Job's Friends

Thank you very much, Aaron. Certainly enjoy the tone of the trombone. Beautiful sound. I used to play the clarinet and saxophone, and you put your finger on the exact hole and you get the exact note you want. I don't know how you figure out which note you're getting by just sliding that thing back and forth. Very skillful and really enjoy the tone, and I could hear the words in my head as a foot to the soul, you know, as he was playing. So thanks very much, Aaron. Very nice job for special music today. And good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Sabbath Services. Great to be here with you this afternoon. Let me say, greetings, friends.

Let's talk about friendship today. Friendship is a mutual interpersonal relationship tying two people together. With a close friend, you can share each other's feelings and thoughts and often tell them almost anything. A woman named Gail from Nutley, New Jersey, once told Reader's Digest, when I was pregnant, I felt and acted as if I had PMS for the entire nine months. My best friend, Laura, told me she was calling me every other day to make sure someone was still speaking to me. And she says, that is true friendship.

Megan from Friendswood, Texas, reported to Reader's Digest, I came down with a horrible stomach bug when my husband was out of town. My best friend showed up with saltines, Sprite, essential oils, and the best part, her Netflix password. So, I guess true friendship. So, a good friend shows up when it matters, follows up when you're not around, supports you, applauds your successes, makes time for you, keeps your confidence, understands you, tells the truth, even when it hurts.

Amen. And brings joy to your life in many ways. Oscar Wilde was quoted as saying, true friends, stab you in the front. Truth when it hurts, right? Have you heard of the term fair weather friend? A fair weather friend is someone who supports you only when it is easy and convenient to do so. For example, I thought Bob would always stick by me, but when I got into trouble, he turned out to be a fair weather friend.

A fair weather friend is a person who is dependable in good times, but not in times of trouble. For example, you can't rely on Sarah, she's strictly a fair weather friend. Have you heard of the term a foul weather friend? Not a fair weather friend, a foul weather friend. A foul weather friend is when you are the friend of the one who is suffering the misfortune. You will support your friend even when things are not going well for them.

You'll stick with them. The best known type of disappointing friend is the one who is only interested in relations or relating to you when it is easy, convenient or personally helpful for them. When conditions suit them, they show interest in you and you can depend on them. But as soon as those storm clouds appear, they quickly take cover from you. It's as though you suddenly got demoted from friend to acquaintance. And this is likely, of course, to leave you feeling abandoned when you need them the most. The biblical patriarch Job tells a very gut-wrenching story of friendship gone awry.

And that's what I want to look at here today. The book of Job is perhaps the earliest book of the Bible set in the period of the patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph tells the story of a man who loses everything.

His wealth, his family, and his health. And he wrestles with the question why. And his friends are of little help. His friends are of little help as he goes through an unbelievable crisis. The book begins with a debate in heaven between God and Satan the devil. The story then moves through three cycles of earthly debates between Job and his friends.

And concludes with a dramatic diagnosis by God of Job's problem. And in the end, Job acknowledges the sovereignty of God in his life and receives back more than he started with before his trials. So in the sermon today, let's study the concept of friendship and ask, are you more than a fair-weather friend?

What kind of friend do you see yourself to others? What can we learn from Job's friends?

How reliable are your friendships? And who is your best friend?

I've titled the sermon today simply, Job's Friends. Let's turn to Proverbs 27, verse 6 and begin with some helpful basic scriptures about friendship. True friends are faithful to you, dependable, and bring joy to your day. Look at Proverbs 27, verse 6. Proverbs 27, verse 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. And so we see here, yes, a friend will tell you the truth, even if it sometimes hurts, even if it wounds a little. As we heard from Oscar Wilde, true friends stab you in the front. A friend will be there for you when things get bad. You need more than just a fair-weather friend. You want your friend to be a foul-weather friend when you are in the midst of a storm.

Look at Proverbs 17, verse 17 next. Because even when you are suffering, a friend should stand by your side. Be there in your adversity when you are going through a storm. Proverbs 17, 17. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Loving at all times does not allow for a fair-weather friendship. When you go through a severe trial, when things are not going well for you, you need a friend to hold you up, to encourage you, to keep you from falling, to pick you up. During a trial, during adversity, is no time to be alone. And that reminds me of Ecclesiastes chapter 4, verses 9 and 10. Let me read that to you. Ecclesiastes chapter 4, verse 9. Two are better than one. You've heard this before, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. You know, for the elderly, it can be critical if they're alone, when they fall. And so we have these first alert-type buttons that they push, right, to get help. You do not want to be alone when you fall. Two, better than one. And wherever possible, we seek to turn our enemies into friends. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? Here's a way to destroy your enemy. Make him your friend. So, how did it go for the patriarch Job?

How did it go when he suffered terrible loss and was visited by his friends? We know the ancient story quite well. We're going to start in Job chapter 2. Job had his family and his wealth taken away. God allowed Satan to attack Job's health, take away his riches, and kill his wife and family. So let's take a look at Job's friends. They told him it was all his own fault because of his unrighteousness, his wickedness, and his sin. But was that really the case? I want to have us think about our own friendships. What kind of a friend are you? Do you judge your acquaintances harshly? How reliable are your friendships? Who is your best friend? And how do Job's friends measure up? In Job chapter 2, let's read verses 11 through 13. In Job chapter 2 verse 11, when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Elphaz, the Temanite, Bildad, the Shoeite, and Zophar, the Namathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, to comfort him.

So it was a group decision to, okay, guys, let's go comfort Job. They made this appointment together. Verse 12. When they raised their eyes from afar and did not recognize Job, they lifted their voices and wept. And each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. Because what they saw was a major catastrophe. Verse 13. So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him. For they saw that his grief was very great. So we see at first Job's friends kept silent. So far so good.

They were shocked by his dour predicament. They didn't even at first recognize him.

They wanted to mourn with him and provide comfort. But then they started offering advice. Perhaps it would have been better, you think, if they had tried not to judge Job's situation so quickly. And so then in the following chapters, we read how Eliphaz told Job he must have sinned for such calamity to befall him. Bildad told Job to repent. So far also urged Job to repent. And in many respects, they mocked Job, which obviously deeply hurt him. Job was looking for kindness, not judgment. Look at Job 6, verse 14. Job 6, 14. Job said, To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend. Job said, this is the time I need some kindness, not some judgment. To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar then went ahead and explained that they had a better understanding why God was allowing Job to be punished.

But Job answered and told his friends they were not superior to human understanding and asked them to stop ridiculing him. Job says, guys, please! Look at Job 12, the first four verses. Because I'm skipping quickly through the story here for a purpose. Job 12, the first four verses. Then Job answered and said, No doubt you are the people. The NIV says, No doubt you are the only people who matter in this world. Job's friends thought a lot of themselves and the advice they were giving to where it all came down to them. And then Job said in verse 2, And wisdom will die with you. It's as if all the wisdom in the whole world was concentrated in them. And when Job's friends die, wisdom will die with them. Like they were so smart, they thought.

But Job said, But I have understanding as well as you. I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? First of all, I am one mocked by his friends who called on God and answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. Job says, Why are you ridiculing me? Why do you think you have such understanding? Why do you think wisdom will die with you?

So in chapter 15, Elphaz said, Job, you're just being foolish.

Look at Job 15, the first six verses. Job 15 verse 1, Then Elphaz the Timonite answered and said, Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind? So Elphaz, Job, you are being very unwise. Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good? Verse 4, Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. Verse 5, For your iniquity, Elphaz, your sin teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. Job, you're a bad guy.

And verse 6, Your own mouth condemns you. Not me, says Elphaz. Your own mouth is condemning you here. Yes, your own lips testify against you. And Elphaz really thought he was speaking words of great wisdom right now.

What kind of friends had Elphaz, Bildad, and so far become to Job? How were they measuring up and providing comfort that Job asked for? Providing understanding of his terrible trial, and letting Job heal emotionally. We'll look at the very next chapter, Job 16, the first five verses.

Job answered and said, I've heard many such things, and miserable comforters are you all.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Look at verse 2. Shall words of wind have an end?

The NIV says, Would your long-winded speeches never end?

Or what provokes you that you answer?

So Job says, you guys are full of hot air, actually, and you're miserable comforters. Verse 4, he said, I could speak like this. If your soul were in my soul's place, I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you. Job said, I could find plenty wrong with you, too. But, verse 5, I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief. Job said he would have responded differently if his friends were the ones suffering. He said, I would have provided comfort, not judgment, not telling me I'm a terrible sinner.

And so, as we think about those first seven days where his friends kept silent, I guess in many respects it would have been much better for Job's friends to have kept their silence after reading this. But what did they do instead? They heaped it on even more.

Next, Bildad said the wicked are punished, implying Job must have done terrible wrongs. Zophar then gave a long sermon, chapters and chapters, about a wicked man. I wonder who had in mind in that sermon. And Alaphaz then accuses Job of wickedness, too. Turn to John 9 for a minute, if you would. We'll come back to Job in a minute. This reminds me of what Jesus Christ said about a man who had been blind since birth. And it's in John 9. Let's just read the first three verses. That actually goes on for the whole chapter in John 9. Look at the first three verses. John 9, verse 1. John 9, verse 1. Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents? That he was born blind.

Two options. Only two options. Who sinned? Jesus answered in verse 3, neither. Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. Also, there's a third option. To glorify God. And for people to see this man healed. The rest of the story in the chapter here is actually rather fascinating. The Pharisees eventually excommunicated the healed man for saying it was Jesus who healed him. For giving God the glory. So go figure. Got kicked out of church. Excommunicated, just fellowshiped. Had to leave the synagogue because he said, was Jesus who did it? And gave God the glory.

I know some situations in the church recently where a sick person has been told they are not well or things are going badly for them because God is punishing them.

How does a friend know what God is doing here in our church? How can a friend judge such things? Perhaps neither the person nor his parents sinned.

And so we may conclude that just because Job lost his family and all his wealth does not necessarily mean Job sinned.

In fact, as we will shortly see, it's the very opposite. Let's talk for a moment about Facebook Fairweather Friends. Does any of this remind you of Facebook?

Everyone is telling you what you should or should not do.

And it usually has nothing to do with right or wrong or biblical doctrine.

It's usually a matter of personal decisions, especially personal medical choices.

Should you have gotten chemotherapy or should you have gone the natural route?

Should you get anointed and leave it up to God to heal you and not do anything with the doctors for help afterwards, getting well? Some tell you to only go the natural route. Take only vitamins. Others tell you that vitamins don't work and you have to have chemo. And of course, you can extrapolate this to almost any scenario. They say you're not being godly if you do it. They say you're not being godly if you don't do it.

And so everybody weighs in, don't they? Some of these discussions remind me of the Proverbs saying everyone is right in his own eyes. That's Proverbs 21 verse 2, if you wanted to make a note of it. Every man or the way of a man is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 21 verse 2. But the Lord weighs the hearts. And as we know, it's God who sees the heart and knows how to truly judge a person.

Let me share with you some comments put on social media by some of our members.

I know many of you have more than 1,000 close friends on Facebook, right? I actually read that I think the most close friends you can have is 150. For real, the people you really are close to in life is 150. So 1,000 close friends on Facebook. But you'll see how some of these arguments, or some of these discussions, I should say, turn into arguments that are not profitable. Some of our friends are starting to sound like Job's friends. Here's one comment, quoting, Here's a second one.

Number three. I'm a moderator here. We cannot all agree, and that's fine. But when personal attacks happen, it's gone too far, and I'll have no issue deleting the thread. These are our church members, right? Number four. I deleted the thread about such and such because it was causing too much division. There was some misinformation. I've removed threads on this topic because they always become divisive.

Thomas Jefferson once said, I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. And so I would say we must be careful how we do discuss politics, religion, and philosophy, lest we lose our friends. Have you ever seen a controversial post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and said, I gotta say something? I mean, I have, right? I gotta say something about this one. I can't let this one go without a comment. This person needs to be set straight, boy oh boy. Boy, are they so wrong. And so on more than one occasion, I've had to refrain myself from commenting or getting into a contentious dialogue on social media. I know if I do, there'll be two definite outcomes. First, I'll alienate half of my friends. And then in the next sentence, I'll alienate the other half of my friends. Pretty much guarantee that. I remember about 13 years ago, an influential group of ministers in our church organization worked hard to get our home office moved from Cincinnati to Dallas. And eventually, a majority of the general conference of elders voted for that not to happen. And we're still here in Cincinnati. But not before a lot was said on both sides of the issue on the elders forum. And at one point, I thought, I gotta say something.

And so I did.

I got on the elders forum and I spoke my mind. Well, I came close to losing my job over it. Was it worth it? I don't know, maybe. Thankfully, we're still here in Cincinnati. But I did alienate about a third of my ministerial friends in the process. Got called in, you know, the usual.

Well, let's get back to the story of Job's social media interaction, shall we? Job 42. Because finally, a much younger man, Eli-Hugh, contradicts Job's friends and was angry with their condemnation of Job. Eli-Hugh tells Job to be careful with self-righteousness, and then he proclaimed the ultimate goodness and majesty of God. So Eli-Hugh, the young whippersnapper, the junior man among them, seemed to understand more correctly that ultimately it's up to God.

And then, as we get into Job 42, finally God then challenges Job and reminds him to be humble, yes, and explains to Job, he says, Job, you are nothing compared to the Almighty. God reminds Job not to ever question the wisdom and sovereignty of God, not to try and speculate as to why God would or would not allow something. So we have to be careful with our friends, right? Not to speculate about it, why someone is going through a trial or not. So Job repents and God restores him. It's an amazing passage of Scripture. Job 42, let's just read the first six verses of Job 42. Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. Job was starting to realize his place now after God's big speech. Job says in verse 3, You asked God, who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Job says, well, it's me, actually, saying stuff I didn't know anything about. You see, Job was making statements about things which he really had no intimate knowledge. Job did not understand what was happening. In heaven at the time. Verse 3, he says, Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Verse 4, Listen, please, and let me speak. You said, I will question you and you shall answer me. And Job says, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes seize you, God. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job came to realize that ultimately God is in charge. Job repented of his lack of humility before God.

And we know this is part of the story, but now notice what God asked Job to do.

God gives Job an important task to accomplish in order for Job to have his life restored. And here is what Job must do. Pray for his friends. Go back to your friends and pray for them. After which, God said he will restore Job's health and former riches. And Job's friends must offer a sacrifice to God in addition. So Job 42 here, verses 7-10. And so it was, after the Lord, the eternal had spoken these words to Job, and Job had then repented. The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temmonite, My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So Job did provide a correct summary of God's purpose. Verse 8, Now therefore take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him. Lest I deal with you according to your folly. So Job's friends were actually the foolish ones, not Job. Job's friends were the ones that thought all wisdom would die with them. No. God says no. Eliphaz and your buddies, you are actually the foolish ones. Because, end of verse 8, you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Verse 9, Eliphaz, the Timonite, and Bildad the Shoeite, and so far the Namathite, went and did as the Lord commanded them, for the Lord had accepted Job. And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. So here's a lesson for us. Here's our takeaway. Look at the power of praying for one another. The power in praying for our friends, especially if they've wronged us.

It provides forgiveness for our friends and restores our relationship with God.

We pray for our friends, we draw closer to God, and they are able to be forgiven. Look at Ezekiel chapter 14 for a moment. We're going to come back to Job just one more time. But look at Ezekiel chapter 14. I want to help confirm the fact that God had accepted Job. And that Job was not some dastardly sinner, as his friends told him time and time again. And that Job had spoken correctly of God and what was right. Look at this short list of righteous people in the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. We're going to read verses 12, 13, and 14. Ezekiel 14 verse 12.

Ezekiel says, He says, he's a prophecy.

So a sinful society will be punished by God. Look at verse 14. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God.

You may not have noticed this list of righteous people before here in Ezekiel. Think about it. Noah was a man chosen by God to save humanity from extinction.

The prophet Daniel would rather die in a fiery furnace at the teeth of ferocious lions than deny his God. And Job is listed here as a man who would have been delivered from a sinful nation when no one else would be because of his righteousness. As we consider Job's miserable comfort of friends, making sure we're not like that, right? In the advice we give our friends, put yourself in his shoes. What kind of a friend do you see yourself to others? How reliable are your friendships? Who is your best friend? Are you a social media grumbler and complainer? Look at James 5.

Look at James 5, verses 9-11. As I asked, do you tell others how they should live their lives? Do you really know what God is doing in their lives? Are you putting yourself in danger of condemnation? Or are you patient with your friends? James 5, verse 9. I like to where these three verses tie together here. James 5-9, do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door.

So be careful about grumbling against one another or what you say about your friends. My brethren, verse 10, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. The prophets were an example of suffering and patience. Verse 11. Indeed, we count them blessed to endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. So with these three verses, here we see the perseverance of Job used as a positive example and reminder not to grumble against one another, not to be like Job's friends, lest we too be condemned. Part of growing in spiritual maturity is developing self-awareness, self-respect, and acknowledging how you affect those around you as well as determining what you will and will not tolerate from others. So now, the question of the sermon that I keep asking, the big question of the sermon, who is your best friend? John 15, verses 13-17. John 15, starting in verse 13.

Jesus says, in John 15, 13, And yes, that is the ultimate sacrifice, isn't it, for a friend? Verse 14, Jesus says, No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his mastery is doing, but I have called you friends. For all things that I heard from my father I have made known to you, and you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you, and these things I command you that you love one another. And so we look ultimately to our Father and Jesus Christ for their perfect friendship and support.

They have chosen you. They have chosen us, not as a servant, but as their friends.

Look to Christ for direction in your life that you may bear godly fruit. I'd like to conclude by going back and seeing what God actually said about the patriarch Job, beginning in Job 1, verse 8. Job 1, verse 8. Did Job commit some terrible, dastardly sin that brought such calamity upon him? Was there any element of truth in what Aliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar had to say to him? Look at Job 1, verse 8. Here is what God said to Satan the devil. Have you considered my servant Job that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shines evil? Now, like the man born blind, neither this man or his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed through Job. And so here today we have the great lesson of not questioning the wisdom or decisions of God. We were not there when the great historic events of history took place.

We read in Job 38. God asks Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, Job? Who determined its measurements? To what foundation was the earth fastened? What is it sitting on, Job? Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to appear? Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades or loose the belt of Orion? He says, Job, can you send out lightning? Job, who put wisdom in the mind? Who has given understanding to the heart? And so God reminds Job that we are nothing compared to the power, might, and omnipotence of God. It's a story of humility and recognizing our place before the Almighty. I'd like to conclude by reading the final verses of Job 42. And as we do, let's all be the best friend we can be, modeled after the example of her elder brother and greatest friend, Jesus Christ. Job 42 verse 12. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than he's beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels. What do you do with 6,000 camels? 1,000 yoke of oxen, so you can eat some of those, and 1,000 female donkeys. I guess you can't have male donkeys, can you? 1,000 female donkeys.

Job became an ancient billionaire. He also had seven sons and three daughters, and he called the name of the first Jemima, the name of the second Kiziah, and the name of the third Karen Ha'puk. And in verse 15, And after this, Job lived another 140 years and saw his children and grandchildren for four more generations. And so Job died old and full of days. And so asking conclusion, what kind of friend do you see yourself to others? What can we learn from Job's friends? How reliable are your friendships? And who is your best friend?