Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our patient God. How wonderful that He understands our weakness and that He bears long with us, all the while leading us into greater truth.
Lesson #37. Excessive speech can lead to speaking wrongly. In the midst of trouble, it is completely natural to want to talk about the trial. Talking is a helpful human tool for processing life. Talking helps people to identify what is going on, to work through their responses, and to express themselves to people that they think will care. Unfortunately, the more prolific the words, the higher the likelihood of saying something inappropriate. Job spoke much, and his words were not always right.
Elihu evaluated that men of understanding would say about Job, "Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom" (34:35). Elihu himself agreed: "Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge" (35:16).
Was Elihu too critical, or was he right? Very soon after Elihu's evaluation, God Himself demanded, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" (38:2). But to whom was God referring? Did His question refer to Job, to Elihu, or to the three friends?
Part of the answer is declared through inspiration. The Bible declares that "the LORD answered Job" (38:1). Also, God immediately followed His question by continuing to speak directly to Job. Job was the one God focused on, as He stated many truths designed to instruct and help him.
The answer is also revealed by Job's own admission. Job later repeated God's question, "Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?" (42:3) and then freely admitted, "Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not" (42:3). Job had misspoken, and he knew it. So Job was deserving of this evaluation and was the primary recipient of these words.
The words also apply to the three friends. At the end of the trial, "the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath" (42:7, repeated in v. 8). Although these three were apparently godly men, and although they had said a lot of true things, there was a significant extent to which they didn't know what they were saying either. (The words do not seem to apply to Elihu, who is not included in this censure. In fact, God repeatedly reinforced what much of what Elihu had said.)
God's command to the three friends is a commentary both on them and on Job. Job came to state truth at the end. Job owned his failures and then spoke what was right about God. Job's ending words were the most important, and they clearly revealed his submission to God while eliminating all the troubling words that had filled his earlier speech. It seems that God was most interested in where the words of these men ended up. In the end, Job humbled himself for what he had said wrong, and he affirmed truth. The three friends did not do that until the final confrontation by God.
Just to clarify, God did not condemn every word that Job or his friends had spoken. There was much accuracy in Job's self-defense and in his testimony of his past life. Both Job and his friends stated some powerful truths through the process. God objected to the words that fell outside these parameters. It was okay for them to state truth that they knew; the problem was when they did not have accurate knowledge, but they stated their viewpoints anyway as if they were authoritative.
In the midst of trials, it is natural to want to talk. There is much to evaluate and assess, many responses and adjustments to be made. Those necessary adjustments take place in our thinking, and our thinking necessarily involves words. Unfortunately, we don't always know what we're talking about, and that often emerges poignantly in the midst of tragedy and chaos.
Is it better just to be quiet and wonder and wait? If we utter many words, is it not likely that some of those words will be spoken without understanding? Does God want us to be totally silent? David tried that. "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle" (Psalm 39:1). It didn't work very well for him. He thought that silence would be a safeguard, but he realized speech is a reality of life.
God definitely wants us to talk to Him, even if to no one else. "Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8). Many of the Psalms exhibit the pattern of starting with trouble and confusion, but the psalmists then talk their way to truth by the end. This seems to be a good pattern to follow.
If we realize we have messed up, we have this reassurance. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (I John 1:9).
We can also pray for divine help. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD" (Psalm 19:14). Like Job and his friends, our wrong words are often not a mark of rebellion, but simply a lack of knowledge. It would then seem appropriate to pray for wisdom (James 1:5).
As with Job, God desires a humble response in our words. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God" (I Peter 5:6). Like Jesus, our words should include this idea: "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39).
Finally, we can be thankful. We can be thankful that God knows what we don't know. He has the answers. We can also be thankful for the character of God. "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psalm 86:15). How wonderful that our God, who knows all things, also knows us so well. He knows our human frailty, and He sees the foundational desire of our hearts, and He responds with a loving patience that is far gentler than what we deserve. When we are willing to listen, He leads us to truth.
As we dependently seek God, may He enable us to speak what is right and honoring to Him.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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