(Job 6–7 | Chapter VI of Jessie Penn-Lewis’s *The Story of Job*)
“To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend…” —Job 6:14 (KJV)
Job begins to speak. Not to debate, but to bleed.
Eliphaz’s words have pierced deeper than the sores on Job’s skin. Instead of comfort, he has received condemnation. Instead of a brother’s arm, he’s received a theologian’s rebuke.
And Job’s heart breaks under the weight of misunderstood suffering.
“Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed…” (6:2)
Jessie Penn-Lewis observes:
“The sufferer needs not only silence—but sympathy. Pity, not philosophy.”
Job’s Lament Deepens
Job pleads for understanding:
– My grief is heavier than the sand of the sea.
– God’s arrows are in me—the poison is drinking up my spirit.
– I have no strength left, no help in me, no wisdom to explain this.
He’s not asking for answers—he’s begging for mercy.
“To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend.” (6:14)
This verse pierces across time. Job is still right.
The ministry of presence and compassion cannot be replaced by sermonizing.
The Pain of Misjudgment
Penn-Lewis explains:
“Job’s greatest burden now was not the boils or the loss—but that his friends saw him as one smitten by God for secret sin.”
This is the deeper sorrow: to be misread by those you love.
Job maintains his innocence. He does not claim perfection, but he knows this pain is not due to wickedness.
“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue… How forcible are right words!” (6:24–25)
He pleads: Show me where I’ve sinned! But don’t deal with me falsely!
Job’s Cry to God
Chapter 7 turns from men to God.
– “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.”
– “I would rather be strangled than live like this.”
– “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him?”
This is no rebellion. This is the voice of a man aching for release.
Penn-Lewis reminds us:
“God does not silence such cries. He records them.”
Overcomer’s Checkpoint
1. Do I offer pity—or correction—when someone is in deep pain?
2. Have I ever been misunderstood in the middle of my suffering?
3. What do Job’s honest cries teach me about how God receives grief?
“Pity, not philosophy, is the gift most needed by the crushed in spirit.” —Jessie Penn-Lewis