JOB 15–21: Friend Speeches 2 - 19th April 2026

Amen. Please take your Bibles and open

them up to Job chapter 15. Please take

Job 15 · chapter mention

your Bibles

and open them up to Job

Job 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

And in the book of Job, in the center of

the book of Job, we've been looking at

these conversations

between Job and his friends as they've

been trying to understand Job's

suffering. This back and forth

conversations that he's been having with

his friends, trying to understand his

suffering. And we heard last week

conversation number one between Job and

his friends. And that was from chapter 4

to chapter 14. And this morning we're

going to look at conversation number

two. Chapter 15- 21. And next week we'll

look at conversation

number three. Chapter 22- 27. All of

these three conversations between Job

and his friends trying to understand

Job's suffering.

Let's pray as we begin.

Lord, this is a special time that we

have this morning.

There is no other day in the week when

all of us gather together to sing to

you. It is a special time. There is no

other day in the week where we all sit

together and we hear someone pray to you

on behalf of us. It is a special day.

And Lord, there is no other day in the

week where we hear this kind of

preaching through your word. Let us

realize that this is a special moment

from you.

Speak to us, God.

We we waste our time so much on so many

things in this world. We spend hours

watching things and hours doing our own

stuff and pleasing ourselves.

But Lord, this morning I pray for this

special moment that it would be about

you

and that you would speak to us in and

through your word and that we as your

servants that we would be listening.

So Lord speak we pray. We need to hear

your voice.

We pray all these things in Jesus

precious and wonderful name.

Amen. Amen.

Job in this conversation at one point in

this conversation,

Job, he asks the question in Job 17

Job 17:15

verse 15, he asked the question, where

then is my hope?

That's the big question he asks in this

conversation.

Where is my hope?

And that is a good question to ask. And

hope it is a hard word to understand.

It's hard to know what to do with the

word hope. It's something that all of us

want, but it is very hard to grasp this

idea of hope.

If you were driving into passage this

morning, I think on either side, you

should have seen this this yellow big

yellow sign. And on the yellow sign, it

would have said, "Walk of hope."

That's what people in this world want.

They want hope. And that specific walk,

they're trying to raise awareness and

support for those people who have been

affected by suicide. And they're trying

to say to people in this world, there is

hope.

Hope is this expectation that in the

future something good is going to

happen.

Something good is going to take place.

And Job right now throughout these

conversations, his main question is this

to his friends, where is my hope?

Where can I find hope? because I have

lost everything.

So where is it?

And if you were talking to Job and Job

asked you the question, where can I find

some hope in my life?

You might give him two suggestions.

That's what I want to look at this

morning. Those two suggestions. The

first suggestion is this that you might

give him, Job. You might find hope in

your suffering through your friends.

Job, go to your friends.

Problem is, Job's friends aren't too

good, are they?

But that's what you might suggest to

someone who's who's looking for some

hope, who's looking for some relief in

life. You might say to them, firstly, go

to your friends.

And so, if Job is going to go to his

friends, here's the problem with Job's

friends. As we looked at last week,

Job's friends have bad theology.

And their bad theology is this.

Good things happen to good people

always.

And bad things happen to bad people

always.

That's their theology. Good things

always happen to good people and bad

things always happen to bad people.

Therefore, what's the conclusion that

the friends make about Job? Job, bad

things are happening into in your life.

Therefore, what does that mean according

to their theology, Job, you're a bad

person.

That's bad theology.

And his friends continue along this

line. And so, as you look at what his

friends are saying, and you might

suggest to Job, Job, find some hope in

your friends.

And the reason why Job can't find hope

in his friends is this. His friends are

constantly pointing out the problem of

his words and the problem of his

wickedness.

This is the reason he can't find hope in

in them is because they're constantly

pointing out the problem of his words

and the problem of his wickedness.

Look at chapter 15.

He first goes to the friend Elephas in

this conversation. And Elephaz is going

to point out firstly the problem of

Job's words. Look at chapter 15:1. Then

Elephaz the Tim Knight answered and

said, "Should a wise man answer with

windy knowledge or fill his belly with

the east wind? Should he argue in

unprofitable talk or in words with which

he can do no good. But you are doing

away with the fear of God and hithering

meditation before God. For your iniquity

teaches your mouth,

and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your

own lips testify against you. So Job, he

might look to his friends for some hope.

Will you give me friends, I've lost

everything. Can you give me some hope?

Can you give me some comfort? And the

friends say, "No, your words are bad."

Notice how he's focusing on the words.

In verse two, he says, "Windy knowledge.

Your words are just wind. You're blowing

smoke." Again, in verse three, he uses

the word talk and words. In verse five,

he says mouth and tongue. In verse six,

he says mouth and lips.

Job, your words are all over the place.

There's no hope for you

because of your words. And there's also

no hope for Job according to the friends

because of his wickedness.

And we see Elephas talk about his

wickedness. He talks about his

wickedness from verse 20 all the way

down to verse 35. But I just want to

highlight a few verses to you. First

verse 20, Elephaz talks about the wicked

man. And he says this, "The wicked man

rides in pain all his days through all

the years that are laid up for the

ruthless." What is Elephaz saying to

Job? Job, the reason you have pain, the

reason you are writhing in pain is

because of your wickedness. This is what

happens to the wicked man. He also talks

about the wicked man in verse 24.

Distress and anguish terrify him. They

prevail against him like a king ready

for battle because he has stretched out

his hand against God and defies the

Almighty.

Job, the reason you are distressing Job,

the reason you are in anguish, the

reason for all these things is, Job,

surely you've stretched out your hand

against God. Bad things only happen to

bad people. That's you, Job. This is

their theology. And then you go to the

second friend, turn to the second

friend, Bildad.

In chapter 18, we hear about Billad. And

Billad

says to Job, "There's no hope for you,

Job. Why? Because of your words and

because of your wickedness."

Bildad says in chapter 18:1, "Then

Bildad the Shuite answered and said,

"How long will you hunt for words?

Consider and then we will speak. Why are

we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid

in your sight?

Job, the problem is your words. There's

no hope for you. You just keep hunting

for words and you cannot find them.

So the first problem he points out is

his word. And the second problem again

is his wickedness.

Look at verse five.

Indeed, the light of the wicked is put

out, and the flame of his fire does not

shine. The light is dark in his tent,

and his lamp above him is put out.

Darkness only happens to wicked people.

Do you remember Job's lament in chapter

3? What did he say? All I see is

darkness.

and build that is saying the only reason

you see darkness is because of your

darkness.

You're wicked.

He carries on and he says these most

probably the most cruel words you will

see in the book of Job to his friend.

He speaks of the man of wickedness. He

continues all the way down from verse 5

to verse 21

talking about the man of wickedness. But

in verse 18, he says some of the most

cruel words. He says this about the

wicked man. He is thrust from the light

into the darkness. Again, that theme.

And driven out of the world. He has no

posterity or progeny among his people

and no survivor where he used to live.

What are these wicked words that Billad

is saying of Job?

Let me read to you the NLT version of

these verses and you will really hear

what he's saying.

Job 18 verse 18 buildout says this to

Job 18:18

Job. You will be thrown

from light into darkness. You will be

driven from the world.

They will have neither children nor

grandchildren, nor any survivor in the

place where they lived. The wicked man

will have no children, no grandchildren

and no survivor. Do you hear what he's

saying, Job? The reason you lost your

children,

the reason there's no survivor in your

family,

you're the wicked man.

This is why he can find no hope in his

friends. And then we come to the last

friend. The last friend speaks and it's

Zofar.

And Zofar speaks. And this time Zofar he

he doesn't point out Job's words.

Zofar points out his own thoughts.

Zofar doesn't seem to have time to talk

about Job's words. He has time to only

talk about his thoughts. And Zofar in

chapter 20:1 it says this. Then Zofar

the Neamothite answered and said,

"Therefore my thoughts

answer me because of my haste within

me." Zofar says, "I don't even want to

bother talking about your words. Just

listen to my thoughts and I'm just going

to tell you all about your wickedness."

Zofar is the kind of guy he just cuts to

the chase. He's absolutely impatient

with Job. His speeches are the shortest

speeches of all the friends. And he's

like, "You know what? I'm sick of even

talking about his words. I'm just going

to give him my thoughts and I'm going to

tell him about his wi wickedness." And

everybody's reading this saying, "So

far, nobody wants to hear your thoughts.

Nobody cares about what you have to

think." And yet he's going to say it

anyway. And what does he point to? He

points again to Job's wickedness. Verse

four.

Do you not know this from of old since

man was placed on the earth that the

exalting of the wicked is short and the

joy of the godless but for a moment?

He begins by saying those words and he

ends by saying these words in verse 29.

This is the wicked man's portion from

God, the heritage decreed for him by

God.

We might give the advice to Job. Job, if

you want to find hope, Job, go to your

friends.

And unfortunately, when he goes to his

friends,

all they point out

is his words and his wickedness. There

is no hope.

And so Job replies

with his own words

and tries to correct their theology

about wickedness.

In chapter 21, Job answered.

Then Job answered and said, "Keep

listening to my words

and let this be your comfort.

Bear with me

and I will speak. And after I have

spoken, mock on."

So even though they tell Job, "Your

words are all over the place." What does

Job say? Do you know what I want you to

do again? Listen to my words and let my

words be your comfort. And he seeks to

correct their theology about the wicked.

Their theology about the wicked is this.

Bad things always happen to bad people.

And Job has a response to this bad

theology. And he responds to this bad

theology with two questions about the

wicked. The first question he asks about

the wicked is in verse 7.

Why do the wicked live and reach old age

and grow mighty in power? If bad things

always happen to bad people,

then why do the wicked

why do they get old?

Why do they grow in power?

Why do they get rich?

Because when I look at wicked people and

bad people in this world, Job says good

things still happen to them.

So your theology doesn't seem to work.

And then he asks the second question in

verse 17.

How often is it that the lamp of the

wicked is put out? That their calamity

comes upon them, that God distributes

pains in his anger.

How often does trouble happen to the

wicked really in this world? Job asks,

"Do they always experience pain? Do they

always experience trouble?"

And the answer is, of course, no,

they don't.

So,

where is their hope?

Job asked the question in Job 17:15,

Job 17:15

"Where is my hope?"

And they say, "Job, you don't have any

hope because you're wicked." And then

Job is answering back, "Well, I don't

think I'm wicked because good things

actually happen to wicked people and bad

things are happening to me.

So where is the hope?"

I believe

that a correct theology

of what happens to the wicked can truly

give us hope.

And what is a correct theology of what

happens to the wicked?

Because sometimes as you look at this

world,

bad things will happen to bad people.

And sometimes as you look at this world,

good things will happen to bad people.

So what is our theology about what

happens to the wicked in the end? Our

theology is this

>> that one day there will be ultimate

justice.

One day Jesus Christ, he will come back

and he will judge the living and the

dead.

One day

all those evil people in this world,

whether bad happens to them in this

world or whether good happens into them

in this world, when Jesus comes back

again, the judge of all the earth will

do what is right.

And that good theology gives us hope

that one day he's going to sort it all

out.

You look at the news and this world is

so frustrated and trying to find justice

for wicked people. You hear all the news

reports about about Jeffrey Epstein and

everybody's scrambling for justice

and the guy dies in prison and they're

still they're still scrambling for

justice. Still trying to go through the

files, scrambling for justice in this

world.

What happens if they don't find justice

in the world? Here's what's going to

happen. Jesus is coming back again

and he will bring about justice. And

those who have committed horrible crimes

will be punished finally and fully.

That gives us hope. A correct theology

of what happens to the wicked gives us

hope. But also there is this other

aspect to the correct theology of what

can happen to the wicked.

It is possible in the gospel

that a thief can live his whole life

turned away from Christ

and yet on the cross

repent

and Jesus will say to that once wicked

man today you will be with me in

paradise.

That's a good theology of the wicked.

That even the most wicked, the most vile

person in this world can repent,

believe, and be saved.

Everybody who was looking at Paul's

life,

everybody who was looking at Paul the

persecutor, they would have said, "This

man is wicked beyond all hope. He has no

hope in this world."

And yet Jesus came into his life and

saved that wicked man.

Paul said, "I am the worst of sinners."

But praise be to God who saved me.

So a correct theology of the wicked

helps us have hope. It helps us have

hope that one day justice is truly

coming. And it helps us have hope that

repentance is truly possible even for

the most wicked of people.

So we're counseling Job and we're saying

to Job, Job, you can find hope in your

friends. And Job says, "No, I can't find

hope in my friends because all my

friends are saying to me is about my

words and my wickedness." So then you

say, Job, well, I've got the I've got

the answer. I've got the Christian

answer for your hope. And maybe it's not

your friends, but here's the Christian

answer for your hope. The hope you are

really searching for, Job. Go to God for

your hope. And there in God, Job, you

will find hope.

But the shocking answer that Job gives

to that is no.

Turn back and we'll look at this theme.

and turn back to Job 14:9.

Job 14:9

Job 14:E 19.

And in these conversations, you will see

that Job not only speaks against his

friends,

but that he speaks against God.

And so, if you say to Job, Job, I have

the place where you can find your hope.

You can find your hope in God. And you,

every Christian thinks, well, God's the

answer, of course. Like, he knew that

since Sunday school, right? What's the

answer? Jesus. It's all, it's always

God.

We give Job that answer. And what does

he say?

Speaking to God, Job in chapter 14 verse

19, listen to what he says.

The waters way wear away the stones. The

torrent wash away the soil of the earth.

So you destroy the hope of man.

Job is speaking to God

and he's saying to God,

you destroy the hope of man.

So his question, where am I going to

find hope?

picks up a notch here when he says to

God, "You destroy the hope of man."

And again, we see this in his response

to Elephaz in in chapter 16.

He speaks about how God cannot be his

hope. He starts his speech in chapter

16:1 speaking to his friends and about

his friends. He says this to them.

Chapter 16:1 Job answered and said, I

have heard much. I've heard many such

things. Miserable comforters are you

all. So his friends are calling him

wicked. And he speaks against them and

he says, "You're miserable comforters."

And you would think for the rest of his

speech, what Job is going to do is speak

against his friends. But he doesn't do

that.

What does Job do? He chooses to speak

against God.

Look at what he says about God in verse

7. And I want you to notice what he says

about all that God has done. All that he

has done. Listen. Verse 7. Surely now

God has worn me out.

He has made desolate all my company. And

he has shriveled me up, which is a

witness against me. And my leanness has

risen up against me. It testifies to my

face. He has torn me in his wrath and

hated me. He has nashed his teeth at me.

My adversary sharpens his eyes against

me.

Do you see what Job is doing? You say to

Job, "You can find hope in God, Job."

And then Job answers you back and says,

"No, no, no. He has worn me out.

He has made me desolate. He has torn me

up in his wrath and he has nashed his

teeth against me.

There's no hope in God."

And then we see, turn to chapter 19.

And in chapter 19, what you will see is

Job's response to Bildad.

And in Job's response to Bildad, he

begins by talking against his friends.

In chapter 19:1, it says this, "Then Job

answered and said, "How long will you

torment me and break me in pieces with

words?" So Job begins fighting back

against his friends. And you would think

that in the speech he would spend the

whole time speaking against his friends,

but he doesn't. He starts to speak

against God.

And he does this in verse 8. And notice

in verse eight what he says all about

what God has done. Verse eight, he has

walled up my way so that I cannot pass.

And he has set darkness upon my paths.

He has stripped me from my glory and and

taken the crown from my head. He breaks

me down on every side and I am gone.

Listen to this.

And my hope

has he pulled up like a tree.

There's no hope in God according to Job

in these verses. He has walled me up. He

has set me in darkness. He has stripped

my glory away. He has broken me down and

he has taken my hope and he's pulled it

up like a tree.

According to these words,

Job is saying there's no hope in God.

So now what do you do as a friend?

You've come to Job and you said Job find

hope in your friends. And he says,

"Nope. They all think I'm wickedness."

You say, "Well, Job, you can't argue

with this. Job, find hope in God." And

he says, "Nope. He's taken everything

away from me. He's He's torn out MY

HOPE. HE'S GOT RID OF MY CHILDREN AND MY

HOME AND MY SERVANTS, AND everything's

been taken away. You're telling me to

hope in God?"

So, where's the answer?

If it's not friends, if it's not God,

where's hope?

Hope lies in this for Job.

The simple word. It is the word

contradiction.

Contradiction.

And here's what I mean by that.

Every person on this planet, people in

general, do you know what we are? We are

a contradiction.

And what I mean by that is this. We'll

say stuff like this.

I don't care about what people think.

You know what? I I'm just one of those

type of people where I don't care about

what people think.

And then you really do care about what

they think by what you wear and how you

speak,

what car you drive, what job you have.

Sometimes we'll say we don't care what

people think, but we really do care what

people think. So what are we? We our

contradiction.

Sometimes we'll say stuff like this. You

know, I really I I just don't have time

to pray. I don't have time to be in

God's word and and pray. I don't have I

don't have any time for that.

Well, we'll spend two hours watching a

film.

It's all of us. We're a contradiction.

Or we'll say stuff like, you know, I

need sleep.

I'm tired. I'm just I'm just tired in

life. But then we'll spend hours at

night scrolling,

wondering why we don't sleep. We're a

contradiction. That's who we are.

That's exactly what Job is in this

moment. He's a contradiction.

On the one hand, he will stay say stuff

like this. Just listen for a second. On

the one hand, he will say in Job 14:19

Job 14:19

to God, you destroy the hope of man. But

on the other hand, he will say stuff

like this in Job 13:15,

Job 13:15

"Though you slay me,

yet I will hope in you.

though you kill me and destroy me,

I'm going to hope in you. So on the one

hand he's saying you destroy my hope and

on the other hand he's saying I'm hoping

in you. What's the answer to that? JOB

IS EXACTLY LIKE ALL OF US. HE'S A big

old contradiction.

It's the same thing that happens in all

of our suffering.

There's times when we praise God and

there's times when we don't understand.

It's a contradiction.

That's our life. That's what makes the

book of Job, you know, you know the book

of Job, it's actually quite a difficult

book. It's difficult because it has most

of the the most difficult Hebrew you

will ever see in the book. It is also

difficult because it is a very poetic

book. You're kind of wondering what's

going on. What are they saying back and

forth? It's also difficult because it's

full of these contradictions. The

friends, they say good things about God

and yet they have ter terrible theology.

And Job, he's saying, "I don't hope in

God. He destroys everything." And yet,

he's also saying, "I do place my hope in

God." So, what is the answer? He's a

contradiction.

If you are going to be a good friend

to anybody that is suffering in life,

here is what I would suggest to you.

Allow space

for contradiction.

allow them

to say and doubt, I'm not sure about God

right now. And don't just jump in with

the answer. You know, actually, uh, John

John 1:14

1:14 says this, not quite helpful at the

time. Let them have times of

contradiction

and then speak truth into their lives.

This is what h is happening with Job's

friends. They're not letting him any

time for anything, any contradiction.

They're just trying to whip him with

theology.

We have to give people space

for contradiction.

Wouldn't you want people to give you

that space?

Aren't there times where you just

believe in God and nothing else?

And there's also times where you doubt.

It's contradiction.

give people that space,

show them the kindness of Christ,

and point them to hope in Jesus.

And so what we see throughout these

verses, even though Job is is quick to

say that all that God has done against

him,

there are these glimmers of hope.

And the one glimmer of hope I want to

point you to, and there's loads, and

I've tried to discipline myself because

I want to read all these verses.

But let me show you the greatest verses

of hope that I believe is in the book of

Job. And the greatest verses of hope

that are in the book of Job is in Job

Job 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19. In the same chapter where

Job has said, "You have pulled up my

hope like a tree,

Job also says these words of hope in his

contradiction." Verse 23.

Job chapter 19 verse 23.

Job 19:23

Oh that my words were written.

Oh that they were inscribed in a book.

Oh, that with an iron pen and lead they

were engraven in the rock forever. For I

know that my redeemer lives

and at the last he will stand upon the

earth and after my skin has been thus

destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see

God.

And there in lies Job's true real hope.

Job comes to the place where he says,

"My redeemer lives."

And that's the hope for us. That our

redeemer lives.

That in through our suffering, our

redeemer, he lives. And there is hope

not just in this life, but there is hope

in eternal life. And as you read these

words of Job, what you want to do is

with Job is just just grab him and say,

"Job, all of your hope is realized. All

of your hope, all that you were hoping

for has come true." Look at verse 23. Do

you know he says the word O three times.

When you write the word O three times,

you really mean it. Like who says oh

that many times?

And look at what he says. Oh, that my

words were written. Oh, that they were

inscribed in a book. And you wish you

could just take Job and say, "YES, JOB,

THEY ARE WRITTEN. YES, JOB, they are in

a book." AND GUESS WHAT? THAT WORD LASTS

FOREVER.

That's your hope. And you wish you could

just grab him and say, "We have all the

perspective. We know the end of the

story. We know what's going to happen.

Your words are going to be written down.

And people are going to remember that

you Job were indeed blameless.

And then when Job says in verse 25, I

know that my redeemer lives,

Job says that. And he doesn't know the

full story. He doesn't know the full

picture. He doesn't know the reality of

what he is truly saying. And you wish

you could just pick Job up on this side

of the cross and say, "Job, you're

exactly right. Our redeemer lives. There

is our redeemer, Jesus, God's own son.

You're right. Your hope is fulfilled.

Who do you hope to see in heaven?

Maybe it's friends.

Maybe it's family. I don't know. Do you

know who I hope to see? I want to see

Job.

And I want to say, Job, what was it like

when you were able to look back on your

story

and have all the answers

and see Job, your redeemer, face to face

and know Job, that he lives.

And I truly believe

he would say on that day, yes, you're

right. My hope it is found in Jesus my

redeemer lives. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that we have

hope that our redeemer lives. And there

are times, Lord, where we are a

contradiction,

where we do not understand what you're

doing and we cannot see the full picture

and we cannot know what your plan is.

But we praise your name, Lord Jesus,

that our redeemer lives, that he

intercedes for us in heaven. and is

seated at the right hand and is coming

once again to judge the living and the

dead. And he will do what is right and

we will hope in him.

We praise your name that one day our

faith will be turned to sight.

In your precious name, Jesus, we pray

these things. Amen.