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.