Job - The Whiner

er three the following chapters, Job’s friends interpret his suffering but do so falsely. These false accusations lead the friends to become more and more estranged from Job on the ash heap. Eliphaz, the oldest and thus the wisest friend, speaks first. He says he speaks from experience. He says suffering results from human activity and it is divine punishment for wicked living (4:8-9). He says he has had a dream (4:12) in which a voice questioned if anyone could be sinless before God. It is Eliphaz’ way to get Job to admit his sinfulness. Evidently Eliphaz was troubled that Job had not repented. It could also be a divine discipline for which Job should be grateful, but the audience knows he is wrong. With Eliphaz we seem to have returned to an understanding of life somewhat similar to Proverbs. Since Job is innocent, he believes that God must be the source of his suffering, “The arrows of Shaddai stick fast in me...my spirit absorbs their poison” (6:4), and he has every reason to complain. Once again Job laments, this time he asks to die. Job is disappointed in his friend, for his counselling was no comfort to him. His understanding of life is sharply different to theirs. He suffers because of betrayal by his friends, “my brothers have proved deceptive” (6:15). Job believes God is treating him as if he were a monster. He is sure God loves him because after he dies God would be looking for him, but it would be too late, he would be no more. Neither Job nor the author of Job had a belief in life after death. So God must intervene now. In the prologue and epilogue of this book, Job is said to be a man that performs sacrifices and prays to Yahweh on behalf of everyone around him: friends, family, etc. In Gabel and Wheeler’s book, they state that: “…Job performs sacrifices and prays to Yahweh on behalf of his children and friends; but in the large poetic bulk of the book, where Job and his friends investigate in minutest detail the ways a man may sin and thus deserve suffering, cultic matters are never once mentioned (115.” This would have been the greatest defence for Job, one that should not have been overlooked, nor should it have been brought up, since Yahweh’s name is sometimes defined as “a God who remembers” (Notes, 9/3). If Yahweh remembers Job following the covenant, how can his suffering be just? Bildad responds next, arguing from the idea of theology. God is just and therefore God cannot be the cause of human suffering. Therefore, if God is not the cause of suffering, humans are. According to Bildad, Job’s children died prematurely because they sinned. Since God’s justice is beyond question, Job’s children must have been sinners. In other words, Bildad believes in the same doctrine of retribution as Eliphaz does. Bildad suggests that Job is responsible for his own future. He must seek God and if he does, God will reward him. Then, Bildad practically accuses Job of not staying close to God. Bildad says evil people flourish only for a short time (8:14-19), and escape is possible for Job but depends on Job himself (8:20-22). He believes he was consoling and wise, but the audience knows that he has been cruel and also portrayed God as cruel. Job believes we are powerless against God. He

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