How Da Book Of Job Can Help You Wen You Gotta Counsel Somebody

1-2. How come wuz hahd fo Elihu an da three guys help Job feel betta?

WEN Job had lose eryting, all da guys in da area wen find out about um. Had three guys who wen kno Job, Elifaz, Bildad, an Zofar. Dey wen go to Uz fo help Job feel betta wen dey had hea wat happen to him. Wen dey got ova dea, dey no could believe how bad wuz.

² Try picha dis. Eryting Job had wuz gone. All his animals, da sheeps, cows, camels, an donkeys, all gone. Mos of his worka guys wen get killed. An da house his kids wen live in had fall down an kill all dem. On top of all dat, Job wuz in choke pain wit boils all ova his body. Den da three guys wen show up an see Job sitting in da ashes all bum out. How dey wen ack? Fo seven days dey no say notting to him. (Job 2:12, 13) Layta on, one young guy name Elihu wen go by dem an sit down. Dass wen Job wen finally open his mout an wish he no wuz born an wanted fo die. (Job 3:1-3, 11) Job needed some serious help! Wat dey wuz goin say would show if dey really wen kea about him an if dey wuz his fo real frenz.

3. Wat we goin talk about in dis lesson?

³ Jehovah had Moses write down wat da three guys an Elihu wen say an do. Elihu wen say stuff from Jehovah, an Elifaz wen say stuff from one demon. (Job 4:12-16; 33:24, 25) Dass why da story of Job get some of da bes advice, an same time, some of da worst. We goin see how da book of Job can help us wen we gotta correck somebody. Firs we go look at da bad exampos of da three guys. Den we go look at da good exampo of Elihu. An we go see wat da Israel guys coulda learn from Job’s story an wat we can learn too.

HOW DA THREE GUYS WEN CORRECK JOB

4. How come wuz one mayjah fail wen Job’s three frenz had try make him feel betta? (Go look da picha.)

⁴ Da Bible say dat Job three frenz “wen hear bout all da trouble dat wen come on top Job . . . Den dey go togedda fo show Job dey sorry, an make him feel mo betta.” (Job 2:11) But wen turn out fo be one mayjah fail. How come? Cuz of three tings. Numba one, cuz dey neva lissen to Job an neva try fo undastan wat he wuz goin tru, dey wen tink dat he wuz catching cracks fo doin someting bad.a (Job 4:7; 11:14) Numba two, mos of wat dey sed to Job wen soun right, but it neva really help him. (Job 13:12) Dey had even say stuff dat wen hurt him. Two times Bildad wen tell Job dat he talk too much. (Job 8:2; 18:2) An sometimes dese guys wuz jus mean. Like Zofar wen make like Job wuz somebody who no moa brains. (Job 11:12) Numba three, even tho dey neva yell at Job, da way dey wen talk to him neva show love or respeck. (Job 15:7-11) Dese guys wuz moa worried about proving dat Job wuz wrong, den trying fo help him feel betta.

5. Wat wen happen cuz of wat Job’s three frenz wen say?

⁵ No shock us dat Job’s three frenz wen make him feel moa worse. (Job 19:2) Iz easy fo see how come Job wanted fo defend himself. But he got so caught up in trying fo defend himself, dat he wen end up saying some stupid stuff. (Job 6:3, 26) Job’s three frenz neva feel sorry fo him. An da stuff dey wen say neva match up wit da way Jehovah tink. An cuz of dat, Satan wen use dem fo make Job feel moa junk. (Job 2:4, 6) How da story of Job coulda help da Israel peopo, an how it can help us today?

6. Wat da eldas in Israel coulda learn from Job’s three frenz bad exampo?

⁶ How Job’s story coulda help da Israel peopo. Wen Jehovah had give da Israel peopo his laws, he wen pick eldas fo judge dem an help dem follow da laws. (Rules 1:15-18; 27:1) Dese eldas had fo lissen real good befoa giving advice or judging da peopo. (2 Rec 19:6) An dey had fo ask questions fo find out all da facts, instead of tinking dey wen kno eryting. (Rules 19:18) Dey had fo talk nice to da guys dat wen come to dem fo help. Cuz if dey neva do dat, da guys wouldn’t open up to dem. (Egypt 22:22-24) Da eldas in Israel coulda learn plenny from da story of Job.

7. Who else could give counsel an wat da Israel guys coulda learn from Job’s story? (Smart Guys 27:9)

⁷ Eldas wuzn’t da ony guys who could give counsel in Israel. Anybody could give dea fren advice fo help um come moa close to Jehovah an correck um wen he doin someting wrong. (Songs 141:5) Dass wat real frenz do. (Read um Smart Guys 27:9.) If da Israel peopo wen tink about how Job’s three frenz wen deal wit Job, dey woulda learn wat not fo say an wat not fo do wen dey had fo give counsel.

8. Wat we gotta rememba wen we correck oddas? (Go look da pichas.)

⁸ How Job’s story can help us. We like help oua braddahs an sistahs wen dey goin tru hahd times, but we no like ack like Job’s three frenz. Fo do dat, firs we gotta make shua we get all da facts befoa we open oua mout. Cuz we no like tink we kno eryting bout wat dey goin tru. Da secon ting iz fo make shua oua advice come from da Bible. We no like be like Elifaz an give advice from oua own tinking an da stuff we wen go tru. (Job 4:8; 5:3, 27) An den da third ting iz dat we gotta make shua we no talk mean. Iz tru dat Elifaz an his frenz wen tell some tings dat wuz right. In fact, one Bible writa wen even quote someting Elifaz had say befoa. (Go check out Job 5:13 wit 1 Fo Da Corint Peopo 3:19.) But mos of da stuff dey wen say about God wuzn’t tru, an it wen hurt Job. So Jehovah wen tell dat dose three guys wuz liars. (Job 42:7, 8) Rememba, wen we correck peopo, we no like make Jehovah look mean or like he no love us. Now we go talk about wat we can learn from Elihu.

HOW ELIHU WEN CORRECK JOB

9. How come Job still needed help, an how Jehovah wen help him?

⁹ Afta all da arguing between Job an da three guys, tings musta been real bad. Dey wen talk so much dat dea words wen fill up 28 chaptas of da Bible. From da stuff dey wuz saying, could tell dey wuz mad wit each odda. No wonda Job wen still feel junk. He needed somebody fo help him feel betta, but same time correck him. How Jehovah wen help him? He wen use Elihu. How come Elihu neva speak up earlia? He wen say, “I mo young den you guys, an you guys ol. Az why I wen hold back.” (Job 32:6, 7) Cuz Elihu knew dat olda guys kno way moa cuz dey wen live longa an wen go tru way moa stuffs, he wanted fo show dem respeck. But afta lissening to dem fo so long, he had fo say someting. He wen tell, “Da ol guys, dey not da ony ones know wat fo do erytime. Az not jus da guys dat real ol dat undastan wass right an wass wrong.” (Job 32:9) So wat Elihu wen say nex, an how he wen say um?

10. Wat Elihu wen do befoa he wen correck Job? (Job 33:6, 7)

¹⁰ Befoa Elihu wen correck Job, he wen do eryting he could fo make um moa easy fo Job lissen. Cuz da stuff Elihu wen hea had make him mad, firs he had fo calm down. (Job 32:2-5) Cuz he wen do dat, he neva go off on Job, but he wen talk to him like one good fren. Like one of da tings he wen tell Job wuz, “I jalike you, da way God see me.” (Read um Job 33:6, 7.) Can tell dat Elihu wen lissen real good cuz he had repeat some of da stuff Job wen say. (Job 32:11; 33:8-11) He even wen do dat wen he wuz correcking Job.​—Job 34:5, 6, 9; 35:1-4.

11. How Elihu wen correck Job? (Job 33:1)

¹¹ Wen correcking Job, Elihu wuz respeckful. Like, he wen call Job by his name, someting da three odda guys probly neva do. (Read um Job 33:1.) An Elihu probly wen rememba how much he wanted fo say someting wen Job an da three guys wuz goin at it. So he made shua fo let Job have chance fo talk wen he wuz correcking him. (Job 32:4; 33:32) Elihu wen help Job fo see why some of his tinking wuz off by reminding him wat kine God Jehovah iz. (Job 36:18, 21-26; 37:23, 24) Dat way, Elihu wen make um moa easy fo Job get correckted from Jehovah layta on. (Job 38:1-3) So how Elihu’s exampo coulda helped da guys in da pas, an how it can help us guys today?

12. How Jehovah wen use prophets fo help da Israel guys, an how Elihu’s exampo coulda help da Israel guys?

¹² How Job’s story coulda help da Israel peopo. Jehovah wen use prophets fo teach an correck da Israel peopo. Like wen da Israel guys had Judges, Jehovah wen use da wahine prophet Deborah fo guide da peopo. An Jehovah had even use Samuel from wen he wuz young fo talk fo Him. (Leadas 4:4-7; 5:7; 1 Sam 3:19, 20) Wen da Israel peopo had kings, Jehovah wen use one prophet afta anodda fo help da peopo worship da right way an correck dem wen dey wuz goin off track. (2 Sam 12:1-4; Jesus Guys 3:24) Elihu’s exampo coulda help all dese guys wen dey had fo correck da peopo in one nice kine way.

13. How can we build up oua braddahs an sistahs?

¹³ How Job’s story can help us. Us guys too, we help peopo fo kno wat God like. Anodda ting we do iz try fo use da right words fo build up oua braddahs an sistahs. (1 Cor 14:3) An da eldas try real hahd fo talk nice to da braddahs an sistahs, even if one of dem iz supa upset or dey talking anykine.​—1 Tess 5:14; Job 6:3.

14-15. How eldas can copy Elihu’s exampo wen dey helping somebody?

¹⁴ Try picha dis. One elda find out dat one sistah in da hui iz feeling down. So him an anodda braddah go visit her fo build her up. Wen dey talk to her, she tell dem dat even tho she goin meetings an field service, she still no feel happy. Wat da braddah goin do?

¹⁵ Numba one, he try fo undastan how come da sistah stay feeling down. Fo do dat, he gotta lissen real good. Maybe she feel like she not good enuff or dat Jehovah no love her. Or maybe she worrying about all kine stuff. (Luk 21:34) Numba two, da elda goin tell her she doin one good job, like she go meetings an field service, even tho she feeling bum out. Numba three, wen da elda undastan moa betta wat she goin tru an how come she feeling down, he goin use da Bible fo help her see dat Jehovah love her.​—Gal 2:20, NWT.

KEEP LEARNING FROM JOB’S STORY

16. How we can keep learning from da book of Job?

¹⁶ Fo shua get plenny tings we can learn from Job’s story dat can help us. In da las lesson we had learn how come God let peopo suffa an how we no like give up wen we go tru hahd times. An in dis lesson we wen see how fo give good counsel by copying Elihu’s exampo, an not da three odda guys. Would be good fo look back at all dese lessons befoa you counsel somebody. If you neva get chance fo read da book of Job in a while, make it yoa goal fo read um again. Garanz you goin learn plenny moa tings.