Job 6:14 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters | Metropolitan Tabernacle

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Job 6:14

Comments

Job expresses the great need we all have for comfort from one another when we are in deep trials, but this he is being denied. Pity and kindness ought to be shown by his friend. The second half of verse 14 may refer to Job – ‘even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty’ – or to the friends – ‘but they forsake the fear of the Almighty’. The KJV seems to go with the latter.He compares them to a stream of water relied on by travellers. It is not right next to the road and to reach it a journey must be made which costs time and energy. The journey will surely be worth the effort because the reward will be to find the stream which has been seen before and its cool waters will bring relief to weary travellers. But no, the quest ends in disappointment. This stream, looked as if it would yield a sure supply when its waters froze solid above ground, but now that the heat has come all that has vanished away. The traveller was drawn by a false promise. He left the path in the hope of finding desperately needed water, but the stream had failed, and now he is in an even worse position because he has gone away from the path and still has no water. Job imagines a camel train passing through the arid desert, and reliant for their very life on the constancy of this stream. So have his friends been to him. He can see even now that they are all of the same mind, and he will get more of the same from the others. They seem to promise compassion and real concern for his condition; they seemed to be real friends, but instead they are setting out to do him harm with their words. Job is really upset and disturbed that they have let him down. It cuts deep.

Application

Much of his difficulty arose from fact he was expecting comfort from the wrong source. He knew they were not converted and yet when they came he was uplifted. It is possible for believers to lean on worldly people and try to get a lift from them, or to unburden themselves to them about things they can’t possibly understand. Job had laid a wrong foundation for this hour of need. We may turn to unspiritual rather than spiritual friends when we are down.

In addition, although we are not forbidden to obtain comfort from earthly friends, Job seems to have been relying too heavily on them. We know that the Lord will never forsake us, so why don’t we rely chiefly on him. It is true that part of his blessing comes through our earthly believing friends, but their sympathy cannot reach into the deepest recesses of our heart. Job had clearly put much hope in his friends’ sympathy and understanding, and they have greatly disappointed him.

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Job 6:14 Commentary and Bible Study