“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!” (Job 16:2NIV)
Those were Job’s words to his friends who had come to comfort him during the days of his pains and sorrow. But why would he speak like that to them? Well, as the account goes, because of certain conversations that God had with Satan about him, he ended up losing all his children and possessions and even his health. And when three of his friends heard about these happenings, they met by agreement and came to comfort him. (Cf. Job 1&2)
But was Job really comforted by their presence? Evidently, he was not comforted at all by their coming or presence. Otherwise, he would not have used such strong words that we have in our opening bible text in describing them. He referred to all of them as miserable comforters? Why? It was because their words did not bring him comfort at all but condemnation and grief.
You need to read the whole book of Job in order to appreciate the force of what Job said about these friends of his. These men did not offer him comfort at all through their words. Instead, they just falsely accused him and also condemned him. For instance, here is what one of them, Eliphaz, said to him:
“Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked. You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, though you were a powerful man, owning land — an honored man, living on it. And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.” (Job 22:5-11NIV)
Where did this man get all these things? Even God said that Job was a blameless and upright man, one who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:8). Yet this man referred to him as a wicked person, an oppressor. Where did he learn that about Job? It is clear that he was either deliberately lying against him or reacting to some unfounded rumours that he had heard about him.
In any case, if Job’s own friends could say such things about him, what, then, would his enemies be saying about him? That would be beyond imagination. And you can now see why Job, as we see in our opening text, referred to all these friends of his as miserable comforters. On the one hand, they had nothing good to offer him or contribute to his faith and strength at the time. On the other hand, they were terribly hurting him with their words. So, it would have been better, if they had not shown up before him at all.
Interestingly, when God was set to restore Job, He first rebuked these friends of his severely. He told them that He was angry with them and would require them to offer some burnt offerings because of their errors and to also meet Job to pray for them. Otherwise, trouble would come upon them for the terrible job they had done as Job’s comforters. (Cf. Job 42:7-10)
Now what is the point of all this? It is that God is watching the way we treat those who are in trouble or in pains. Yes, they may have been the source of their own problems. But as long as we are a part of their lives or are privileged to be around them, we are not to add to their sorrow or pains. And we are also not to fold our arms and watch them suffer or get destroyed by their trouble. Instead, we are to offer them comfort, by words of mouth and by our actions, according to the measure of grace God has given to us.
The word of God says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2Cor 1:3-4NIV) Did you see that? One of the reasons God is comforting us in every area of our lives isn’t that we may add to the pains and torments of those around us that are suffering by sitting in judgment over them. Rather, it is that we may comfort them with the same comfort we ourselves have received from Him.
Then observe that we are told in this text that we can actually comfort those in any kind of trouble. In other words, even if the people we are dealing with are the source of their own problems, God is still able to use us to comfort them, heal them and set them in the right direction. But He cannot do these things through us, if are insensitivity and judgmental towards them and our words to them are full of criticism, lies or hate.
Therefore, let us rid ourselves of all forms of insensitivity, slander, hate and bitter and unclean criticisms, so that we can be true and not miserable comforters to the hurting people around us. Otherwise, as Job’s friends incurred the anger of God through the bad way they treated him in that low moment of his life, we too may invite His anger and punishment on ourselves for being bad towards those that need our comfort.
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