Job 6:22-23

22 'Have I said, 'Give me something,' Or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,' 23 Or,' Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,' Or,' Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants'? NASB

Reading between the lines thus far, and reading ahead in the book, we know and will discover even more, that the three friends of Job were arrogant and fearful.

Their fear was not a, standing in the corner with hands covering trembling mouths type of fear, but it was the kind of fear that people have when they are not really in control over a situation. When they come face to face with something that they cannot manage and therefore they end up jumping to conclusions or making irrational decisions. All the while, they are convinced that they are doing the right thing, or they just don't want to do the right thing.

People like that generally do not have much respect for authority, unless they are forced to respect it. That is, when Job was wealthy, they therefore had to respect him, because they were impressed by his wealth, not necessarily Job himself.

But now that Job is down on his luck, so to speak, their former respect has turned to a social disrespect. Their former respect was motivated by the prospects of getting something from a wealthy man. Now that they have arrived and have seen he magnitude of his suffering, getting involved does not seem so profitable.

This meeting was not Job's idea, it was theirs. Job did not ask anyone to come visit him. He did not ask for charity or a reward, or for anything he might think is due him for past friendships. He did not ask for an army to go and recover his stolen property. He did not ask for government aid to help in rebuilding any destroyed buildings. Job did not ask for anything.

Job was still living in his home. He was still married. We will meet his wife again, much later in the book. He still had some financial means, even though he had lost his vast fortune, and his finances were now far smaller than what they had been.

His immediate needs were medical and emotional. Both of which were obvious, and both of which no one really, could be of any help.

So there was no basis for any criticism being aimed at Job. No basis, that is, other than arrogance and fear.

Though the title of this book is 'Job' and he is the principle character, and the principle theme of the book is Christ and the magnitude of his temptation and suffering, there is also a general lesson with regard to arrogance and fear.

Job is the one who is under horrendous suffering, but he still sees through the facade of his friends.

Anyone who lacks legitimate spiritual growth, although they may have an in depth academic knowledge of spiritual or sound social principles, will be misguided by good intentions. These manifest themselves in many forms of self-righteousness. You will find this in crusaders or activists and such folks.

They are so intent in their being right, that they will stop at nothing in order to force others to see things as they see them. Even violence is not beyond them.

In making their point with intensity, they become hypocrites by violating sound principles of truth. Their truth is the only truth and they will not be denied, unless of course a greater power falls all over them and they are thoroughly humbled by the experience.

God will bring a whirlwind later in the book to straighten out everyone. But in real life, most folks have to go thorough various types of crises, before they realize the error of their ways. Some folks never learn.

History gives us lots of examples. In the 1930's, most folks ignored the rise of Hitler. Appeasement stretched throughout Europe and even into the United States. What could have been avoided early on, turned into a huge world war and millions suffered because of the mistakes and inaction of folks.

As the arrogance of Iran begins to spread in our current world, and if it is met with indifference or uninvolvement, then history will repeat the worldwide suffering again, sooner or later.

But this kind of arrogance is not limited to world leaders and global events. People, on an individual basis, develop beliefs based on what they pay attention to in life. If Bible doctrine is not on the menu of ones daily learning experience, then fear will inevitably result.

Brave men die only once, but cowards die a thousand deaths. Who is the brave person? The spiritually mature person who dies physically only one time. Who is the coward? The spiritually immature person who dies many times because of their many fears, paranoia's, insecurities, or uncertainties in life.

Has Job asked his friends for anything? Has he been a nagging burden on them? Has he demanded any repayment or expectation from them? No.

Has Job done anything wrong which they can document, which they can come up with some form of evidence or proof? No.

Then on what basis is Job being criticized? Certainly not on facts, because none exist. And if these friends had all of the facts, then they would have the transcript of the conversation in heaven between God and Satan. But they don't have knowledge of that conversation.

So on what do they rest their case against Job? Their arrogance and their fear.

You do not have to be an unbeliever to be stupid. The world is full of believers who are spiritually stupid. They do not live the spiritual life as it is supposed to be lived. They do not advance in their spiritual life as it is supposed to be advanced in. They know all of the words and they can carry on a conversation, which would fool others who are similarly spiritually ignorant.

But as potential leaders, as potential authorities, as potentially influential persons, they would fail miserably.

They make wrong decisions. They refuse to make decisions. They refuse to be held accountable for their actions. They refuse to take actions. In their mind, it is far better to sit on the sidelines and shout out instructions or criticisms, but to blame others when things go wrong. They don't draw conclusions from facts, but rather draw conclusions and then create their own version of facts.

In doing this, these friends of Job, are painting a picture for us, of how people can pursue the pattern of thinking which Satan had already invented. And, they don't have to be influenced by Satan directly or even indirectly. All they have to do is lack the proper application of legitimate spiritual resources, or just not have spiritual resources in their soul.

There are two opinions in this world, Gods, and everything else. Gods opinion is truth. Everything else is varying degrees of departure from truth. Even if you know truth, you can still misapply it, and that becomes self-righteousness or activism. And that becomes just as evil as any sin or lie.

There is only one way to avoid this kind of error in your life, and that is through a consistent daily study of the Word of God, while in fellowship. Your fellowship status is the key for developing spiritual growth.

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