Devotion: Job 6:14

Job 6:14 Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

It is interesting that this verse is included in the book of Job because his friends definitely did not extend kindness to him. Job’s friends had come to be with him in his great sorrow. But these friends do a poor job at offering comfort to him. How disappointing this must have been for Job.

What does this verse mean though? Withholding kindness and compassion from a friend is forsaking the fear of God.  One explanation online summarizes it like this: if you are not being kind to those around you, then you are not showing respect for God.  Another says that fixing the problem is God’s job, not ours, and by doing so we are trying to take God’s place. Fearing God means putting our trust in Him to work in His timeline, not ours.

Let’s pause here and take a look at a few words. “Withholds” sounds simple enough, but the actual definition is to refuse to give, to suppress or hold back. “Forsake” is not as easy to assume an understanding of by glance, so we need the definition in order to understand. To forsake means “to abandon, renounce, or give up.”

So this verse is saying that anyone holding back their kindness from their friends abandons their fear of the Lord. The phrase “fear of the Lord” can be interpreted in multiple ways. These include fearing God’s judgment, awe, reverence,adoration, honor, worship, confidence, and love.  Changing the ending of the verse to what we just learned makes the meaning like this: anyone holding back their kindness from their friends abandons their love for God.

Now we can resume our exploration of the verse. Rather than accusing Job and putting the blame on him, his friends should have extended love. “…that you love one another, even as I have loved you…” (John 13:34-35) We should show love for those who are suffering. But Job’s friends failed to do this and instead falsely accused him.

Are you the type of friend that shares accusations instead of offering love? If you don’t know, spend some time with God praying for Him to show you.

You might also like this:

Devotion: Philippians 1:3-5 Devotion: 1 John 4:11-12 Devotion: Philippians 2:1-4