The Two Groups in the Book of Job

The Two Groups in the Book of Job

Satan claimed that earthly prosperity had made Job appear to be so godly, and that Job would forsake God the moment he met earthly calamity—in other words, that Job was not blameless and upright in heart. Ch. 1:11, 2:5. After losing his possessions and his children, and after having his body covered with boils from head to foot, his wife said to him, “Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!” Ch. 2:9. She was, in other words, in complete agreement with Satan that her exceptionally God-fearing husband was not blameless, and his calamity served to confirm this in her mind.

What she said is a good illustration of how someone, without being aware of it, can actually end up serving Satan. In fact, she used the exact same expression Satan used. Just as we hear the Spirit’s voice in our inner man and use the words we have heard there—God’s words—so she had heard Satan’s voice and repeated the very same words she had heard from him! Let us be careful whose voice and words we listen to in secret!

Job’s three friends, his unusually good and splendid friends, who, among other things, proved their genuine friendship and upright heart by sitting on the ground with him for seven days and nights out of deep compassion before speaking a single word, were also basically in complete agreement with Satan and Job’s wife: Job was not blameless. On the contrary! He was so far from being blameless that his iniquities were without end! Ch. 22:5.

Here we have the one group: Satan, Job’s wife, and Job’s three friends, with Satan as their leader. The other group consisted of Job, who in the midst of all his pain and misery, and with ample opportunity to waver, nevertheless held unshakably fast to the testimony of his conscience concerning his blamelessness. He was so blameless and faultless that in all his misery he could say, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” Ch. 23:3-4. And to his friends he said, “Far be it from me that I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.” Ch. 27:5-6. There was one more person in Job’s group, and that was none other than God Himself. For God said about Job, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Ch. 1:8.

Job and God were on one side and were in complete agreement in this matter. Directly opposing them on the other side (and also in complete agreement) were Satan, Job’s wife, and his three friends. What amazing groups they were! What a remarkable alignment!

The most important thing for us to discover is what caused Job’s wife and his three friends to take sides with Satan (the accuser, Rev. 12:10). The reason was that they had not abstained from judging and criticizing everything that Job had said and done, or had not said or done, in every possible situation and circumstance. By doing that they had exceeded their measure of faith, light, and life; they had exceeded their limits.

Because they knew him so well, they had countless opportunities to do this. They observed the thousands of different works, both great and small, in his daily life. Consequently, they allowed themselves to think that both this and that should have been said and done differently. They had not managed to refrain from judging in this way.

However, this should not be understood to mean that Job had a bad wife. On the contrary! A God-fearing man avoids getting a bad wife. We can be sure that she had not gone around belittling her husband, as foolish wives are apt to do. Neither should it be understood that Job’s three friends were bad. On the contrary! They were shining examples! They spoke so well and their words were so rich in content that for centuries people around the world have quoted them with joy and thankfulness. Hundreds of preachers have chosen many of their favorite topics from what they have said. Thorleif Hansen quotes their words in his songs, as well as Mary Pedersen. I, too, have derived great benefit from them and owe them a debt of gratitude. I have found several wonderful topics. We can even find some especially important words in Hebrews that are quotes from Job’s three good friends. They certainly had never spoken badly about Job to any person.

Those who seek God are always more or less God-fearing. Some are quick to criticize and judge, others are hesitant to do so, while some are so very God-fearing that they absolutely do not transgress with their lips. Not even in secret will they speak a single judgmental word. It is likely that Job’s wife and his three friends were among the latter.

What was it that brought about their fall, which caused them to end up on the wrong side? It was that throughout the years they had seen and heard things in Job’s life which they did not like, things they felt should have been different, but about which they had not spoken with anyone else. It was their secret judgments in the hidden recesses of their hearts. They had, as it were, written all these things down in a notebook which they kept in their hearts. When the trials came upon Job, they thought that now they had proof that their judgments were correct. He was not so blameless after all! On the contrary! His transgressions were innumerable! His dear wife probably had the thickest notebook because she had so many more opportunities to judge him. However, his three friends also knew him very well, and they each had their own secret notes about Job’s iniquities. These secret notes were the cause of their fall.

Therefore: it is not just a matter of refraining from going around and judging your neighbor, but it is a matter of being entirely blank within. “Do not curse (judge) the rich, even in your bedroom,” says the Preacher. We need to be so poor in spirit that we never pass a single judgment that is outside our boundaries. What do we want outside our own boundaries anyway? What do you want on the other side of another man’s fence? You think you are so great that you do not have enough with the portion God has given you. You need to enter another man’s area in order to shape him up too! That will prove to be your downfall!

We view the other person’s deeds in a certain way. However, it is not so certain that we can see the many different motives behind what is being said or done, or the many motives for what is not said or done. In other words: “Judge not!”

What do you think Job’s wife and his three friends had to say afterwards when they all stood there in their shame? Or rather, when they were down on their knees before Job so he could pray for them? Imagine—before him whom they had judged guilty on so many counts, after years of collecting notes. God had now accomplished an even greater work in Job, and his latter days were more blessed than the former. And so he prayed for his honorable judges, so they could also be saved by the one whom they had judged. Glory to God on high!