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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
42:7-17 Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job. The final section of the book brings to light on earth what the prologue had described to be true before God: Job's suffering was not a consequence of sin (see 1:1-2:13). The narrative of this section describes two aspects of the conclusion to the dialogue: the Lord charges Eliphaz and the other friends with speaking wrong words about him and calls upon them to offer sacrifices to him and seek intercession from Job (42:7-9), and the Lord restores Job's fortunes (vv. 10-17).
42:7-9 The Lord Rebukes the Three Friends. In God's presence Job finds the arbiter for whom he had longed, as the Lord assigns a sacrifice to the three friends and requires them to seek Job's intercession. Notably, Elihu is absent from this final scene. Neither do Job's wife and Satan--so prominent in the prologue--feature in the close of the book.
42:7 My anger burns against you. The Lord's anger is directed against Eliphaz the Temanite and the other two friends (Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; see 2:11). This contrasts with Elihu who had presumed to speak, though harshly, on God's behalf (36:2), and whose anger had burned against Job as well as his friends (see 32:2-3). spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Job's words certainly expressed deep anguish and frustration; but God does not count these words sinful. This is probably because Job never lost his earnest desire to appear before God, and his words are testimony to that.
42:8 for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. What is revealed to the friends is tragically ironic for them: they had been so sure they were defending wisdom against Job's "folly," only to find out they were totally mistaken. This conclusion is also a picture of God's mercy and Job's faithfulness: Job has the chance to intercede on behalf of the people who had brought him further suffering rather than the comfort he needed and should have received from them. By interceding for his friends, Job images the character of the Lord (e.g., slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and mercy) and embodies the very mercy he himself had received. By doing so, he also continues the intercessory role he had faithfully performed for his family (see 1:5).
