3But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. 4You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! 5If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.
I love Job! His friends are no help, and he isn’t afraid to say so. Job has been hit with tragedy of unimaginable horror, and his friends have come to bring comfort. They see themselves as helping, but only the truth will bring healing. Job feels alone, isolated from God with a cloud of silence where there used to be communication. He does not sense God’s presence. He wants to speak to God, not in an effort to win an argument about his innocence, but in an effort to understand the why. He is bombarded by his friends with attacks to his character and motives even when he knows their attacks are baseless. But Job lacks a forum to defend himself. He does not have a video archive of his complete life that could be played to prove his innocence. He challenges his friends to bring evidence, but none has surfaced. His heart knows only the LORD is innocent, but to have this barrage of attack without cause is too much to take. Job is probably suffering from PTSD symptoms. He is having intrusive thoughts, and it also sounds like he is having night terrors. He is broken, unable to take anymore. He feels like a windblown leaf, or chaff, and the LORD is pursuing him. He has nothing left, and his friends are making it worse. He just wants them to shut up! Silence can be one of the greatest healing forces for those in suffering. Nothing we say can really make a difference. For most suffering people just want to know they are not alone, that someone will be with them. They have usually already used up any encouragement that words might bring; they have been speaking those things to themselves in hopes of a lift in spirit. They just need someone, anyone to walk with them in silence.
The Arnold Journey 