteous man in the eyes of the lord. These guys have plenty to say, and job isnt their biggest fan. Job is an obvious place to turn to when one is overwhelmed with pain, but it is easy for a casual reader to leave the book more mystified than encouraged. When jobs friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. Well, they definitely give us something to think about.

A lesson in friendship from the book of job hodgepodge. They are also the three friends that pay job a visit to console him. Book of job simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air over his head. His friends apparently did not know and understand job and his relationship with god. 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. Now when job s three friends heard all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place. Unfortunately, two erroneous interpretations of jobs theses are by far the most popular. 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.

They met together to go and console and comfort him. The reasonings of jobs friends are similar to the reasonings of the world and its systems of works religions. Finally, god responds to job, and to job s original three friends chapters 38 41 chapters 38 39. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. Study questions on the book of job concordia college. God allowed satan to take away from job his wealth, his family, and his health. Now when jobs three friends heard all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place. They argued with job from the humanist position based on human experience, human tradition, and human merit. They had not been correct about gods motives and involvement in jobs suffering.

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. After job had excepted his suffering and forgiven his three friends what did job restoration involve he gave job twice as much as he had before, was blessed with the company of his brothers, sisters, and friends. One little help to grasping the book of job for me was the comment by one of jobs friends to the effect that, the hypocrites hope shall perish. Howard katz continues his series on the book of job, specifically teaching about jobs three friends, on september 22nd, 20. Interpretations of elihu in job biblical hermeneutics. This wisdom holds true as a general rule, not an absolute. I would like to explore five ways the book addresses suffering in the following pages. For i know that my redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. What upset god about jobs friends is that they misrepresented him completely. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan.

They were false in their logic and wrong in their conclusions. The hebrew book of job is part of ketuvim writings of the jewish bible. Two of them speak three times and one of them speaks twice and after each of their speeches job replies. Job rejects their inadequate explanation and challenges god to respond chaps. All of them, job included, are struggling with the problem and looking for answers to it. Jan 02, 2020 jobs friends did at least three things right that can be seen in job 2.

Jul 24, 2015 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 jobs three friends job 45, 8, 11, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25. They believed that man must do things to earn gods favor and therefore suffering is a sign. Like the beginning of the book, the prologue, the epilogue is not in a poetic measure, but in prose. Good news translation three of jobs friends were eliphaz, from the city of teman, bildad, from the land of shuah, and zophar, from the land of naamah. Following jobs extended defense after bildads third speech, a fourth man, elihu, speaks up job 32. Our friends may fail us in the midst of our misery but god never does. God rebukes jobs three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. Taken from nelsons new illustrated bibkle dictionary. Most people have embraced the philosophy that wicked men are punished in the earth for their deeds and good. The word temanite probably indicates that he was an edomite, or member of a palestinian people descended from esau. It begins with an introduction to jobs characterhe. Five truths for sufferers from the book of job the. Elihu, the forgotten prophet of job the book of job is one of the most important of the entire bible, and is a prerequisite to all discussions of christian theology, particularly theodicy. The symposium, consisting of speeches by job and by each of his three friends, tells a very different story.

Select the basic errors with which god charged jobs three friends. At one point job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, you are miserable comforters, all of you. Select the basic errors with which god charged job s three friends. 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 jobs three friends job 45, 8, 11, 15, 18. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. 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. Job prays for gods forgiveness of them and god accepts his prayer. May, 2020 job had defended himself all along by saying, contrary to his three friends opinion, that there is good evidence from all over the world that the wicked often prosper and the righteous often suffer 21. In the book of job, it becomes clear that the first three of jobs friends eliphaz, blidad, and zophar speak wrongly.

When the dialogue between job and his three wise friends finally stalemates, and before job s last defense chs. The first of the three, eliphaz, acknowledges that job has been a source of strength to others job 4. The book takes its name from the main character in the poem, the patriarch job. Job s three friends eliphaz, bildad and zophar sermon. There are three cycles of the dialogue between these friends and job. But then he turns and puts the blame for jobs suffering squarely on job himself. My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant job has. Jobs opening monologue and dialogues between job and his three friends. Jobs friends accuse him of doing evil job 423 bible. Oct 16, 2014 one little help to grasping the book of job for me was the comment by one of jobs friends to the effect that, the hypocrites hope shall perish. In my opinion, the book of job is a greatly underused resource for endurance in discipleship in the midst of deep pain. Analysis this passage introduces jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad, and zophar.

At the end of the book, god gives job twice as much wealth as he had before, along with seven sons and three daughters. Job with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. When three of jobs friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. He burned with anger at job because he justified himself rather than god. The speeches of jobs three friends no three job 4 27. I dont think this nullifies the importance of truth.

Jobs friends insist that his plight can only be a punishment for personal wrongdoing and an invitation from god to repent. Jobs three friends 12 when they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize job. Three friends eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, and zophar the naamathite come from afar and express their sympathy by remaining silent and by clothing themselves in sackcloth and sitting in ashes. The book begins with the description of job as a just and upright man. It is important to clarify at the outset, however, that the book of job is not universally relevant and is not intended to be. Regrettably, jobs friends are not able to endure the mystery of his suffering, so they jump to conclusions about its source. They had not been correct about gods motives and involvement in job s suffering. Dialogue of job with his friendsthe solutions of jobs three friends and elihu. Towards the end of the book, jobs friends start to think that job is not good because a lot of bad things are happening to him. Pdf the arguments of jobs three friends david clines. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it prov. Misfortune befalls job, and, in three cycles of speeches, his three friends give the explanation that this must be punishment from god for his sins, and they urge him to repent. Oct 23, 2014 elihu, the forgotten prophet of job the book of job is one of the most important of the entire bible, and is a prerequisite to all discussions of christian theology, particularly theodicy.

What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they have right. Job was a wealthy but righteous and godfearing man. 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. They had not agreed on what was wrong, rather each took his own opinion. Most of the book tells about job and his friends talking. They will engage in dialogue with him for many chapters. So if theyre not jobs friends, what are they doing there.

When job s friends heard about the things that happened to him they went to comfort him. It is common to view the narrative frame as the original core of the book, enlarged later by the poetic dialogues and discourses, and sections of the book such as the elihu speeches and the wisdom poem of chapter 28 as late insertions, but recent trends have tended to concentrate on the. But satan the accuser comes before the lord, and god allows him to test job. Jan 02, 2020 jobs other two friends each give three speeches, but zophar gives only two. Wisdom, judgement, and knowledge, also represented by the three daughters in the story that are not consumed but rather are the consumers. What did jobs three friends have wrong, and what did they. The book of job consists of a prose prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Job, however, goes through a radical transformation. Eliphaz from teman, bildad from shuah, and zophar from naamah were three of jobs friends, and they heard about his troubles.

But they didn t actually comfort him at all, when we see the way they spoke to him later on. God rebukes job s three friends and orders them to make a sacrifice. This is seen in the speeches of jobs three friends, eliphaz, bildad and zophar beginning from chapter 4 all the way to chapter 31. They had not spoken up soon enough, letting job suffer in silence for seven days. Three, his friends interpreted his sufferings in moralistic, overlytidy, accusing categories 4. If god allowed job time to respond, how would job have to respond to each one. Job wished that either he had not been born, died at birth, or would have died then 3. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. These three friends that come to comfort job are all female.