A good friend will tell you the truth even when it hurts. Elihu seems to be that kind of friend to Job. Although some have seen him more as a big-mouthed blowhard, there are many indicators that he was more of a prophet preparing Job for the arrival of the Lord. If that is right, he does a remarkable job of showing how even great suffering can be God’s means of speaking truth into our lives.

Job has finally answered his three friends and now mounts his closing argument. It is a fascinating bit of logic and revelation. In the 28th chapter, Job steps out from his argument to ponder wisdom, more specifically, where wisdom is found. In the dark cave of suffering, the gold of wisdom is there, but it is easy to miss if you don’t know who you’re looking for.

How many times has someone hurt you with well-meaning words? Our desire to fix other people, or to change their thinking about something, can lead us to saying the worst things. Words matter. They flow from the heart. And what we believe is most evident by what we say. Job’s friends speak from their theology. They have one way of understanding God and circumstances that blinds them from reality. And Job suffers for it. Yet, even in all this darkness, that suffering saint found a way to spot hope in the darkness. A glimmer of hope in a sea of suffering. In his mind’s eye, he could perceive a time beyond the grave which was worth losing everything on earth to gain.

Many groups enslave desperate people with empty promises. What philosophies are used today to enslave unsuspecting peoples and Christians and distract them from the FULLNESS that is in Jesus?

As soon as Job finished his lament in Chapter 3, the three friends took up their debate with him. Each of these friends was acting in line with their theology — what they believed to be true about God. Eliphaz went first. Basically, he told Job what Oprah might tell one of her guests, “Bad things only happen to bad people.” The major problem with that theology is that it did not work in Job’s case. He is a righteous man. God Himself said so! What does a righteous man do when those who are there to serve him falsely accuse him?