May 18, 2010 - False Accusation

Meditation on Job 4

Job's unbearable grief and physical suffering caused him to curse his own birth. So his three friends began to answer his cry after seven days of silence. The first one here was Eliphaz, the oldest among them. He tried to recognize the strength of Job in the past and encouraged him to live by acknowledging God's judgment on his life.

Eliphaz had determined that Job must have done wrong and sinned against God. That was why Job was suffering. He even used his so called spiritual experience to claim that he had revelation to know that Job was not innocent. He was insinuating that Job might have been mighty in life like a lion but then was punished by God.

As we study to the end of the story, we realize that Eliphaz was wrong. His understanding was limited. Yet his attack on Job was deadly. His comforting words had in fact turned into a lie or false application of his own impression. He was not only proud but he was also a hypocrite. In fact his words made Job angrier.

May we ask the Holy Spirit to help us in comforting those in suffering so we would not imply that we judge them but rather acknowledge our own ignorance and problem as well.