Job 42:7

My wrath is kindled. This verse begins the closing prose portion of the book. God turns His attention to the three friends of Job, addressing Eliphaz apparently as the leader of the trio. God had rebuked Job for his lack of understanding, but He indicates anger at the friends for their failure to speak that which was “right.” This raises the interesting question of the difference between the errors of Job and the errors of his friends. An analysis discloses that Job erred because of suffering, pressure, discouragement, and despair. He was the victim of a distressing situation that he could not understand. His statements were sometimes petulant, sometimes almost sacrilegious. However, all the way through he maintained a basic trust in God. The friends were not suffering as Job was. Their wrong words were the expression of a false philosophy. They allowed tradition to overshadow sympathy. They felt that they were justified in harshness because their conception of God seemed to demand such an attitude. Eliphaz and his friends have many counterparts in modern times — good men, yes, but with wrong ideas that they feel conscience-bound to defend. Job made mistakes, but, compared with his friends, he spoke “the thing that is right.” His pitiable cries of despair were more pleasing to God than the cold logic of his friends.