Answers by Pastor Kim

 Answers

By Pastor Tony Kim

 Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

   Did you catch that phrase, “for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right.” Eliphaz was one of Job’s closest friends. Job honored and respected him. The fact that he came as a friend to Job during Job’s worst time proves his loyalty. I have always said that a friend is a person that when you’ve really blown it doesn’t think you did a permanent job. Eliphaz thought Job had blown it somewhere, but the problem was, Job did nothing to deserve what was happening and God’s word confirms this. This is a truth Christians want to ignore, but the scriptures teach that trouble can come upon us even when we are obedient. It is time that we realize that being a sinner made us one with those in a sinful world and that being a Christian separated us from being one with those in a sinful world. This alone creates problems, yet, this is not the problem here.

   What Job is going through is something altogether different. Eliphaz didn’t have the discernment to see that. Many times it is like that. The world sees differently than we. Our friends, as Christian as they may be, even with good intentions, can see differently than we. How about this one, we can even see differently than both of them.

   So, who is right? The correct answer is only God is right and only what He says in his word is right. What Eliphaz said contained some truth, but not the truth. Here is a hard principle I have had to learn over and over. We can have right words, even true words, but they might not be the right and true words needed at the moment. Eliphaz was Job’s friend. He meant him well. But it would have done Eliphaz well to talk to God before he talked to Job because God rebuked Eliphaz.

   Here is a scripture God brought to my attention as I considered writing this devotion from all the places in the scriptures possible, right from the very book of Job itself. Job 6:25 “How forcible are right words! But what doth your arguing reprove?” This has taught me when ministering to hurt people to keep my mouth shut unless they or God asks me to speak. I have found this to be true also. When I am hurting the most there is no therapy, nothing that works better than just getting alone in God’s presence. Consider that sometimes just being there is caring enough. It is so hard for us at times to see the work that God does in people when they are hurting or even understand His working in them when they are hurting, but perhaps, just being there with them, silently praying for them is the best ministry we can give.

By Pastor Tony Kim