If one has friends, he is wealthy. A man who had spent a childhood in poverty once shared with me about the frustration of becoming wealthy. The frustration stemmed from his being unable to qualify friends. He said, “When I was poor, friends were simple to identify. Now that I am wealthy, I am never quite sure why people want to spend time with me.” Friendship can be slippery!
Everyone needs friends and Solomon reminds all who will listen, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
Have you noticed that Job had at least four men who were willing to associate with him, in spite of his having lost everything except a nagging wife? Each friend was imperfect but willing to spend time with a broken spirited, impoverished, sick friend. Job didn’t have to wonder, “Are these fellows after my money?” or, “Do they want to borrow my ranch equipment?” He had none!
One thing I have noticed in Job, “All friends are flawed!” No one is able to perfectly live up to our expectations. Friends are human and say things they will later regret. The Lord has had to correct all of us who spoke with eloquence and all sincerity, just like he rebuffed Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu. When reading carefully, each of the friends had something good to say, true observations about life and God. On occasion even my friends and I have had deep insights, flashes of theological and philosophic brilliance.
Elihu ranks as a special nominee on the slate of candidates for “most likeable friend.” Being the youngest, he waited patiently, listened carefully, and weighed thoroughly the speeches of Job and the others. (May his tribe multiply, fill the earth, and run for President of the United States!) The process Elihu went through before speaking makes me want to meet him and share a cup of coffee. You have to love this young fellow! He spoke and many things made sense.
The one thing all five men had in common, they could not see or hear what God could see and hear. Each could wax eloquently from their narrow experience base. But, when the Lord speaks, He begins with a series of rhetorical questions which leave wise men speechless. The Lord established His qualifications to speak by asking –
• “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?”
• “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?”
• “What is the way to the abode of the light? And where does darkness hide?”
• “What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed?”
• “Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons?”
The innate limitation of human friends is evident. The One who “sticks closer than a brother,” is far better qualified to unravel the imponderables in life, light the darkness, calm the storm, and heal oozing boils. We all tend toward “A” and “B” as possible solutions. Right and wrong is the usual scope of our consideration. But the One who is Alpha and Omega says, “I have considered ‘A’ through ‘Z!’”
On occasion I get bogged down in “A” or “B” thinking, thrashing wildly, searching for an exit to unpleasant circumstances. Then the Lord speaks, often through a friend who unwittingly shares a “D” or “Q” solution. The Lord delivers a word of wisdom, or a word of knowledge, supernaturally, by the Spirit, and through a friend.
In the end, Job prayed for his friends and they continued together. It seems to me that the four friends continued with Job through his second season of prosperity. I am keeping mine too!
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