Job: He was the most righteous man on earth, together with Noah and Daniel, each one in their time. Job 1:8 and Ezek. 14:14. Superficial people consider Job as someone who first and foremost represents self-righteousness—as if he himself had said that he was the most righteous man on earth. However, it was the living God who gave him this good testimonial, just as his works confirmed his righteousness. Even though he went too far during his great trial, he was still much more righteous than his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar who wanted to help him that God told them to go to Job and that Job would pray for them that it might go well with them. Job 42:7-9. Compare this to James 5:16: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” It is also easy for people to describe Job as a type of impatience in the same superficial manner because he wished to be dead and cursed the day he was born. But consider James 5:11 to see how incorrect this is! There he is mentioned as an example of patience! Job is a radiant example of righteousness and patience to those who see it. What was it that could be said against Job, who was an example of godly fear, justice, and patience?—that he had not attained to the end of all godly fear, all righteousness, and all patience. See 1 Timothy 6:11. And who has done that? This episode of Job and his friends is an extremely good example from which we can learn, that is, those of us who follow Christ. Compare this to Paul’s words: “For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this . . . .” “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you . . . .” 1 Cor. 4:3-4. Job could say the same thing, with the exception of this one point: “Yet I am not justified by this . . . .” It was this point that this servant of God did not comprehend; this was the very thing that was too wonderful for him, which he did not understand. Job 42:3. He could not imagine that he was anything but “justified” as long as he knew nothing against himself: he was not aware of any sin, any transgression. The same thing applies to many, many of God’s people. When they have victory over sin so that they know nothing against themselves, they think that—in their ignorance—they are finished with sanctification—even that the body of sin has been taken away. I wish that everyone had the same experience that Job had! It went very well with him, for even though he had already lived an exemplary and blessed life (see Chapter 29), it is written that the Lord blessed his latter days more than his beginning, and that he saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. Satan: He performed his work as usual. He accuses God’s elect night and day. His only aim is to destroy souls. It is worst of all that he also appears as an angel of light, speaking in the name of righteousness. He can even speak completely true and correct words, but the spirit in them is never right. He also uses the Scriptures, but he applies them incorrectly. The words with which Satan answered in Job 2:4, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life,” were correct—even a very important truth. Nevertheless, the intention with mentioning these words was evil; it was to get God to test Job beyond his capacity to bear. See 1 Corinthians 10:13. However: God be praised! Satan’s calculations went wrong. What he thought was going to be for Job’s destruction was precisely the occasion for a deeper acknowledgment that resulted in new and glorious blessings for Job. It always ends up like this in similar cases. The most and best results were obtained when Jesus Christ was crucified. Satan’s calculation was to destroy everything in one fell swoop, to strike the very Head of all that is good so there could be a bumper harvest of devilry in hell. But praised be the all-wise, good God! Just then Satan lost the battle! Just then all the things that were ruined by the Fall were restored. Then the head of the serpent was crushed! Then we were given everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Hallelujah!!! Therefore, dear fellow brethren, be very bold. For if our adversary is ever so angry, and if it seems totally hopeless, the good God will affirm the truth of Job’s acknowledgment: “I know that You can do everything, and it is not impossible for You to carry out every one of Your thoughts.” Ch. 42:2. Job’s Wife: She stands as a warning for all times and generations, especially for wives. Job said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.” She was not one of them, but she spoke as they speak. A good wife is usually inspired by an untiring care in order to discover her husband’s flaws, because her desire is to see him perfect. However, when she carries this too far, she can easily see so many flaws that she falls in the temptation of accusing him instead of being a help that is comparable to him. This is what Job’s wife did. It is significant, and worth noticing, that she even used the same words as Satan. Ch. 2:5, 9. Therefore she represented Satan completely. It would therefore be prudent for wives not to be too zealous in their care for their husbands’ perfection, but rather spread their zeal in such a way that more of it is apportioned to the care of their own perfection as well as adorning themselves with a meek and quiet spirit, for that is surely very difficult. Not surprisingly, this is very precious in the sight of God, as the apostle says in 1Peter 3. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar: These three were Job’s friends. They proved their upright faithfulness by their works. Ch. 2:11-13. They went in order to show him compassion and to console him. They meant well. They sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights without saying a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. How many people would have displayed such faithfulness? They were also God-fearing and prudent men. Their words prove that to the fullest. They spoke some of the most blessed words we have in the Scriptures, words that are repeated in the epistle to the Hebrews and are regularly repeated in assemblies of the believers until this very day. What objections can be raised against them? What was their folly? They went beyond their limits; they concerned themselves with things they did not understand; they were deceived by themselves. They had wisdom, but they thought they had more of it than they actually had. However, in Job they met more than their match. They certainly spoke powerful, wise, and blessed words, but these words were still nothing more than what Job knew beforehand. Job could even have added much to what they said, things they could not say. Their fault was—as Elihu also said—that they considered Job guilty without being able to prove his guilt. They thought that Job’s misfortune, pain, and sickness was punishment for sin, but they did not understand that it could be something else. Job himself knew that it could not be punishment for sin, because he knew nothing against himself. He (as God said to Satan and as he himself maintained) had lived uprightly. Job was more righteous than his three friends. According to Jesus’ word, the person who has (been faithful) will receive even more; God wanted to use the opportunity by means of a great trial to give Job even more. This Is What None of Them Understood, which is precisely this, the most precious thing of all which is not even understood in these days. This is what the apostle Paul teaches in the epistle to the Romans and other places and which the apostle Peter says is difficult to understand and is therefore being interpreted incorrectly by the unlearned. People think that they know all kinds of things, but who understands it? The majority of God’s people are just as ignorant as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They do not understand to differentiate between committing an evil deed—something they know is bad—and doing something bad which they have no idea is bad. This is the mystery! The riddle sounds like this: “How can I be pure (even in God’s eyes) and still have something from which I need to cleanse myself?” Or: “How can I be dead (really dead) and still have something to surrender into death?” Eliphaz realized that there was something amiss, but he did not know what it was. He understood that there had to be a nail that should be hit on the head, but he did not see it. He did as well as he could, but it was not sufficient. All three of them were beating the air without hitting the nail on the head. They thought that Job was worse than they because he had ended up in such a pitiable state whereas they had light and joy and were in the best of health. They did not know that this great trial was proof of confidence in Job of which they were not worthy, which would have even ruined them completely. They did not know that because Job was so much stronger in the Lord, he could be given this great trial. They did not know that the greatest trial God could have meted out to them would have been as nothing for Job.Elias Aslaksen