In a courtroom, the prosecuting attorney presents evidence against the defendant and can seemingly make an air-tight case. The defense attorney can provide contradictory evidence, even if just one example, that can weaken the prosecution’s argument. Few things are absolute.
Job’s friends had rebuked Job for his failure to admit sin and repent. They had given example after example of how God blesses and protects the righteous and punishes the sinful. Job reminded them of the glaring difficulty with their argument against him. They all had seen wicked people who had flourished in life and died in comfort. They had seen others who were good people who had never known ease (Job 21:4-26, 24:1-4). God did not work as simply and efficiently as they claimed (Job 24:25).
Rather than admitting the worth of Job’s argument, Eliphaz doubled-down and reminded Job of the times Job had been a bad person (Job 22:4-11). Eliphaz could not imagine what God was doing except punishing Job for an offense, so he chose to highlight Job’s offenses. In frustration, Job said God would not treat him as his friends were. God would listen to him and be reasonable (Job 23:1-7). He wished he could stand before Him because his friends were of no use in his situation.
Praise God for being absolute truth, justice, mercy, and love. Pray for patience in those moments of life when struggles make seeing His goodness difficult. Pray for grace to flow from you to those who are suffering and need a listening ear.