1. The church’s common misreading of Job, specifically Job’s friends has led to a profound misunderstanding of how to faithfully love those who are going thru profound suffering and loss. Job’s friends were horrible theologians, but faithful friends. Let’s talk about it.

2. Job suffered unimaginable loss & his depths of comprehensive suffering is beyond comprehension. When his friends learns of his loss & suffering, they all came together and traveled a great distance (by foot & possibly animal) to come and be with their friend.

3. Prior to meeting Job, his friends agreed to go to him for the expressed purpose of comforting with him and granting him sympothy. When they arrived and saw their dear friend, they all wept and were broken over his condition (week with those who weep).

4. They didn’t seek to comfort Job with words or even theology, Job’s friends understood the sacredness of profound impact mere “presence” has when caring for someone who is going thru profound suffering that will not abate in a mere moment. They just sat w/ him for 7 daysnights!

5. Did Job’s friends give vain counsel? Absolutely! Was their vain counsel profoundly hurtful to Job, absolutely! But his did not encourage Job to cancel his friends. God rebuked Job’s friends, informed them how they were wrong, & Job prayed for his friends & they were restored.

6. The church often reads the story of Job and concludes that “presence” is a waste of time or unfaithful & that the only thing that matters is espousing “correct” theology to someone who is suffering. This is a terrible misreading of what transpired in the story of Job.

7. The story of Job is about how God is sovereign over evil & how he can use it for the good of his people. In Job’s case, it was thru suffering & loss that he learned deeper truths about who God is, things he’d never would’ve grasped w/o all things being removed but God himself.

8. Job’s friends are not the savior of story, they also aren’t villains. They are fallible people who thought Job needed their wisdom & theology when in fact they were merely there to continue to provide what he needed from THEM; their presence. God was the theologian Job needed.