Insult to Injury
Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. Job 5:7
READ Job 5:17–27
During the Golden Age of radio, Fred Allen
(1894–1956) used comedic pessimism to bring smiles to a generation
living in the shadows of economic depression and a world at war. His
sense of humor was born out of personal pain. Having lost his mother
before he was three, he was later estranged from his father who
struggled with addictions. He once rescued a young boy from the traffic
of a busy New York City street with a memorable, “What’s the matter with
you, kid? Don’t you want to grow up and have troubles?”
The life of Job unfolds in such troubled realism. When his early
expressions of faith eventually gave way to despair, his friends
multiplied his pain by adding insult to injury. With good sounding
arguments they insisted that if he could admit his wrongs (Job 4:7–8)
and learn from God’s correction, he would find strength to laugh in the
face of his problems (5:22).
Job’s “comforters” meant well while being so wrong (1:6–12). Never
could they have imagined that they would one day be invoked as examples
of “With friends like that, who needs enemies?” Never could they have
imagined the relief of Job praying for them, or why they would need
prayer at all (42:7–9). Never could they have imagined how they
foreshadowed the accusers of the One who suffered so much
misunderstanding to become the source of our greatest joys.
By Mart DeHaan |
How have others misjudged you, and how did you feel? When have you been critical of others whose pain you didn’t understand?
Father, like Job’s friends, I’m inclined to
assume that the troubles of others are somehow deserved. Please help me
live this day in the Spirit of Your Son rather than in the words and
thoughts of the accuser. | | | | |
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Job is typically classified as
Wisdom Literature, along with Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and
portions of Psalms. Proverbs and many Wisdom psalms emphasize that
since God’s wisdom is woven into the creation of the universe, living
with wisdom—in tune to God’s ways—is more likely to result in human
flourishing. However, both Job and Ecclesiastes nuance that picture,
emphasizing that injustice and suffering can occur through no fault of
their victims.
Throughout the book of Job, Job’s friends echo sentiments found in
the Wisdom Literature of Proverbs and Psalms (for example, compare Job
5:19–21 to Psalm 91:5–16). Job’s friends refuse to face the clear
exceptions to these principles and in so doing show a staggering lack of
compassion for Job. In the end, God chastises them for not speaking
“the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (42:7).
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