Brothers and Sister in Christ,

In these next three chapters we have one of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, doing his best to explain to Job why it is that such trials have befallen him. There is a lot of truth in what Job’s friend has to say to him, “Shall man be justified in comparison of God, or shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold they that serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he found wickedness”. And Job is not foolish enough to completely disregard what he is hearing, but is still unsatisfied with his friends answer, “How agreeable are honest words; yet how unconvincing is your argument!”

We read in the previous three chapters that Job was one of the most righteous men in the entire world. Even if he did deserve all that happened to him, it would follow that those who are less righteous than Job would suffer even more. We know that this is not the case. All we have to do is look around and see that, by our own standards, amount of punishment one endures in this world is not directly related how righteous a person is.
So the question still remains, why does God allow suffering such as Job’s to happen to some of the people who follow him most devoutly? That is why we are reading this book, to try and get a better understanding of this important question. I am sure as we go further into our reading, our understanding will be better.

In the meantime, here is a beautiful reflection on suffering for us to keep in mind as we read Job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCPsZ-Vi6Ck

Be a blessing,

Sean