When Words Fail: Job 3:1-10, 4:1-9 - Second Sunday after Pentecost
It’s not uncommon for church members to list me as a reference on scholarship or job applications, and I’m always happy to support them, particularly when I know that they have the gifts and the attitudes to be successful. However, if Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the Buzite listed me as a reference to become licensed professional counselors, pastors, or even to write get well messages inside Hallmark Cards, we would have to have a long chat. These four men attempt to counsel Job as he grieves the loss of everything he had while suffering a horrific skin disease. Image by Andrys Stienstra from Pixabay Initially, they were a tremendous comfort. When Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar learned of their friend’s troubles, they went together to comfort him. When they first saw him, they didn’t recognize him, due to the anguish that had overtaken him and the disease that had disfigured him. They raised their voices and wept aloud, they tore thei...
