David R. Anderson

“how little of the Book of Job we would have to read if Job had never opened his mouth? The answer is only the first two chapters and a portion of chapter 42! Job’s verbosity is to blame for the rest of the book. Remember the three friends who came to sit and observe Job in silence? They were too stunned by his suffering to say anything. Then Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. And then they were off! One speech leads to a rebuttal followed by more speeches and further rebuttal. On and on it goes until out of a whirlwind God interjects and demands to know, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” Or in other words, “Job, you talk too much. You are obscuring the whole issue by talking too much.” Job could have been a bigger hero if he had kept quiet. Our opinion of Job was wonderful when we got to the end of chapter one, but it’s somewhat lowered when we get to the end of the book. In fact, Job’s own opinion of himself is lowered—“I repent in dust and ashes,” he says (Job 42:6). Too much talking. That’s the danger in times of testing, when above all we need to open our ears to God. “Lord, what are you trying to say to me?”
― David R. Anderson, Triumph Through Trials: The Epistle of James