14 “He who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential streams that pass away,
16 which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
17 When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look,
the travelers of Sheba hope.
20 They are ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are disappointed.
21 For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
This is quite a long passage but the overall point Job is saying to his friends is: In my calamity you are not helping!! Let’s break down what he is saying:
14 “He who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
Job is reminding them that being kind toward others is a reflection of God’s character. When others are in pain, such as Job’s pain, kindness (mercy) is the expression of God. Withhold it and it reflects our lack of fearing God.
15 My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential streams that pass away,
16 which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
17 When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
Job is telling his friends that they are like the mirage of a torrential stream that is dried up. He saw them coming and expected that they would bring relief. Instead, as they open their mouths there is no refreshment but only a dried up river bed.
18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look,
the travelers of Sheba hope.
20 They are ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are disappointed.
Referring back to the dried up river bed, Job tells his friends that they offered hope and only furthered his disappointment. In this word picture, Job is the caravan approaching the torrential river. Believing it will be there he sets his hope on them. But, instead of refreshment his confidence is shattered. This is what happens when we put or confidence in man to provide relief only God can give.
21 For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
Job now gets to the root of the problem with his three friends. They came to comfort him, according to Job 2. But what happened? Job confronts them with the fact that when they arrived and sat in silence it was out of fear, not respect. Note;
Job 2:12-13 (ESV)
And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
There are multiple lessons here but lets just identify two:
1). Friends are a vain hope in times of trouble. When we expect friends to give us the comfort only God can provide we are in desperate times. Job just told us what to expect.
2). If we are going to help others and comfort them, don’t add to their struggle by refusing to be the real hands of God. If God sends us to comfort don’t confront. If God needs to extend His mercy to others through us don’t replace it with His wrath.
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