Job 1:4-5 Why Job Ignored His Friends

Posted on Monday, September 29, 2014 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

//You may remember in the book of Job that several friends come to visit him in his misery, and they offer advice. Job must have sinned, they conclude, for him to be suffering so greatly. They advise him to make restitution to God, and suggest that when he is forgiven for his sins his suffering will cease.

Job ignores them. He insists that restitution won’t fix his problem. Why is Job so sure about this?

Maybe because his kids are dead. Today’s verse tells how Job was continually offering burnt offerings to God on behalf of his children before calamity fell. Job initially viewed religious ritual as a sort of barter opportunity with God to keep his children safe. It didn’t accomplish anything; they all died in a windstorm when the house they were in fell down. All of Job’s burnt offerings came to naught.

So when Job’s friends come suggesting the same rituals on Job’s behalf, Job knows there’s no point in following his friends’ advice.