HOW PAINFUL ARE HONEST WORDS!

Job 6:1-30 / Keywords 6:25

25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?

 

6:1 Then Job replied:

2 “If only my anguish could be weighed

    and all my misery be placed on the scales!

3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—

    no wonder my words have been impetuous.

4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me,

    my spirit drinks in their poison;

    God’s terrors are marshaled against me.

5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,

    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?

6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[a]?

7 I refuse to touch it;

    such food makes me ill.

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,

    that God would grant what I hope for,

9 that God would be willing to crush me,

    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!

10 Then I would still have this consolation—

    my joy in unrelenting pain—

    that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?

    What prospects, that I should be patient?

12 Do I have the strength of stone?

    Is my flesh bronze?

13 Do I have any power to help myself,

    now that success has been driven from me?

14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend

    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,

    as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice

    and swollen with melting snow,

17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,

    and in the heat vanish from their channels.

18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;

    they go off into the wasteland and perish.

19 The caravans of Tema look for water,

    the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.

20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;

    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.

21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;

    you see something dreadful and are afraid.

22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,

    pay a ransom for me from your wealth,

23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,

    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;

    show me where I have been wrong.

25 How painful are honest words!

    But what do your arguments prove?

26 Do you mean to correct what I say,

    and treat my desperate words as wind?

27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless

    and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.

    Would I lie to your face?

29 Relent, do not be unjust;

    reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.[b]

30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?

    Can my mouth not discern malice?

Footnotes

a. Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

b. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands

 

1. Job begins his reply to Eliphaz’s advice simply by expressing his anguish and misery (1-2). Eliphaz’s words have not touched the depths of his suffering. He compares Eliphaz’s advice to tasteless food (6-7). Job still wishes for death, because he cannot find any hope for himself (8-9, 11). Yet, whatever happens, he will not deny God (10). When we trust God as our father, we can pour out our hearts to him honestly, knowing he will not take it the wrong way.

 

2. In verses 14-23, Job laments the unhelpfulness of his friend’s words. He hoped their words would be like water to refresh his spirit, but only found a dry stream (15-20). Job pinpoints the real motive behind Eliphaz’s advice: when he sees Job’s terrible suffering, he is afraid for himself (21). Job knows that honest words are good even if they are painful, but his friend’s arguments are empty (25). Words with real power to help come from the heart, not just from an arguing spirit. He asks them to acknowledge that he is not being punished because of his sins (29- 30).

 

Prayer Father, thank you that I can pour out my heart to you when I am in anguish. Help my words be like cool water to strengthen my friends.

One Word Give kind words like cool water