Job’s friends respond to his suffering with supportive silence at first, but then they resort to false accusations about Job’s character. They assume that if people are good and wise, God will justly reward them with prosperity. But if people are evil and foolish, then God will punish them with suffering. Since Job is facing a disaster of cosmic proportions, the friends conclude that Job must have done something to deserve this treatment from God. They even make up possible sins that Job must be guilty of to have deserved such disastrous consequences. So how does God respond to Job’s friends?

God's reply comes at the end of the book as he directly confronts the friends’ conclusions about Job and how God runs the world. Their ideas about justice are too simple and don’t account for the complexities of the world or God’s wisdom. So God expresses his anger at their accusations against Job, but he remains merciful as he provides a way for them to receive grace through Job’s prayers.

Reflect:
1) What would it look like to live in the world that Job’s friends imagined—a world where God punishes every evil deed, for every single person, with personal and precise retribution every time?
2) How do you define God’s justice?
3) What did Jesus unjustly suffer to bring about mercy and grace for others?