Introduction:

Did you know that egg whites are odorless and tasteless? The Bible mentions this is Job chapter 6. This can be a good thing too. You can mix them into almost anything and not even know they’re in there. Imagine having the equivalent of 5 egg whites in a glass of orange juice and not even knowing it’s there! It’s totally tasteless. You can mix it into almost anything and not even know it’s in there. If you have a hard time getting enough protein in your diet or you don’t like meat this may be the ideal solution for you! Yet, Job meaning was more a metaphor for his life than about the practical value of an egg. His life was without flavor or zeal.

Transition: In chapter 6 Job reveals his disappointment with his friends. Though only Eliphaz had spoken, it appears that Bildad and Zophar agreed with what he had said because there was an affirming silence. Eliphaz fault is not that his doctrine is unsound; it is his ineffectiveness as a counselor. Job’s friends did not understand the torment of his suffering nor the bitterness that he rightfully would temporarily feel. Job is going to try to help Eliphaz understand what it’s like to be in his shoes.

I. Job Laments His Affliction – 6:1-7)

1. Job begins the sixth chapter by taking us through the cycle of despair that has been his experience. If you have ever been where Job is, you will understand his words completely: Then Job answered and said: Oh that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales! For, then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea. Therefore my words have been rash. Job is speaking of weighing his grief and putting his calamities on the scales.

Against all the sand of the seas and his grief and pain would tip the scale. This gives you a picture of what he is suffering. So, he is saying to Eliphaz, “Yes, my words were harsh, but you don’t understand the heaviness of my hurting right now.” In effect, Job states that he did not understand his cry because he did not know the pain.”

2. Job explained why his suffering was so deep and his words were so rash. The arrows of the Almighty are within me: It was because he felt that God Himself had attacked and cursed him.
He felt that God had shot arrows at him; had sent poison against and ordered His terror him against Job. Job felt that he was a target at which God was shooting the arrows of adversity (6:4). Job was claiming the right to bray (make a loud, harsh cry) like a donkey or bellow like an ox deprived of hay and left to starve. Job was starving for understanding and expressions of compassion. He declares he has a right to cry just like an innocent animal does.

3. In verses 6-7, Job speaks about “flavorless food” like the white of an egg. The food references as I mentioned are merely a metaphor for his life. Job has lost all his zest and passion for living. There is no flavor, no interest for him in anything. For him, life has become as tasteless as the white of an egg and foods are not appealing.

III. Job Desires God Grant Escape vv. 8-13

1. The despair of Job is easy to see in verses 8-9: “Oh, that I might have my request and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Job was at a place where he just wanted a final resolution to it all—death.
Job mourns the day of his birth and believed he would be better off dead. Though Job never seems to have contemplated suicide, he wished God Himself would end his life. He wished that God would just take him instead of leaving him stuck in the barren present.

2. Here Job again insists on his basic innocence before God. The calamity in his life was not due to some sin such as concealing the words of the Holy One. This means he never denied the words of the Holy One. Job has this one consolation left before he dies – that he had not denied the words of the Lord. But he let Eliphaz know that he emphatically rejected his words. If Job sensed a responsibility to not deny or conceal the words of the Holy One, we have an even greater responsibility to the Word of God. — References: Proverbs 30:6,7 – Ro. 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

3. In verses 11-13 we hear the agony of defeat of a broken man. He has no inner strength to meet the present and future challenges he felt no hope at all. We can sense the depth of Job’s anguish: Is my strength the strength of stones? Is my flesh bronze? Is my help not within me? These words from the pain-wracked man sitting on a burned-out place in a garbage dump indicate Job’s absolute sense of helplessness. If Job’s only help is within him, then he has no help. Indeed, all success is driven from him. When all else fail Jesus does not!

III. Job Desires Kindness vv.14-30

1. Job makes his most basic accusation against Eliphaz. “You should show me kindness, even if it were true that I had forsaken the fear of the Almighty.” My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, he goes into an illustration about a dried up brook. A brook that dries in the time of drought is not much good. Remember the Proverb 25:19? Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

2. Even though only Eliphaz had previously spoken, Job addressed his brothers collectively. Either this was out of politeness (not wanting to single out Eliphaz), or because Job believed that the attitude and silence of his other companions meant they agreed with Eliphaz. Job accused them of being as unreliable as a snow-fed stream that vanishes when it is hot.

3. In verse 21 is the climax of Job’s reaction to his friends’ counsel. They offered no help. The verse is like a sermon about the special strength needed to be willing to make oneself available when we see others in a truly dreadful condition. — Galatian 6:1-2
Job is not afraid to point out the failure of his friends to help him. They did not try to meet his needs. They fail in kindness and compassion.

Application:
Kindness is basically love in action. The Greek verb translated kind in 1 Corinthians 13:4 means “to do something helpful, thoughtful, gracious, or sympathetic.” Romans 12:21 commands us to be kind. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Kindness helps or serves others joyfully, even those who may hurt us. If we are kind, at least four things will be true in our lives: we will be encouragers, we will show compassion, we will be forgiving, and we will seek to ease the burdens of others.

A church usher was instructing a young trainee in the details of his office. “And remember, my boy,” he concluded, “that we have nothing but good kind Christians in this church until you try to seat someone else in their pew.” Kindness is not to be artificial or shallow niceness. It is for the Christian to be real, not fake nice… Kindness is that spiritual grace which flows from spiritual strength and maturity. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit- Galatians 5:22 “gentleness”.

If we are kind, we will have compassion for the needs of others and will do something to help them, something more than just talk. One of the best ways to be an encourager is to take the time to listen to hurting or discouraged people. Most people who are hurt or discouraged don’t need a great word of wisdom, some philosophical insight, or a sermon on why they should not be discouraged. What they need is someone who cares enough to lovingly listen to them. Knowing someone cares enough to just listen is a great encouragement.

4. In the final passage they were not even kind enough to look in his face. They would not even look him in the face and recognize him. They were with Job physically, but they were actually far away from him emotionally. He asks them to do two things: “Teach me,” (verse 24) and “Look at me” (verse 28). He needs his friends to help him, but they cannot go at it the way they have been. Job wants them to really understand his situation as he reaches out for their help.

5. Job finally turns to his friends and says, “Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; for I would never lie to your face” (6:28). In this passage, Job simply asks his friends to see him in the midst of his pain and to speak words of encouragement. If they knew something about Job’s life, he is telling them to reveal it to him. Last he declares again his innocent and that he knows right from wrong.

Conclusion:

In I Corinthians 13:4 the Bible tells us love is kind. Kindness is love in action. This is a wonderful time of year to show the kindness to others. People will want that parking space, they will want that Christmas item they will want it more than you need it. You need to show the love of what this season is all about…