The Book of Job Can Help You When You Give Counsel

1-2. What challenge do Job’s three companions and Elihu face?

THE news spreads like wildfire among the people of the East. Job, a man known far and wide for his riches, has lost everything. When three of Job’s companions​—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—​learn what has happened to Job, they journey to Uz in order to comfort him. But they are not prepared for what they see when they arrive.

² Imagine the scene. In a sense, everything that Job possessed has been taken from him. His vast herds of sheep, cattle, camels, and donkeys are gone. His children have been killed and most of his servants have been slaughtered. And the house where Job’s children were killed lies in ruins. As if that were not bad enough, Job is personally affected. His body is now covered with painful boils. From a distance, the three men see Job dejected and sitting in ashes. How do they react? For some seven days, they do not say a word to this man who is in great pain. (Job 2:12, 13) At one point, a younger man named Elihu arrives and sits down nearby. Job finally breaks the silence by cursing the day he was born and wishing for death. (Job 3:1-3, 11) Clearly, Job needs help! What these men say and how they say it will prove whether they are really Job’s friends and whether they are truly interested in his welfare.

3. What will we now focus on?

³ Jehovah had Moses record what Job’s three companions and Elihu said and did. It is worth noting that some of what Eliphaz said seems to have been inspired by a wicked spirit. In contrast, Elihu’s statements were inspired by Jehovah. (Job 4:12-16; 33:24, 25) Little wonder, then, that even though the book of Job contains some of the best advice ever given, it also contains some of the worst. A key benefit that we can gain from the book of Job is how it can help us when we need to give counsel. First, we will consider the bad examples of Job’s three companions. Then, we will discuss the good example of Elihu. In each case, we will learn how the Israelites could have benefited from the book of Job and how we can benefit from it today.

HOW JOB’S THREE COMPANIONS COUNSELED HIM

4. Why did Job’s three companions fail to achieve their objective? (See also picture.)

⁴ The Bible says that Job’s three companions went to “sympathize with Job and comfort him” after hearing about his calamities. (Job 2:11) However, they failed to achieve that objective. Why? For at least three reasons. First, they were quick to jump to wrong conclusions. For example, they mistakenly assumed that Job was being punished for sins that he had committed.a (Job 4:7; 11:14) Second, much of the counsel those men gave Job was unhelpful, unkind, and downright hurtful. For instance, all three men made statements that sounded good but were lacking real substance. (Job 13:12) Twice, Bildad unkindly told Job that he talked too much. (Job 8:2; 18:2) And Zophar cuttingly implied that Job was “empty-headed.” (Job 11:12) Third, although they may not have raised their voices when speaking to Job, their tone was often condescending, sarcastic, and accusatory. (Job 15:7-11) Ultimately, these men became more interested in proving Job wrong than in healing his heart or building up his faith.

5. What resulted from the counsel that Job’s companions gave?

⁵ Not surprisingly, the counsel Job’s companions gave did not yield good results. Job felt crushed by their words. (Job 19:2) You can appreciate why he also felt the need to defend his reputation. That led him to become unbalanced in his thinking and to speak unwisely. (Job 6:3, 26) Job’s companions did not share thoughts that harmonized with Jehovah’s thinking; nor did they treat Job with compassion. As a result, they unwittingly became tools in Satan’s hands. (Job 2:4, 6) How could this account have benefited those in the past, and how can it benefit us today?

6. What could the elders in Israel have learned from the bad example of Job’s three companions?

⁶ How the Israelites could have benefited. After forming the nation of Israel, Jehovah appointed qualified men, elders, to judge the nation according to his righteous standards. (Deut. 1:15-18; 27:1) Such men needed to listen carefully before giving advice or rendering judgment. (2 Chron. 19:6) They also needed to ask questions rather than assume that they knew all the facts. (Deut. 19:18) Those counselors in Israel needed to avoid speaking harshly to those who came to them for help. Why? Because displaying irritation could discourage a person from opening his or her heart. (Ex. 22:22-24) The elders in Israel who considered the account of Job could have indeed gleaned lessons from it.

7. Besides the elders in Israel, who could give counsel, and how could they have benefited from the account of Job? (Proverbs 27:9)

⁷ Of course, mature men were not the only ones who could give counsel in Israel. Really, any Israelite​—young or old, male or female—​could offer advice to a companion who needed help to improve in his worship or to correct his conduct. (Ps. 141:5) Such sincere counsel is the mark of a true friend. (Read Proverbs 27:9.) The bad example of Job’s three companions had the potential to provide the Israelites with a living pattern of what not to say and what not to do when giving counsel.

8. What pitfalls do we need to avoid when giving counsel? (See also pictures.)

⁸ How we can benefit. As Christians, we want to help our brothers and sisters when they go through trials. However, to do so, we must avoid what Job’s three companions did. First, we should refrain from jumping to conclusions and be sure that what we say is based on solid facts. Second, we should not build our advice primarily on the unstable ground of personal experience, as Eliphaz often did, but, rather, on the solid bedrock of God’s Word. (Job 4:8; 5:3, 27) Third, we need to avoid harsh or critical speech. Remember, Eliphaz and his companions did speak about some things that were true; one of their statements was even quoted by another inspired Bible writer. (Compare Job 5:13 with 1 Corinthians 3:19.) Nevertheless, most of what they said misrepresented God and hurt Job, so Jehovah judged what they said as false. (Job 42:7, 8) Good counsel never paints Jehovah as unreasonable or his servants as unlovable. Let us now discuss what we can learn from Elihu’s example.

HOW ELIHU COUNSELED JOB

9. Explain why Job needed help after his companions stopped talking and how Jehovah provided it.

⁹ By the time Job and his companions stopped arguing, the atmosphere must have been tense. Those men had spoken enough words to fill 28 chapters of the Bible, and much of what was said was spoken in anger or out of frustration. No wonder Job’s pain remained! He still needed comfort and correction. How did Jehovah help Job? He used Elihu to give him counsel. Why did Elihu not speak up sooner? “I am young,” he said, “and you men are aged. So I respectfully held back.” (Job 32:6, 7) Young Elihu realized what many come to realize today: Older ones have lived and learned and, as a result, have wisdom as well as experience in life that younger ones often do not have. But after listening patiently to Job and his companions, Elihu could no longer keep silent. He said: “Age alone does not make one wise, nor is it only old men who understand what is right.” (Job 32:9) What did Elihu say next, and how did he say it?

10. What did Elihu do before he offered Job counsel? (Job 33:6, 7)

¹⁰ Before Elihu gave Job any counsel, he created the right atmosphere. How? First, he got his own emotions under control. We know this because the Bible says that at first Elihu was angry. (Job 32:2-5) Yet, not once did Elihu attack Job out of frustration. On the contrary, he spoke reassuringly to him. For example, he said to Job: “Look! I am just like you before the true God.” (Read Job 33:6, 7.) Then Elihu made it clear that he had listened carefully to Job. In fact, he summarized the key points in Job’s six speeches. (Job 32:11; 33:8-11) Elihu did something similar when he again offered Job counsel.​—Job 34:5, 6, 9; 35:1-4.

11. How did Elihu counsel Job? (Job 33:1)

¹¹ When offering Job counsel, Elihu did so in a way that dignified that faithful man. For example, Elihu used Job’s name, which the other three men apparently did not. (Read Job 33:1.) Perhaps remembering his own strong desire to speak while Job and his companions argued, Elihu also empathetically offered Job a chance to respond to his counsel. (Job 32:4; 33:32) Elihu also clearly warned Job of the danger of some of his reasoning and kindly reminded him of Jehovah’s wisdom, power, justice, and loyal love. (Job 36:18, 21-26; 37:23, 24) Elihu’s good counsel no doubt put Job in the right frame of mind to receive additional instruction, this time from his Creator. (Job 38:1-3) How could the example of Elihu have benefited those in the past, and how can it benefit us today?

12. How did Jehovah use prophets to help his people, and how could the Israelites have benefited from Elihu’s good example?

¹² How the Israelites could have benefited. Throughout Israel’s history, Jehovah appointed prophets to make his purpose known to the Israelites. For example, during the period of the Judges, Deborah provided motherly spiritual guidance to the nation and Samuel tirelessly served as Jehovah’s spokesman from his youth. (Judg. 4:4-7; 5:7; 1 Sam. 3:19, 20) Then during the time of the kings, Jehovah provided an almost continuous line of prophets to strengthen his people spiritually and to give advice to those who strayed from pure worship. (2 Sam. 12:1-4; Acts 3:24) Elihu’s example recorded in the book of Job had the potential to help faithful men and women to understand what to say and how to say it when giving counsel.

13. How can Christians today encourage fellow worshippers?

¹³ How we can benefit. As Christians, we too make known God’s will by proclaiming what is found in his Word, the Bible. Another way we do so is by using words that build up and encourage our fellow worshippers. (1 Cor. 14:3) Elders need to be especially aware of the need to “speak consolingly” to their brothers and sisters, even those who might be agitated or inclined to engage in “wild talk.”​—1 Thess. 5:14; Job 6:3.

14-15. Illustrate how an elder can imitate Elihu when giving counsel.

¹⁴ Imagine this situation. An elder learns that a sister in his congregation is feeling depressed. Commendably, he and another brother visit her to try to provide encouragement. During the visit, the sister expresses negative emotions. She mentions that although she is attending meetings and going out in the ministry, she feels little joy. How will the brother taking the lead react?

¹⁵ First, he will likely try to learn the underlying reasons for the sister’s pain. To accomplish that, he will have to listen patiently. Does she feel unworthy of God’s love? Are the “anxieties of life” breaking her spirit? (Luke 21:34) Second, the elder will look for opportunities to commend the sister. She is, after all, still attending meetings and sharing in the ministry despite feeling depressed. And third, once the elder understands the situation and what is causing the sister to feel discouraged, he will use the Bible to build up her confidence in God’s love for her.​—Gal. 2:20.

CONTINUE TO BENEFIT FROM THE BOOK OF JOB

16. How can we continue to benefit from the book of Job?

¹⁶ What benefits we receive from examining the book of Job! As we learned in the preceding article, this inspired account teaches us not only why God permits suffering but also how we can endure it. And as we have considered in this discussion, all of us can learn to give effective counsel by not following the bad examples of Job’s three companions but instead following the good example of Elihu. Why not review the lessons you have learned from the book of Job before offering counsel to others in the future? And if it has been some time since you have had the pleasure of reading the book of Job, make it your goal to reread this remarkable book. You will find that it is just as beneficial today as it was when it was written.