JOB SERIES: CHAPTERS 15-21 – SECOND CYCLE OF DEBATABLE SPEECHES

In the previous chapters,  Job’s friends gave him their unsolicited opinions concerning his sufferings, and in response Job maintaining his innocence expressed his hurt and displeasure with their words. Not to be deterred in their attack of his character Job’s friends continue defending their position with more accusations and verbal abuse.

Still believing Job’s suffering was the result of sin Eliphaz the Temanite begins the second cycle of debatable speeches. He questions Job’s wisdom and accuses him of haughtiness and heresy.

Job addresses his unsympathetic friends by telling them he would be a better comforter to them if they were in his position than they are to him. He shares with them his physical pain and what he feels God is doing to him. He ends with a plea for an intercessor on his behalf.

Then Bildad the Shuhite accuses Job of insulting their intelligence and thinking they were ignorant. He compares Job’s downfall to a beast that is hunted and caught in a trap and further states that because of his wickedness, he will not be remembered in the earth.

The opinion voiced by his friends that he was a sinner frustrated Job, and he tells them they have no proof of this claim and their friendship is questionable. He also shares with them his loneliness for his brethren, kinfolk, and friends who are no longer present in his life and the actions of his household members who no longer treat him with respect. Despite all the opposition and emotional turmoil that Job felt he was able to declare this hope, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26).

Not to be stopped from speaking his thoughts Zophar the Naamathite rehashes the fate of the wicked, their short period of happiness, the dooming results of sin, and the violent end of the sinner.

In his last reply in this second cycle of debatable speeches, Job unwilling to accept the fate predicted to sinners as stated by his friends declares his belief that the wicked spend their days in wealth and die peacefully. Job is bewildered about his condition, in continuous physical pain and wants things to end.

I conclude these chapters with these reflections:

1. Many believe the wicked are punished, and the righteous are blessed.
2. People can misjudge you and falsely accuse you.
3. Treat people like how you want to be treated.
4. Under pressure, you may experience jumble thoughts and fluctuating emotions.
5. Don’t be hasty to jump to conclusions based on opinions rather than facts.
6. During your time of suffering, people may turn their back on you.
7. Don’t place your confidence in the flesh.
8. In life, everyone needs someone to intercede on their behalf.
9. Sometimes silence is golden.
10. It is not necessary to respond to everything people say to you.