Job 16:2-3. “I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. Shall vain words have an end? Or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?” NEEDED COMFORT.
When I go into the house of one who is in pain – What should I say that they haven’t heard again and again? It would be wrong just to say a lot of words – That person doesn’t want someone speaking just to be heard. I must think about some way God has previously used A passage of scripture or an illustration to choose To give some kind of light to the situation they are in – And trust God to guide me by the Spirit within.
Pat answers can be offensive, like ancient platitudes. They sound like sermons given with the wrong attitude. No one can say because the same problem was in another, That the same cause is the reason it has happened to this brother. He will probably want to talk about what is happening to him; And a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on is a good place to begin. Before solutions are found, the problem needs to be defined. It is hard to do much more at first than to comfort his mind.
Accusations and criticisms usually harden one’s neck. Negative reactions are about the best things you can expect. That person has probably gone over them or heard them before. And criticisms have a tendency to shut, instead of opening a door. It is possible to place yourself in a sense in the other person’s place. And think how you would react if accused to your face. Even if you suspect some reason for the situation he is in – If you were there, what would you need to hear from him?
Give some encouragement to let the suffering person see – You have something good to offer, something that would help him to be A bit more at ease, perhaps comforted in his soul.
They might open up a bit and ask for prayer before you go. If there is something in your power in the way of giving help – Offer your services to do what he can’t do for himself. Bring God into the conversation; maybe read a verse or two. And the sufferer will be glad you came before the visit’s through.
“I am thinking of several couples right now Father, who are going through some real difficulties which don’t seem solvable. Remember them in their need, and if we can give some encouragement – help us to do so in an appropriate way. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
In the first verses of chapter seventeen, Job is dying, and those who came to comfort him are mocking him and debating with him. His spirit has been crushed and his life will soon be over. He thought they could at least shake his hand, but instead of giving a "pledge" of protection as he slowly dies, they spit in his face. Those who were upright and knew the character of Job were astonished at his suffering, and were stirred up because the hypocrites were not suffering. However, that did not make those who were righteous change their lifestyle, but it rather made them stronger and more committed to do what was righteous.
In contrast, Job's three friends had a reputation for being wise, but he could not find any wisdom in them. In their own preconceived wisdom, they assumed because they were prosperous, God would be pleased with the way they were living and the counsel they were giving. Job's thought was that earthly success and financial prosperity was not proof of faith in God. He did not believe that experiencing suffering and trouble in life proved that a person does not have faith.
True wisdom comes from God only. Human success or failure may come from shrewdness, skill, subtlety or even stealing. But that does not last and can be very quickly lost entirely. True wisdom in a person comes when one is true and faithful to God, and who does not forsake Him and His word. Loyalty and allegiance to God are consistent with the wisdom of one who trusts in Him in both the good and bad times of life. The wisdom of God is superior to all the combined wisdom of man.
After rejecting with disdain, the counsel of Eliphaz, Job concludes his discourse with a description of death that he considers to be very close to him. In the second series of discourses Eliphaz insists that it is only the wicked who suffer. The Bildad insists the wicked always suffer And Zophar dogmatically stated that the prosperity of the wicked will not last long. Job replies that the righteous suffer as well as the wicked, and the wicked do not always suffer. Prosperity may follow the wicked all the way through life and even extent to their children after they are dead.
From our biblical perspective, we know that Job is right, and we also learn that when prolonged suffering occurs, Satan will try to take advantage of people in their weakened condition by using physical and emotional pain to make us doubt God's faithfulness. He seeks to bring down in defeat those who are spiritual to when they despair of living at all, let alone living by faith.