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C
onstructive, functional relationships,
building up each other in love, is intended
to be the parade example of true Christianity.
By such love and unity we could convert the
world; so the Lord taught in John 17. But we
see broken down relationships and failed dia-
logue on every hand amongst us as believers.
Sadly, this is how it has always been amongst
the body of God’s people. On one level, the
speeches of the book of Job are a worked
example of how dialogue and relationships
break down between believers. It could be
argued that the Bible is full of examples of
failure, so that we might learn to do better. I
suggest that the “sons of God” we read of in
Job were the believers of the time who gath-
ered together; they included Job, the friends
and the ‘satan’ adversary, a fellow worshipper
who doubted Job’s integrity. He thought prob-
ably Job only believed because God had
materially blessed him. And so God gives Job
into the power of this satan but He sets clear
parameters. Job is “perfect” before Him, a
“man of integrity”, and although all can be
taken from him, God promises that his life will
not be taken away. Job begins perfect and
ends perfect, in God’s eyes. The whole drama
is for the sake of the friends, and that Job
through suffering for them might finally save
them. The righteous suffered as representa-
tive of the sinful worshippers, and thus
became the prototype for the “suffering
servant”, the Lord Jesus, of Isaiah’s prophe-
cies. The friends came to “comfort” Job over
his calamities; but after sitting in silence with
him for seven days, they ended up getting
angry with him, and finally the relationship
between them and Job breaks down com-
pletely, and they end up in silence again at the
end of Job’s last speech. What went wrong?
In the New European Commentary on Job, I’ve
given actual chapters and verses for the
following summary.
Straw man images
The friends were convinced Job was suffering
because he had sinned. They therefore cre-
ated a straw man image of Job as a big time,
Page
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“But he that does the will of my Father”
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