And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

Job 42:7

Reading Job is tricky. Here are three realities about the book you must keep in mind when reading it:

First, the reader knows what neither Job nor his friends knew about God’s conversations with the devil in Chapters 1-2. We must not assume they knew what we know.

Second, Job’s three friends were mostly wrong. Why else God’s rebuke in Job 42:7? They made a few statements that were true, but even then, they came to wrong conclusions about God and about their friend’s suffering. When speaking about Job’s suffering, they made God out to be a dispenser of karma, insisting that when good things happen, it must mean a person is good and when bad things happen it must be because the person is bad. Not true. God is gracious so in this life, even the worst person doesn’t get what he deserves. And since no one is good but God (Mark 10:18, Romans 3:10-18), any good we receive from God is not earned, but is grace. Any good we receive from God is not earned, but is by God’s grace.

Third, even a relatively righteous man can be worn down. As human beings go, Job was a good man, but because of his suffering, and because his friends were miserable comforters, Job finally succumbed and questioned God in a less than proper manner. Let us not provoke those who suffer with too much counsel. What they need most is quiet, sympathetic love.

God’s purpose is not to solve the mystery of suffering, but that His people will humble ourselves and glorify Him.