This chapter has three sections. The first part is v1-13; second v14-27 and third, v28-30.

Firstly in v1-13, through the way Job writes as a first-person describing the pain and agony as a result of suffering from the sores and blisters that are all over his body; as well as losing his children. Job 2:8 paints the pitiful state that Job had to even use a pottery piece to scrape the sores. The metaphor that he uses in v4 about the arrows of the Almighty that pierced the poison into his body that his spirit drank and the expression, “the terrors of God” evidently shows that Job sees what he is suffering as a punishment from God. The physical torture and emotional turmoil were beyond him that he cried out in verses 8-9. In the midst of this struggle, he pled God for His help – telling God that he had not denied any of His words.

Job uses the second section in v14-27 to speak to his friends. This is the first time that he spoke out after Eliphaz the Temanite spoke against him. Eliphaz claimed that Job must have done something wrong or denied God’s words and this is the reason of the suffering that he was experiencing now. He used the metaphor that as friends, they should be like sources of water in the valley to refresh tired and thirsty travelers. But they did not hear the struggles of his heart and instead, they rebuked him for being a fool for not listening to them. The tone of v21-27 shows that Job is not at all pleased with how his friends and Eliphaz were saying about him.

In the third section v28-30, Job turned and prayed to God. He told God that with all that He knew about him that he does not lie and speak falsehood, he begged God to vindicate him from this unfair injustice that has come upon his family and him.

What can we learn from his chapter? First, when we encounter setbacks or problems at school, work, home or church, let us pray to God and tell him how we are feeling about the whole situation. It is not wrong to turn to friends who empathize and listen to us, but we realize later that we have not even told God about what had happened. And for that matter, we have not even told God how we are feeling about the whole incident.

Second, when it is our friends who encounter difficulties and they come to us, learn to listen and validate them. By providing our ears to them and refraining from being too quick to speak, they received the space and freedom to express their heartfelt frustrations and disappointments which otherwise would be entrapped within them.

PRAYER: Dear God, teach me to come first to you when I am faced with problems that come across my path. Help me to learn to pray and converse with you about what is happening in my life. I pray also that you will bless me with good friends so that I can share my heart and vice versa. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.