God Displeased with Job’s Friends
7 It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will [a]accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord [b]accepted Job.
God Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one [c]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man and full of days.
And they all lived happily ever after! Well, almost… God had harsh words for Job’s friends, but he still showed mercy on them, so long as they were willing to swallow their pride and be reconciled to Job.
One of the biggest things that keeps us from God and that destroys our relationships, is pride. Job’s friends had shown a great deal of pride in their speeches, and they were confident that they had God figured out. Their pride ended up being their undoing. Had they admitted they didn’t really understand what was going on, they would have been far better comforters to their friend Job.
Imagine how Job’s friends felt when God required them to go and ask Job to make sacrifices on their behalf. But there were two sides to this one also. While the three friends had to humble themselves, Job could have also held onto his bitterness. These guys had publicly accused him multiple times, and that was no small thing.
So, if you’ve wronged someone, and you’re embarrassed to ask them for forgiveness… lay down your stubborn pride. There’s nothing like pride to drive people apart. But there’s nothing like admitting you were wrong to begin a restoration that only God can accomplish. And if someone asks you for forgiveness, recognize the incredible difficulty their task involved, and do not withhold forgiveness. God doesn’t just ask it of us, He commands it. In fact, it’s so important to forgive those who have wronged us, that we ourselves cannot be forgiven without forgiving others.
As Jesus said, we’re supposed to turn the other cheek, and go another mile, so that we don’t keep a record of wrongs in the first place. Neither forgiveness or humility is easy, but both are necessary for healthy relationships, and essential for us to be restored to the Father. Embrace both, and be who He created you to be.