Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Job says he will wait on God, calls his friends "miserable comforters," and holds on to the belief that God will bring him justice.
Job continues his poetic diatribe, comparing man to a passing flower and a shadow. He wishes God would "hide [him] in the grave." He offers up a beautiful line that we would be wise to use today: "I will wait until my change comes." He conveys that he still has faith in God's ultimate deliverance and even proclaims that God covers his iniquity.
His first friend speaks again to condemn him and group him in with the wicked. He thinks Job is speaking blasphemies against God by maintaining his righteousness. His reasoning is, as always, that Job must have sinned for all this to happen. God seems to vehemently come against this point through the story of Job.
Job calls his friends "miserable comforters" (they remind me of the chorus in Greek tragedy) and says that he could say the same if he were in their shoes, but would instead speak words of comfort to them if they were afflicted.
Job says God hates him. He says his adversaries reproach him and slap him in the face (is he now talking about his "friends?") He feels like God has placed a target on his back and is out to get him. He asserts: "No violence is in my hands, and my prayer is pure." There is another well-known line: "Even now, my Witness is in heaven." He holds fast to the belief that eventually, God will vindicate him. He wishes he could talk and plead with God the same way he could talk with a human (without fear or dread.)
Thoughts/Questions:
The ultimate theme in Job is that we do not always have to sin for something bad to happen, and we don't always have to understand why either. God knows, and we should trust in His ultimate sovereignty... and His goodness. We must all come to this realization at some point in our lives. Have you?