Job 6:21

21 For now ye are nothing; ye see [ra'ah] my casting down [chathath], and are afraid [yare']. KJV-Interlinear

21 'Indeed, you have now become such, You see a terror and are afraid. NASB

To the winter caravans, the overflowing wadis were appreciated, but not needed. When summer came along, and these same caravans traveled their same trails, the empty and dusty dry wadis were a shock. How could so much turn into absolutely nothing in so short a time?

And now, Job too declares that his friends are as nothing, just as the dry wadis are nothing. They offer nothing, they offer no help, they are a total waste of time with their opinions.

Job reveals one more thing as well. His friends are afraid of him.

Gal. 2:6

6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. NASB

Jobs friends came with good intentions, initially, but when they arrived and saw the extreme degree of his misery, they became standoffish.

They did not engage in conversation from the beginning. They did not offer their sympathies in their opening words. They did not offer help or aid of any type.

When someone has lost all that they had, and are deathly ill, the first things that should come to ones mind when you see their dire situation, is to offer them cool water, or a damp cloth, or something to ease their suffering. If you are financially well to do, then you inquire if they need any financial assistance or food, or clothes, or anything that you can do to help them in their situation.

If someone suffers a loss of some type, like a house fire, then his neighbors should naturally come by to offer help in many forms. The obvious things that will be needed are food, clothing, immediate shelter, a phone to call family and insurance, toys for the kids, and such things.

No one expects neighbors to come by and immediately begin lecturing them on not having a battery in their smoke detector, in not mowing the lawn recently, questioning their private life to see if there is some sin that might be the cause of the fire. 'Should have stopped smoking. What did I tell you? Now look at your home.'

But more than that, Job was repulsive to the eyes. He looked really bad, and anyone who saw him might not want to get too close, lest they catch the disease themselves.

Here Job was presumably under judgment by God, so their inclination was to not get too close, lest they might become the recipient of Gods wrath as well. 'Heaven only knows that we don't want God to get mad at us too!'

Neighbors don't want gang thugs to get mad at them, so they don't get involved. Politicians, celebrities, or liberal minded folks don't want to get too involved in the Middle East, lest the terrorists might get mad at us.

The same principle of responsibility, grace, and courtesy in life applies in all of these cases.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, all three, knew a great deal of doctrine, the teachings of Gods Word. They were men of the world, their world. They had a great deal of common sense about them. And yet, they seemed to lack the common courtesy common sense that is necessary when it comes to adversity.

People who know the teachings of the Bible, but lack their proper application in real world situations, are worthless people.

Likewise having life, but lacking salvation, makes your life worthless fuel for the Lake of Fire. Having salvation, but lacking knowledge for spiritual growth, makes your life useless in the spiritual realm. Having spiritual knowledge, but lacking the application of that knowledge to your daily life, makes your life as useless as the dry wadi.

Not all believers are useful folks. Many know the general principles of life, but far too many lack an in depth understanding and wisdom when it comes to interacting with others.

Their first inclination? Me first. Make a show for whoever is around, but otherwise don't get involved. Try to bring blame, correction and analysis to a situation, rather than bringing relief and understanding.

Eliphaz's words were pointed at Job, but Eliphaz was more impressed with his own words and lecture, than he was interested in Jobs affliction. Eliphaz was impressed with himself, and with hearing himself speak. He had a captive audience and he was going to give his lecture.

And that is the way lots of folks are. They like to hear themselves talk, and they will dominate a conversation, because they are impressed with what they have to say, and they believe that others are impressed as well.

Like Eliphaz, politicians and celebrities will usually fit this pattern of thinking. They want to be seen and heard, but they don't want to get involved, nor do they want to advance any form of solution to the problem, except something that might perpetuate the problem. Which in that case would continue the dependence of others, on themselves.

Fear then is the foundation that drives their thought pattern. Job calls it straight here. His friends are afraid. Job represents something that is beyond their comprehension, beyond something that they cannot resolve, beyond something, which they have no answers for. Yet they feel qualified to criticize the situation.

No one can live their life successfully, by being afraid of those things that are greater than they are. Whether this is unemployment, or an illness, a social issue, or a global war, makes no difference.

To get involved means being responsible, and accountable, and that means that you will be under the scrutiny and criticism of those who don't want to get involved.

Better to offer aid and a solution, and even try and fail at something, than to sit on the sidelines and fill the role of worthlessness.

Previous Page

Table of Contents

Donation

Next Page

Now is the time to post a prayer.